Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams spoke about the reported confrontation between cornerback Jaylon Johnson and ex-head coach Matt Eberflus following the latter's time management fiasco to cap the team's 23-20 road loss at the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

Bears QB Caleb Williams says of CB Jaylon Johnson's post-game confrontation with Matt Eberflus last week, "He's frustrated. He's been here a long time and the records and playoffs haven't been there."

He adds, "That's coming."

— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) December 4, 2024

It's understandable why Johnson was angry. Down 23-20, there were 32 seconds and counting left after Williams took a sack to bring up 3rd-and-26 from the Lions' 41-yard line. Chicago had one timeout left, but Eberflus chose not to use it.

Instead, Williams snapped the ball with six seconds left and fired a pass to a well-covered Rome Odunze near the end zone. The pass fell incomplete, and time ran out.

BEARS DIDN'T CALL A TIMEOUT 😳

(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/OpmDcsr0Zs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 28, 2024

The 25-year-old Johnson has played five NFL seasons, all with Chicago. The Bears' records since 2020 have been 8-8, 6-11, 3-14, 7-10 and now 4-8 for a total of 28 wins and 51 losses. Chicago hasn't made the playoffs during that time, and barring a miracle, 2024 will end without a postseason appearance too.

That isn't Johnson's fault, as the ex-Utah star has excelled in the pros, notably earning second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors last year.

So, as Williams noted, it's understandable why Johnson was frustrated after the Lions loss dropped the team to 4-8, marking six straight losses following a promising 4-2 start.

That losing streak notably began with the Bears giving up a Hail Mary touchdown to the Washington Commanders to cement an 18-15 loss, so the bad vibes have been brewing for nearly two months.

A;FK;JD;KJF;LAKEJFLKJVAL;KEJL;JF;EFJ;LFAKJ

JAYDEN DANIELS HAIL MARY! @COMMANDERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/BsQ0Z84Rko

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024

As far as the confrontation goes, Fox Sports' Jay Glazer provided the scoop.

According to @JayGlazer, Jaylon Johnson erupted in frustration at Matt Eberflus following Thursday's loss vs the Lions.

Glazer explains the details, and dives into potential candidates to take the open Bears HC Job. pic.twitter.com/hfm6xqyPmj

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 1, 2024

"Right afterwards, Matt Eberflus started talking to the team, kind of almost washing it over, 'Hey guys, sorry about this, but this is the type of adversity we need...'"

"And immediately Jaylon Johnson, their Pro Bowl cornerback, interrupts him and starts speaking in very colorful language that I usually use off the air over here. It went on for about 10 or 15 minutes, I was told. That's the last Eberflus talked. It was Jaylon Johnson after that. That moment, those players knew, the organization knew, that's it for Matt Eberflus. He's gone."

Adam Jahns and Dianna Russini of The Athletic also reported on the matter.

"Jaylon went crazy," a Bears player told The Athletic. "He was very emotional and pissed but rightfully so. He's been here longer than most."

Another player said: "He was going off more so at (Eberflus)."

That first player also noted the issue Thursday was symbolic of the season: "We felt as players it's been too many instances where we fought our way back into games to lose because of bad time management and decision-making."

It all led to an "ugly" locker room scene with a lot of yelling," per a staff member to The Athletic. It got so bad that Eberflus even left the locker room.

Now offensive coordinator Thomas Brown has taken over as the team's interim coach for the final five games of the year. The Bears hope to make the most of the last five weeks of a bitterly disappointing and once-promising season at this point, beginning Sunday at the San Francisco 49ers.

Apparently, becoming the head coach of the Chicago Bears is slimming.

Interim coach Thomas Brown told reporters Wednesday he started trying to lose weight a couple of weeks ago. When he was named the offensive coordinator following Shane Waldron's firing after Chicago's Week 10 loss to the New England Patriots he was 225 pounds.

As of Wednesday and 22 days later, he is 203 pounds.

