CHICAGO – The Bears fired coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, one day after a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions that ended with the Bears falling victim to clock mismanagement.

Eberflus held a press conference via Zoom on Friday morning and he said he was “confident” he would be coaching the Bears against the San Francisco 49ers on December 8, but hours later he was fired, sources told ESPN interim offensive coordinator Thomas Brown would take over on an interim basis.

Eberflus’ tenure ended amid a six-match losing streak with a string of last-second losses including:

• An 18-15 road loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 8 that culminated in a tipped 52-yard Hail Mary pass. In an embarrassing twist, Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson stood with his back to the receivers as he ran onto the field while taunting fans on the final play before rushing for coverage.

• A 20-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, featuring a blocked 46-yard field goal that would have lifted the Bears to victory. It was Cairo Santos’ league-leading third blocked field goal attempt of the season, and it came after the Bears decided not to take any additional action in an attempt to make it a shorter attempt.

• A 30-27 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 12 that canceled out a furious fourth-quarter rally.

• Sunday’s loss, which ended when the Bears had the ball at the Lions’ 41 with 32 seconds left. Instead of calling his final timeout, Eberflus watched as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams threw a long pass out of reach of Rome Odunze as time expired.

The losing streak coincided with a dramatic improvement from Williams, who has thrown 232 passes without an interception, the longest streak for a rookie in NFL history. He’s thrown five touchdowns without a pick in the last two weeks and the next coach will be tasked with continuing the development of this year’s No. 1 draft pick.

Eberflus defended his clock management on Sunday. When Williams was sacked with 32 seconds left and the Bears trailed by three points, 26 seconds ticked off the clock before the Bears played their final play.

Realizing that Chicago wouldn’t have time to make another play after the ball was snapped with six seconds left, Williams changed the play and threw the deep ball toward Odunze.

Eberflus said he tried to hold on last timeout to set up a potential tying field goal on a final play.

“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said. “Again, once it’s under seven (seconds), you’re going to call a timeout there — basically under twelve and then you basically have no option left because it’s from third (down) to fourth, you then have to throw it in the end zone.

“For me it’s – I think we handled it the right way, I really believe you just have to replay the play, keep it contained and call a timeout, and that’s why we held it and it didn’t work out the way we wanted.”

Chicago has lost six one-score games in 2024, bringing Eberflus’ career record in one-score games to 5-19. That’s the worst record of any coach with at least 20 such games in NFL history.

Eberflus posted a 14-32 record in nearly three seasons after being hired on Jan. 27, 2022, two days after general manager Ryan Poles was hired. Eberflus’ winning percentage of .304 in 46 games is the third-worst in franchise history, behind John Fox (.292) and Abe Gibron (.274). He is the first head coach in team history to be fired during the season.

At the start of the 2024 offseason, the Bears opted to retain Eberflus despite going 10-24 in his first two seasons. The Poles, who made the decision, did so because of the “leadership” and “stability” of the coach.

“I really think the head coach should be able to captain the ship when the seas are stormy or when the seas are stormy and really keep everything in order,” Poles said in January. “When you’re going through tough times and he can keep everyone together, that’s the crucial piece for me.”

There were many storms to be endured, especially among the technical staff. Eberflus fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron prior to Week 11 and replaced him with Thomas Brown. Waldron was the second offensive coordinator Eberflus fired in the same year after Luke Getsy and four offensive coaches were let go in January.

In two seasons, Eberflus fired eight coaches.

Eberflus, 54, was hired by the Bears after four seasons as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts, where his defense finished in the top 10 in scoring three times, including a tie for ninth in 2021 with 21.5 points per game. Before his arrival, he took over a team that went 6-11 in 2021. Chicago has missed the postseason in twelve of the past fourteen seasons.

After taking over the Bears’ defensive playcalling duties in the 2023 season due to the abrupt resignation of former defensive coordinator Alan Williams, Eberflus’ unit became one of the best in the NFL during last season’s 7-10 finish at Chicago . The Bears had the NFL’s No. 1 defense and ranked 12th in total yards. Chicago finished tied for first with the San Francisco 49ers with 22 interceptions.

But since Chicago’s losing streak began in Week 8, the Bears’ defense has taken a significant step back. The unit ranks 30th in yards allowed per rush (5.1) and rushing yards allowed per game (158.2), 31st in yards allowed per game (397.0), 30th in explosiveness allowed plays per game (8.3) and 26th in Total Opponent QBR