Chicago Bears fire coach Matt Ebeflus one day after disastrous Thanksgiving Day game

The Chicago Bears fired coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, less than 24 hours after a series of mental errors occurred in the final 30 seconds of his team’s Thanksgiving Day loss at Detroit.

According to general manager Ryan Poles, Eberflus’ firing came after a meeting with Bears chairman George McCaskey and team president Kevin Warren.

“This morning, after meeting with George and Kevin, 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.

“I would like to thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and commitment to our organization. We thank him for his commitment to the Chicago Bears and wish him and his family all the best for the future.”

Chicago lost 23-20 to the Detroit Lions on Thursday in a game that ended in complete disarray.

The Bears had advanced into Lions territory and appeared to be able to score a field goal to tie the game.

But after a sack set Chicago back with 32 seconds left, the disorganized Bears let almost all of those precious seconds slip away. They made just one more play – a deep, fluttering pass that fell harmlessly incomplete as time expired.

The defeated Bears left the field with an unused timeout in their pocket that would have allowed Chicago to make multiple plays to potentially tie or win the game.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown was named interim head coach.