Matt Eberflus hot seat: Chicago Bears coach addresses job status after Thanksgiving debacle

It’s no secret that the seat under Chicago Bears (4-8) head coach Matt Eberflus is getting quite toasty following the 23-20 Thanksgiving Day road defeat to the Detroit Lions (11-1).

And on this day, Black Friday, you might have expected Eberflus to get third prize. But as of now, Eberflus is still employed. He remains confident that won’t change as Chicago soon turns its attention to preparing for the San Francisco 49ers (5-6) in Week 14.

“I’m confident I’ll be working into San Francisco and getting ready for that game,” Eberflus said Friday, via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

Eberflus added he has met with team president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles and expects to do so once again Friday. The Bears have never fired a head coach in-season in their 104-year history, though Eberflus could be testing the current regime after his questionable in-game management in the closing moments of the game against the Lions.

Bears, Matt Eberflus make time-management blunder to lose vs. Lions

Trailing by three points with 36 seconds remaining, quarterback Caleb Williams took an untimely sack on second-and-20 from the Lions’ 35-yard line. Eberflus had one timeout in his back pocket but decided against using it. Instead, the Bears let the clock wind down, not snapping the ball until there were six seconds left. A deep ball to receiver Rome Odunze fell incomplete and time ran out. The Bears dropped their sixth consecutive game.

Chicago is in the basement of the NFC North as their division counterparts in the Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers all have one foot in the postseason. Eberflus defended his handling of the final drive while speaking with the media after the game.

“I like what we did there,” Eberflus said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “Again, once it’s under seven [seconds], you’re going to call a timeout there — actually under 12 and then really you don’t have an option because it’s third to fourth, you have to throw it into the end zone then.

“To me it’s — I think we handled it the right way, I do believe that you just rerack the play, get it in bounds and call timeout, and that’s why we held it and didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”