SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Ten days after Matt Eberflus was fired, the Chicago Bears didn't look like a team moving in an upward direction upon getting blown out 38-13 by the San Francisco 49ers.
Eberflus was the first head coach the Bears fired in season in the franchise's 105-year history when he was dismissed on Nov. 29, one day after Chicago's controversial loss in Detroit. He was replaced by Thomas Brown, who was promoted twice in the span of 17 days, first to offensive coordinator and then to interim head coach.
The Bears didn't receive the motivational bump that is sometimes the result of a mid-season coaching change, like when the New Orleans Saints won in Darren Rizzi's debut after firing Dennis Allen last month.