NFL Rumors: Caleb Williams' Final Rookie Games Among Reasons Bears Fired Eberflus

Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams' development for the remainder of the season reportedly played a role in the Chicago Bears' decision to fire head coach Matt Eberflus last week.

According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, a team source said the Bears' decision-makers had to "factor in Williams' performance the rest of the season and whether staying with Eberflus would hinder his development as a franchise quarterback."

Eberflus' firing came on the heels of a 23-20 road loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, which marked Chicago's sixth consecutive loss following a 4-2 start.

After trailing 16-0 at halftime, the Bears staged a furious comeback and Williams went on to have one of his best games of the season against Detroit, going 20-of-39 for 256 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 39 yards.

However, the game ended in heartbreaking fashion for the Bears and their fans, as they grossly mismanaged the clock and failed to attempt a game-tying field goal.

Williams was sacked with just over 30 seconds remaining in the game, bringing the Bears to the edge of field goal range. Rather than calling their final timeout or quickly running a third-down play, Williams nonchalantly changed the play at the line, and by the time the ball was snapped, there was only time for one more play:

The rookie signal-caller had to throw a deep prayer in hopes of a game-winning touchdown, but the ball fell harmlessly to the turf, and the Bears squandered a golden opportunity to take the one-loss Lions to overtime.

While Williams undoubtedly deserves some of the blame for not having a sense of urgency in that situation, he is still a rookie, and Eberflus didn't do enough to protect his young quarterback in that situation.

Losing in that manner could be a potential confidence killer for Williams, and the Bears couldn't afford for similar instances to arise over the final five games of the season.

Although the jury is still out on the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft amid a rollercoaster ride of a rookie season, there is reason to believe he is coming into his own as evidenced by his five touchdown passes and no picks over his past two games.

Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will serve as the Bears' interim head coach for the remainder of the season, which could be a positive for Williams given that his play has improved since Brown took the OC reins from Shane Waldron a few weeks ago.

If the Brown-Williams combo works out well down the stretch, it is possible Brown could put himself in position to land the full-time head coaching job in Chicago.

Conversely, Eberflus felt like a lame-duck coach regardless of how the rest of the season played out, and that type of environment may not have been conducive to Williams' success.