Frustrating reason why Bears let Matt Eberflus speak with media before firing revealed

When the Chicago Bears lost on Thanksgiving in Detroit, there was reason to believe that less than 24 hours later, head coach Matt Eberflus would be fired. Losing to the now 11-1 Lions is far from a fireable offense, and Eberflus isn't the only reason why this season has spiraled under control for Chicago, but the game ending in the fashion it did is squarely on Eberflus' shoulders.

Bears fans got increasingly nervous that a move was not going to come at all, as the head coach spoke to the media on Friday morning. He seemed fully prepared to move forward toward Chicago's Week 14 game against the San Francisco 49ers. Bears fans were sure to be let down once again.

While it was looking bleak, the Bears finally ended up making the move that they should've made a while ago, firing Eberflus. Firing him after that loss made sense, obviously, but what took them so long? Why did Eberflus talk to the media just hours before getting fired? NFL Network's Tom Pelissero has the answer, and it's one that Bears fans won't want to hear.

Even with the right outcome, Bears had poor process in determining obvious Matt Eberflus decision

Eberflus wasn't fired prior to his media availability because, by the time he was scheduled to meet with the media, a decision hadn't been made. The Bears didn't want to create suspicion that Eberflus might be fired, so they wanted to have him meet with the media as scheduled, making it easier for them to keep him around if that's what they decided to do.

While it's good that the Bears came up with the right decision, the question of why it took so long really does have to be asked. This should've been a slam dunk, yet the Bears weren't sold even on Friday morning.

In parts of three seasons, Eberflus went 14-32 as Chicago's head coach. Sure, not all of that was his fault, but it's hard to justify any head coach with that record earning more rope. Plus, the Bears are currently 4-8 with a roster that many thought was good enough to make the playoffs.

Bears fans had been calling for Eberflus' firing really since the 2023 season ended. The noise revolving around Eberflus' job security rose after every loss, making it curious that he even lasted this long. The fact that the Bears considered keeping him around even after such an embarrassing loss on Thanksgiving is really hard to comprehend.

Again, the Bears coming out of that meeting with the right decision is good, but it's frustrating that Eberflus staying was even up for debate.