The late-game clock mismanagement in a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving proved to be the final straw for Matt Eberflus as head coach of the Chicago Bears.

The Bears fired Eberflus on Friday, while promoting offensive coordinator Thomas Brown to the interim role. Brown will continue to call offensive plays in his new role, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero first reported the firing. He also revealed why the Bears still had Eberflus speak with the media a few hours before firing him:

Chicago has lost six straight games overall after starting the season 4-2. Each of the last three losses have come by a total of seven points and were decided on the final play of the game.

The Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 11 when Cairo Santos' game-winning field goal attempt was blocked. They lost 30-27 in overtime to the Minnesota Vikings after scoring 10 points in the final 22 seconds of regulation to tie the game.

Thursday's loss saw the Bears nearly overcome a 16-point deficit to the Lions. They got into field goal range in the final minute of the fourth quarter, but a Caleb Williams sack on second down with 33 seconds remaining pushed them right outside of Santos' range.

As the Bears tried to get lined up on third down to run a play that would allow them to pick up a few yards to make a kick easier, they wasted 27 seconds of game time despite having a timeout before snapping the ball.

It's also worth noting that this losing streak started on Oct. 27 with an 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders when Noah Brown caught a 52-yard Hail Mary from Jayden Daniels as time expired.

Brad Briggs of the Chicago Tribune reported on Nov. 6 that he was "led to believe" that Eberflus originally "signed a five-year deal that runs through the 2026 season," so he would've had two years remaining on his contract. He ends his tenure in Chicago with a 14-32 record and no playoff appearances.

The Bears had hired Eberflus following the 2021 season to replace Matt Nagy, who went 34-31 in four seasons with the team and made the playoffs twice. In Eberflus' first year at the helm, Chicago finished the 2022 campaign with a 3-14 record. The team lost a franchise-record 14 straight games between the end of 2022 and the beginning of the 2023 season.

However, the Bears showed a bit of promise toward the end of 2023 and finished the year with a 7-10 record. After selecting star quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Chicago had high hopes of turning things around this year.

Williams did not appear to develop as well as some of the other rookie quarterbacks in the 2024 draft class, though he has been better since Brown replaced Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator prior to Week 11.

All of that appears to have played into Friday's decision to part ways with Eberflus. Prior to coaching the Bears, he served as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts and was a member of coaching staffs with the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.

The Bears will now begin their search for the right person to lead Williams and the rest of the franchise into a new era. Chicago has a talented roster, so it will be hoping to land one of the top coaching candidates on the market this offseason.