Matt Eberflus releases first statement after Chicago Bears firing

For the first time since his firing, Matt Eberflus has spoken out. He released his first statement Saturday morning, one day after the Chicago Bears announced his departure.

Eberflus was in his third season with the Bears and had a 14-32 record following Thursday’s loss to the Detroit Lions. That appeared to be the final straw as the clock ran out on Chicago even with one timeout in its pocket.

Eberflus expressed his gratitude to the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles, who was hired at the same time. He also thanked the city of Chicago and the players over his two-plus years on the Lakefront.

A statement of gratitude and thanks from former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/H9dinooklY

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) November 30, 2024

“I would like to thank the McCaskey family and Ryan Poles for the opportunity to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears,” Eberflus wrote. “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. 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.”

The Bears made franchise history with the decision to move on from Eberflus on Friday. It marked the first time they ever parted ways with a coach during the season. The only other in-season change came in 1942 when George Halas commissioned into the Navy during World War II.

However, the decision didn’t come without a few questions. Eberflus held his regularly schedule press conference Saturday at 9 a.m. CT. Two hours later, news broke of his firing. It seemed like an odd process, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Poles, chairman George McCaskey and president Kevin Warren had just started a meeting at the time of the presser. No decision was made to move on from Eberflus at the time, which is why they let him speak.

“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,” Poles said in a statement announcing Eberflus’ firing. “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.”