Matt Eberflus' firing was mishandled by the Bears CEO, who admits to the mistake: "I'll be the first one to raise my hand."
It was speculated that the Bears would dismiss Eberflus prior to him addressing the press.
Matt Eberflus was fired by the Chicago Bears less than 24 hours after their Thanksgiving Day loss.
With 32 seconds remaining, quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked by the Bears. However, the clock was not stopped. In the final seven seconds, Williams attempted to hike the ball, but overthrew wide receiver Rome Odunze. The ball landed on the turf as the clock struck zero, resulting in a 23-20 victory for the Detroit Lions.
Eberflus intended to keep his final timeout for the Bears to utilize in case they gained yards before a field goal attempt, but that did not occur.
On Friday, Eberflus met with the media to discuss the situation, but he was later fired that day.
The decision to let Eberflus speak to the media on Friday and subsequently fire him was met with criticism on social media.
Kevin Warren, the team CEO and President, discussed the events on Friday to provide a clearer picture. He stated that the front office had not yet made a decision about Eberflus' fate before his Friday conference.
But, he admitted the Bears screwed up the ordeal.
Warren stated that family, integrity, and doing things the right way are the values that his company stands for. Although he acknowledged that they could have done it better, he was the first to raise his hand and admit it. However, during his press conference and even hours later, they had not yet reached a decision. On the positive side, they made sure to inform Matt about their decision so that he could respectfully inform his family.
"A lot of head coaches in the league find out they've been terminated before they're informed by the organization, which goes against what we promised. Looking back, we could have done better. However, we were trying to be respectful and didn't know our decision when the coach started his press conference."
On Saturday, the coach released a statement expressing his "heartfelt gratitude" and thanked the fan base for its "support and passion." He also left his players with kind words.
Chicago fired its head coach, leaving the Bears with a 14-32 record, making them the third NFL team to do so this season.
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