The Bears announced Friday that Matt Eberflus has been relieved of his duties as head coach. Thomas Brown has been elevated to interim head coach.
“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,” said Bears general manager Ryan Poles. “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.”
“I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning. We understand how imperative the head-coaching role is for building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization,” said Warren. “Our fans have stood by us and persevered through every challenge, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future.”
Brown has led the Bears offense for each of the last three weeks, a unit that has totaled a league-high 22 third-down conversions and has scored 46 second-half points, third most in the NFL, since Week 11. Brown previously spent three seasons on the staff of the Los Angeles Rams (2020-22), serving in the role of assistant head coach over his final two seasons. In his first season as assistant head coach/running backs (2021), Brown helped lead a Rams unit that collected an NFC West Division title and ended the season with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI.
Brown joined the Bears in 2024 as offensive passing game coordinator, one season removed from serving as offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers (2023), where the 14-year coaching veteran contributed to offensive play-calling efforts. Brown spent the first nine seasons of his coaching tenure at the collegiate level, which included three seasons as offensive coordinator at Miami (Fla.), leading the Hurricanes offense from 2016-18.
The Decatur, Ga., native played collegiately at Georgia, where he finished his career as the fifth-leading rusher in program history, totaling 2,646 career rushing yards, along with 26 total touchdowns.
