Final Word: The Chicago Bears, Matt Eberflus and a founding franchise's breaking point

The pressure had to have been immense for the Chicago Bears. 

Pressure, defined as the continuous physical force exerted on an object, existed when the Bears lost to their division rival in heartbreaking fashion.

That's plenty of a burden for a team to bear, especially a Bears franchise that's starved to just win in the NFC North. The only problem was that heartbreaking loss to a division rival happened two weeks ago against Green Bay.

Then it happened again against the Vikings a week later.

Then, on Thursday, it happened for a third time as the Bears lost to the Lions.

The pressure proved to be too much. The Bears, after 104 years of existence, had finally reached their breaking point. After losing to Detroit on a botched sequence at the end of the game, the Bears reacted to that breaking point by firing head coach Matt Eberflus.

"This morning, after meeting with George and Kevin, we informed Matt of our decision to move in a different direction with the leadership of our football team and the head coaching position," Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles said in a written statement on Friday. "I thank Matt for his hard work, professionalism and dedication to our organization.:

That sequence against the Lions, which included the Bears pocketing a timeout as time continuously ticked away as the Bears had a chance to tie the game, was what it took for the Bears to fire a head coach during a football season for the first time.

That's a moment to remember, considering how much history the Bears harbor.

The Chicago Bears have been around for over a century. This team set so many standards across the board.

The Bears are a founding franchise. They marked a turning point in the public appreciation for professional football when they signed Harold "Red" Grange to a professional contract. The Chicago Bears' middle linebacker position is synonymous with shortstop for the Yankees among midwesterners. The team's best defenses have gone down in NFL history as the best to ever play. At one point, George Halas was the coaching standard for decades.

Yet, for all the franchise is known for, consistent winning is something that's eluded the Bears for years.

They know how to build success – see the 1985, 1987, 2006 and 2018 seasons – but only one Bears team has a Super Bowl to show for it.

This season was supposed to buck that trend.

The Bears pieced together a team that boasted young talent and veteran talent, a rising defense and a quarterback who could become the star the Bears have never had.

It never materialized. To make matters worse, the Bears kept finding different ways to lose.

Friday's decision was a sign the front office and ownership want to change that.

They've reached their breaking point. Now we know what it takes.

It took six consecutive losses and three grueling losses to NFC North opponents the Bears have spent years building their roster to beat. Even after a 4-2 start, the Bears could not take anymore. 

Poles made the change. They could have handled it much better; the Bears held a press conference with Matt Eberflus at 9 a.m. Friday, and fired him two hours later.

"We understand how imperative the head coaching role is for building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization," Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said in a statement. "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."

Now, Poles will be in charge of finding the next head coach of the Chicago Bears.

When he was hired in 2022, the Bears pieced together a coaching search and a general manager search at the same time. That led to Poles picking from a handful of pre-selected candidates as opposed to candidates he found through his own process.

Now, the process is his to conduct. 

"I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning," Warren said in a statement.

The Bears have continuously made decisions because of the pressure at hand.

In 2012, the Bears fired Lovie Smith after a 10-win season. There was pressure to fix the Bears' offense, and the franchise decided it was too much. There was pressure to move on from Marc Trestman and John Fox when the two coaches found no real semblance of success.

In 2021, the Bears fired Matt Nagy as he went from winning 12 games in Year 1 to just five in Year 4. But, the Bears bid those coaches adieu after season's end.

Eberflus' firing came because the franchise couldn't take anymore. Poles decided the Bears franchise needs to be in a new position. That position is one where the team makes moves it has never made before.

Now, the pressure is on Poles to find a head coach that leads the Bears to new heights, shapes Caleb Williams into a star and makes the Bears a contender in an ultra-competitive NFC North.

No big.