Of the many questions asked of the Chicago Bears after they fired head coach Matt Eberflus following their Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions, one stood out above the rest: Why did they allow him to speak to the media on Friday morning?

The answer? Simple. They didn’t know they were firing him yet.

Apparently, when Eberflus took the podium at Halas Hall just after 9:00 a.m. EST, the Bears’ leadership brass had just started meeting to discuss the head coach’s future.

“My understanding is George McCaskey, Kevin Warren and Ryan Poles had just begun a meeting that lasted multiple hours when Eberflus’s regularly scheduled press conference started,” NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero explained in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “A delay would’ve pointed towards a change that at that point hadn’t been decided. By the time the decision was finalized, the presser was long over and Eberflus was informed.”

He continued: “Now the Bears’ brain trust has a five-week jumpstart on a search to fill what should be a coveted job.”

Eberflus’s Chicago team had started the 2024 season 4–2 before a last-second Jayden Daniels Hail Mary began a six-game losing streak. The cherry on top? Some disastrous clock management at the end of their Thanksgiving Day loss to the Lions on Thursday afternoon.

The Bears, at 4–8 heading into Week 14, will turn to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown to serve as their interim head coach for the remainder of the 2024 season.