Brown will step into a new role Sunday when the Bears face the San Francisco 49ers. He was named the interim coach after Matt Eberflus was fired following a Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions.

This is largely a lost season in terms of the record for the 4-8 Bears, but it isn't difficult to see the next five games as an audition.

Brown has already impressed with his ability to get the best out of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who has thrown for a combined 827 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions in three games since Waldron's firing.

Chicago lost all three games to the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Lions but was in position to win each of them thanks in large part to Williams' individual play before late special teams and clock management issues undercut his efforts.

A slimmer Brown will look to make sure Williams continues playing at an elevated level while helping the team avoid such mistakes in a new role.

After the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus, the Chicago Bears could take a unique approach to finding his replacement this offseason.

While speaking to The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain, a league source suggested the possibility of the Bears trading for a head coach.

"It might not be the one they think is the 'best available,'" the league source said. "Go get your guy."

Trading for coaches in the NFL is extremely rare, but it has been done before. According to Eric Mullin of NBC Sports Boston, the occurrence has taken place just seven times in the last 25 years, most recently happening in 2023 when the Denver Broncos acquired head coach Sean Payton from the New Orleans Saints in exchange for first- and second-round draft picks.

As the deal for Payton showed, these types of trades only happen for coaches with established pedigrees. The other six to be involved in trades are all recognizable names: Bill Parcells in 1997 from the New England Patriots to the New York Jets, Mike Holmgren in 1999 from the Green Bay Packers to the Seattle Seahawks, Bill Belichick in 2000 from the Jets to the Patriots, Jon Gruden in 2002 from the Oakland Raiders to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Herm Edwards in 2006 from the Jets to the Kansas City Chiefs and Bruce Arians in 2019 from the Arizona Cardinals to the Buccaneers.

There aren't many coaches of that caliber around the NFL today, so it's hard to imagine who the Bears would want to acquire while giving up draft capital. However, Chicago is confident in its status as a prime landing spot for prospective coaching candidates this offseason.

Team president Kevin Warren declared earlier this week that the Bears head coach opening "will be the most coveted job in the National Football League this year." With 2024 No. 1 pick Caleb Williams as the franchise cornerstone and other talented players on the roster, the Bears could be an attractive destination as they try to find the right person to lead the team into its next era.

Chicago Bears team president Kevin Warren's claim that the Bears' head coaching job will be the most attractive one available at the conclusion of the 2024 NFL season is reportedly being met with some skepticism.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, there have been "mixed reviews" regarding Warren's comments with some questioning the 'turmoil" within the Bears organization and the power structure involving Warren and general manager Ryan Poles.

Speaking to the media this week after the decision to fire head coach Matt Eberflus, Warren told reporters that the Bears have the "most coveted" head coaching vacancy, citing the team's young talent, draft capital and salary cap space, among other factors.

At 4-8, the Bears are trending toward their fourth consecutive losing season and their fourth straight year outside the playoffs. Despite that, there is plenty of reason for optimism moving forward.

That is thanks largely to the presence of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Although it has been an up-and-down season for him individually, he has shown enough to suggest that he is a true franchise quarterback in the making.

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner is completing 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,612 yards, 14 touchdowns and only five interceptions, while also rushing for 378 yards.

Although the Bears have lost six games in a row after a 4-2 start, Williams' play has gotten better, as he hasn't thrown an interception in any of his past six games and has thrown for 596 yards and five touchdowns over his past two outings.

Along with Williams, the Bears boast some quality offensive weapons who are 25 years of age or younger, including wide receiver Rome Odunze, tight end Cole Kmet and running backs D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson.

Defensively, a core of cornerback Jaylon Johnson, pass-rusher Montez Sweat, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and defensive lineman Gervon Dexter would give a prospective head coach plenty to work with as well.

On top of that, the Bears are in line to potentially have a top-10 draft pick once again, so there figures to be yet another infusion of talent during the offseason.

