The final nail in the coffin of Matt Eberflus’ tenure with the Chicago Bears came when star cornerback Jaylon Johnson yelled at the third-year head coach following the end of a 23-20 defeat to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.
As he had against the Washington Commanders, Eberflus mismanaged the clock toward the end of the game, choosing not to call a timeout and forcing Caleb Williams to attempt a deep pass on the final play instead of attempting to get into field goal range.
While Eberflus’ in-game decision-making was a problem, his issues with the locker room were much deeper in 2024.
Per the annual NFLPA survey, Eberflus was criticized by the Bears for not listening to players or their leadership council.
“The players’ most frequent complaint was with their former head coach Matt Eberflus,” the NFLPA survey states. “The players felt like he lacked a willingness to listen to the players and the players’ leadership council, and he mismanaged the weekly team schedule. After the team completed the survey, the Bears terminated Eberflus and hired Ben Johnson as their new head coach.”
Eberflus was ranked 32 out of 32 NFL coaches for 2024. Players didn’t think Eberflus was efficient with their time or open to feedback.
“59% of Bears players feel their former head coach Matt Eberflus was efficient with their time, a rank of 30 out of 32,” the NFLPA survey states. “The players reported that Eberflus was moderately receptive to locker room feedback on the team’s needs, ranking him 31 of 32 head coaches in the league.”
Eberflus was stubborn during his three years in Chicago. He’ll be remembered for winning 14 games in three seasons before the Bears broke with tradition and fired him during the season.
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