Matt Eberflus Confident He Will Coach the Bears in Next Game vs. 49ers

Bears head coach Eberflus talks to quarterback Williams on the sidelines during the second half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. / David Reginek-Imagn Images

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus had time to digest the utter disaster in the final moments of his team’s 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

After Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked at the Lions’ 41-yard line with 36 seconds remaining—which pushed the Bears just outside of their likely field goal range—Eberflus didn’t call the one timeout he had in his pocket. As the Bears tried to reset as the clock dwindled, Williams snapped the ball with seven seconds left and threw a deep ball which fell incomplete and ended the game while Chicago had the one timeout remaining.

Eberflus spoke to the media Friday morning during his day-after press conference where he was asked about his job status following the debacle. He mentioned he’s looking ahead to Chicago’s next game against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 8 and continuing in a business as usual mindset.

“I’m confident I’ll be working to San Francisco and coaching that game,” Eberflus told reporters Friday via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Greg Braggs Jr. of CHGO Sports.

Matt Eberflus said he is on to working on the San Francisco game. When pressed twice on whether he expects to be coaching that game next week, Eberflus said that the“operation has been normal” in regards to his future as the Bears head coach.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) November 29, 2024Eberflus said that he met with Bears president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles after the game Thursday for their normal postgame debrief and plans to meet with the two again Friday afternoon. The heartbreaking loss against Detroit dropped Chicago to 4-8 on the season.

For now, Eberflus is still the Bears’ coach and he plans to operate as normal until he’s told otherwise.

Published Nov 29, 2024|Modified 10:06 AM EST

BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a breaking/trending news writer at Sports Illustrated. Blake has covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball since 2021 for numerous sites including Winsidr, SB Nation’s Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master’s degree in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he’s probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.