It isn't yet clear what other head coaching jobs will be available during the offseason, but the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints also made in-season head coaching changes, so they will be among the teams looking for a new coach.

Other possibilities include the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and perhaps a few others.

None of those teams have a young quarterback the caliber of Williams aside from the Jags with Trevor Lawrence, so it is fair to assume that Chicago could be an attractive landing spot for head coaching candidates.

Of course, taking the Bears job means joining a stacked NFC North that includes the 11-1 Detroit Lions, 10-2 Minnesota Vikings and 9-3 Green Bay Packers, but there aren't likely to be many jobs with a higher ceiling than the one the Bears can provide.

One NFL front office executive called Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown "the real deal" in comments made to ESPN's Courtney Cronin amid her recent piece on the team's firing of ex-head coach Matt Eberflus.

Brown will also be considered for the team's full-time head coaching position, per Cronin, who added that the Bears hope to speak with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Washington Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury as well.

"Two team sources told ESPN that Brown will be considered among the candidates in January as the Bears begin their coaching search. Other names the Bears hope to interview include Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Washington Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, the latter of whom interviewed for the Bears' offensive coordinator opening before the team hired Waldron."

The 38-year-old Brown coached college ball (primarily as a running backs coach) from 2011-2019 before moving to the NFL as the Los Angeles Rams' running backs coach in 2020. He earned an assistant head coach title in 2021, when the Rams won the Super Bowl.

Brown moved to coaching tight ends in 2022 before leaving the team to become the Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator in 2023 under head coach Frank Reich. Brown also worked with No. 1 overall draft pick, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.

Carolina struggled offensively in 2023, scoring 13.9 points per game (second-lowest mark in the NFL). Reich was fired after 11 games, and the Panthers finished 2-15.

After the season, Brown landed with the Bears as their passing game coordinator. He was promoted to offensive coordinator after the firing of OC Shane Waldron and has been in that role for the past three games.

The offense has certainly fared better of late, with the Bears averaging 22.0 points per game during a stretch that included matchups against their trio of NFC North rivals in the 9-3 Green Bay Packers, 10-2 Minnesota Vikings and 11-1 Detroit Lions.

And now Brown is the Bears' interim head coach after Chicago's 4-8 start and ongoing six-game losing streak, which has seen the team drop its last three games by a combined seven points. Brown will also continue to call plays.

The final five games certainly serve as a great dress rehearsal for Brown in a bid to be the full-time head coach. It'll be a challenging slate down the stretch, with the Bears notably facing the three other NFC North teams again.

Up first, though, is a visit to the reeling and shorthanded 5-7 San Francisco 49ers, losers of three straight. Kickoff is set for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.

Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus spoke in the locker room for just "seconds" before he was cut off by players after Thanksgiving Day's loss to the Detroit Lions, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

The result of Eberflus' attempted speech was described by one Bears player as a "s--t show," per Cronin.

She went on to describe the scene:

"As players filed into the locker room after the loss, Eberflus began delivering a message that fell on deaf ears. The tone, according to one player, spoke to how players battled and came up short. As Eberflus spoke, an exasperated Jaylon Johnson interrupted his head coach and began shouting obscenities out of frustration from the same results playing out over and over.

"Eberflus cut his message short and walked out of the room."

The following day, the then-Chicago coach told reporters in a morning Zoom call he was "confident" he would be leading the Bears in Week 14 against the San Francisco 49ers. The team announced his dismissal hours later.

Johnson addressed the exchange in a Monday appearance on the Spiegel & Holmes Show by 670 The Score.

"Guys get fired all the time – players, coach, GM, it happens. I don't necessarily feel like I was just some major part that played a role in getting (Eberflus) fired. That's not on me," he said on Tuesday (h/t Audacy.) "But at the end of the day, there was frustration, there were words from myself that I expressed just from my frustration of losing.

"Part of what I said after the game is I've been losing for five years. So, I mean, I feel like a high-level player like myself, after a certain point, losing games how we've been losing games, someone has to express something."

