Bears fans rejoice after firing head coach Matt Eberflus: ‘It’s long overdue’

Chicago Bears fans rejoiced after head coach Matt Eberflus was fired Friday morning.

“I’m a happy MF right now,” said Christopher Bartolini, 57. “I hope it’s a new beginning.”

“I hope someone has woken up and is ready to make changes,” Bartolini said. “It’s a great message to send. They finally pulled the trigger.

Eberflus’ firing came a day after a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field in which the coach failed to call a timeout as the clock expired and the Bears had the ball.

Longtime Bears fans and brothers Kellan and Luke Stanner found the news surprising but “long overdue.”

“We lost an entire season, but now we have an opportunity to turn the page,” said Luke Stanner, 24.

Kellan Stanner, 26, said “the decision should have been made weeks ago”. He agreed with his brother, saying management has an opportunity to focus its energy on finding a durable replacement who would stay on the job for more than a few seasons.

The brothers, who grew up in suburban LaGrange and now live in New York, said they are hoping for more wins next season.

Luke Stanner said Eberflus “just wasn’t right” for Chicago. “I hope he finds a good job elsewhere.”

This is the first time an NFL team has fired a head coach mid-season. Longtime fan Rob Raczyk sees hope in what he described as a “non-bear-like movement.”

“They did something different, and I’m going to take that as a positive,” said Raczyk, a 57-year-old Northwest Side resident. “The fans deserve better and the players deserve better.”

James Gallagher, 27, of Oak Lawn, said Eberflus, who was hired in 2022, was not ready to become head coach and needed to be replaced by someone who would be “in charge and in control total “.

Forest Park resident RK Brown, 60, said Eberflus is “a defensive coach, not an offensive coach – therefore not a head coach.”

Some fans said poor leadership put players in danger.

“We have a young team with a lot of talent,” Luke Stanner said. “As players they did everything right, but they had no support from the coaches.”

Jonathan Avila, an Elgin resident, said Eberflus should have been fired before rookie starting quarterback Caleb Williams was recruited. The Bears should not make “another experimental hire.”

“Once the Bears knew they were planning to draft Caleb, it made sense to pair him with a new coach,” Avila, 28, said. “I hope they can finally find a proven coach. The team is ready to win now.

Brighton Park resident Elias Ballesteros, 29, said Eberflus had “failed” with Williams this season.

“Eberflus had so many opportunities to turn things around,” he said. “The last two games have become memes. He doesn’t know how to create a winning culture for the team.

Fans agreed that this season’s losses are disappointing, but they are looking forward to next year.

“We need a coach who is a winner, someone who has the experience of winning,” said Andres Garcia, 29, a Pilsen resident.

“We can’t do anything for this season now. The team isn’t going anywhere. We just have to worry about next season.