Matt Eberflus was classy in his first comments since being fired by the Bears.
“I would like to thank the McCaskey family and [GM] Ryan Poles for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Bears,” Eberflus said on Saturday in a statement. “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the players for all of their effort, dedication and resilience.
“In every situation — practice, games and especially in the face of adversity, you stayed together and gave great effort for your team and each other.”
Eberflus was fired on Friday, one day after the Bears embarrassingly botched an end-of-game drive against the Lions on Thanksgiving, instead losing 23-20.
It ends a disastrous two-plus season tenure in Chicago for Eberflus, who finished with a 14-32 record in charge.
“What I am most proud of was the way you carried yourself both on and off the field and represented the Bears organization with class in the community.
“To the fans, thank you for your support and passion. I will always have a deep appreciation for the Bears organization and the city of Chicago.”
Eberflus was in charge of two highly picked Bears quarterbacks with little success.
He took over a season after the Bears drafted Justin Fields No. 11 overall in 2021 but he did not develop as hoped.
The Bears selected Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick this past year, but he’s had an up-and-down rookie season.
Thursday’s loss was seemingly the final straw
“This morning, after meeting with [chairman] George [McCaskey] 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,” Poles said in a statement on Friday. “I thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to our organization.
“We extend our gratitude for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family the best moving forward.”