Johnson's frustration followed a clock-management mistake on the final drive of the loss to the Lions.

With just more than 30 seconds remaining, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked at Detroit's 41-yard line.

Instead of calling his team's final timeout, Eberflus waited in the hopes Chicago could gain a few more yards into field-goal territory. But the Bears couldn't set up for the next snap in time, and the game ended on an incompletion.

The loss marked Chicago's sixth straight and the continuation of Eberflus' struggles to close out games with narrow margins of victory.

Eberflus completed his Bears career with a 5-17 record in one-score games, per Larry Lage of the Associated Press. Among 221 NFL coaches with at least 20 such games on their record, his 22.7 win percentage ranked last.

Thomas Brown, who took over as interim head coach following Eberflus' firing, will hope for better results both on the field and in the locker room as he prepares for his first game at the helm in San Francisco this Sunday.

The Chicago Bears' clock mismanagement in their loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day shined a light on a bigger problem, thereby leading to the decision to fire head coach Matt Eberflus.

With a chance to set up a game-tying field goal or attempt to score a go-ahead touchdown, the Bears opted not to call a timeout and wasted 32 seconds of game time, allowing the clock to expire on the final play on their way to losing 23-20.

According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, team sources said that "the fact that no timeout was called raised questions among the front office and coaching staff over in-game management." While the decision was ultimately up to the head coach, Eberflus also was in communication with members of his staff who are responsible for game management calls.

"There's a system that's broke and wasn't fixed," a team source told Cronin.

A wild end to this one. #CHIvsDET pic.twitter.com/zwR7g1Efv9

— NFL (@NFL) November 28, 2024

Eberflus was fired the day after the loss to Detroit, ending his tenure in Chicago with a 14-32 record and no playoff appearances. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown was promoted to interim head coach.

The Bears (4-8) will be trying to end a six-game losing streak in their first game under Brown when they face the San Francisco 49ers (5-7) on Sunday.

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams' development for the remainder of the season reportedly played a role in the Chicago Bears' decision to fire head coach Matt Eberflus last week.

According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, a team source said the Bears' decision-makers had to "factor in Williams' performance the rest of the season and whether staying with Eberflus would hinder his development as a franchise quarterback."

Eberflus' firing came on the heels of a 23-20 road loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, which marked Chicago's sixth consecutive loss following a 4-2 start.

After trailing 16-0 at halftime, the Bears staged a furious comeback and Williams went on to have one of his best games of the season against Detroit, going 20-of-39 for 256 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 39 yards.

However, the game ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Bears and their fans, as they grossly mismanaged the clock and failed to attempt a game-tying field goal.

Williams was sacked with just over 30 seconds remaining in the game, bringing the Bears to the edge of field goal range. Rather than calling their final timeout or quickly running a third-down play, Williams nonchalantly changed the play at the line, and by the time the ball was snapped, there was only time for one more play:

BEARS DIDN'T CALL A TIMEOUT 😳

(via @NFL)
pic.twitter.com/OpmDcsr0Zs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 28, 2024

The rookie signal-caller had to throw a deep prayer in hopes of a game-winning touchdown, but the ball fell harmlessly to the turf, and the Bears squandered a golden opportunity to take the one-loss Lions to overtime.

While Williams undoubtedly deserves some of the blame for not having a sense of urgency in that situation, he is still a rookie, and Eberflus didn't do enough to protect his young quarterback in that situation.

Losing in that manner could be a potential confidence killer for Williams, and the Bears couldn't afford for similar instances to arise over the final five games of the season.

Although the jury is still out on the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft amid a rollercoaster ride of a rookie season, there is reason to believe he is coming into his own as evidenced by his five touchdown passes and no picks over his past two games.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will serve as the Bears' interim head coach for the remainder of the season, which could be a positive for Williams given that his play has improved since Brown took the OC reins from Shane Waldron a few weeks ago.

