The Bears announced Friday that Matt Eberflus has been relieved of his duties as head coach. Thomas Brown has been named interim head coach.

“This morning, after meeting with (Chairman) George (H. McCaskey) and (President and CEO) Kevin (Warren), we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position,” said Bears general manager Ryan Poles. “I thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to our organization. We express our gratitude for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family the best for the future.”

“I support Ryan and the decision made this morning. We understand how imperative the role of head coach is to building and maintaining a championship-caliber team leading our players and our organization,” Warren said. “Our fans have supported and persevered through every challenge, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future.”

Brown has led the Bears’ offense over the past three weeks, a unit that has totaled a league-high 22 third-down conversions and scored 46 second-half points, the third-most in the NFL since Week 11. Brown previously spent three seasons on the staff of the Los Angeles Rams (2020-2022), where he served as assistant head coach for the last two seasons. In his first season as assistant head coach/running backs (2021), Brown helped lead a Rams unit that collected an NFC West Division title and capped the season with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.

Brown joined the Bears as offensive play coordinator in 2024, one season removed from serving as offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers (2023), where the 14-year coaching veteran contributed to offensive play-calling efforts. Brown spent the first nine seasons of his coaching stint at the collegiate level, including three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.), where he led the Hurricanes offense from 2016 to 2018.

The Decatur, Georgia, native played collegiately at Georgia, where he finished his career as the fifth-leading rusher in program history, with 2,646 career rushing yards, along with 26 total touchdowns.