If the Brown-Williams combo works out well down the stretch, it is possible Brown could put himself in position to land the full-time head coaching job in Chicago.

Conversely, Eberflus felt like a lame-duck coach regardless of how the rest of the season played out, and that type of environment may not have been conducive to Williams' success.

The Chicago Bears locker room reached a critical mass with head coach Matt Eberflus that necessitated his ouster, according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini.

On the newest episode of the Scoop City podcast, Russini cited a player who said they "have never been in a locker room like this" after Chicago's 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

She reported the reaction as "a buildup of anger and disappointment." The players also believed Eberflus consistently didn't take the blame for his own mistakes in the past, so "it felt disingenuous and insincere" when he tried being more accountable.

Russini's reporting echoes what she and colleague Adam Jahns detailed in their story shortly after the Bears fired Eberflus.

There was plenty of frustration with Chicago's puzzling clock management late in the Lions loss, as the offense managed to run just one play in the final 30 seconds despite having a timeout.

The Athletic report laid out how the support for Eberflus steadily eroded over time for a number of reasons beyond that.

The last-second defeat to the Washington Commanders in Week 8 may have been the point of no return, with one player telling Jahns and Russini it was "when [Eberflus] lost the defensive guys." They questioned why he didn't call a timeout to reset the defense prior to Jayden Daniels' Hail Mary pass to Noah Brown.

HAIL NOAH!!!!!!!!!!

📺 #CHIvsWAS CBS pic.twitter.com/nRr3sIF17K

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 27, 2024

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson was cited by Jahns and Russini as calling out Eberflus directly in the locker room after the Lions game. During an appearance Monday on 670 The Score, he effectively corroborated the reporting and alluded to how the general sentiment toward the coach had been building.

On with @SpiegsAndHolmes, Jaylon Johnson detailed his angry exchange with Matt Eberflus after the Bears' loss to the Lions.

"At some point, enough is enough," Johnson says.

"It's a business, and guys get fired all the time ... That's not on me."

Listen: https://t.co/miH3jZEG5E pic.twitter.com/z6lW3Gscae

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 2, 2024

The Bears are 4-8 and well off the pace for the final wild-card spot in the NFC. They probably waited too late to fire Eberflus if the ultimate goal was reviving their postseason hopes.

Still, it has become abundantly clear Chicago couldn't hold off on the change any longer. The atmosphere within the team grew toxic and wasn't going to improve over the final month.

Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren made some bold declarations on Monday following the firing of head coach Matt Eberflus.

Per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Warren said the Bears head coach opening "will be the most coveted job in the National Football League this year." He also made it clear that general manager Ryan Poles won't be fired after Eberflus' dismissal.

"Ryan Poles is the general manager of the Chicago Bears, and he will remain the general manager of the Chicago Bears," Warren said definitively, adding that Poles will be the point person in the team's search for a new head coach.

Interim head coach Thomas Brown also announced the promotions of Chris Beatty to offensive coordinator and Eric Washington to defensive play-caller. Richard Hightower will remain the special teams coach.

Regarding his belief that Chicago's vacancy will be the most desired opening of the upcoming offseason, Warren added: "Ryan and I need to work hand in hand to make sure we bring that to life, not just from a head coach standpoint but from an entire staff standpoint."

The Bears do have a solid foundation that should be attractive to most prospective coaching candidates. This year's No. 1 pick, Caleb Williams, has shown flashes of brilliance at various times throughout this season. Despite his moments of inconsistency, it's clear he can be a star with the right development.

Chicago also has a strong crop of skill players surrounding the quarterback with receivers D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen. The team's defense could use some improvements, but it ranks ninth in the NFL with an average of 20.0 points per game.

In addition to the Bears, the New York Jets and the New Orleans Saints will also be searching for a new head coach after the respective in-season firings of Robert Saleh and Dennis Allen. It can be expected that more positions will open up by the end of the year, so Chicago will have some competition in trying to reel in the top candidate to replace Eberflus.