Bears' Eberflus takes responsibility after firing second offensive coordinator in 10 months

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Matt Eberflus insisted he takes responsibility for the Chicago Bears' failures on offense.

He also realizes he's on his third play-caller in 2 1/2 seasons as coach after firing an offensive coordinator for the second time in 10 months. He let Shane Waldron go this week and promoted passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, hoping he can solve the problems and get the most out of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

“I take full accountability for that,” Eberflus said Wednesday, a day after the Bears announced the change. “I take full responsibility for that, and it’s got to get better. It’s gotta get better. The details of creativity have to improve and it’s got to improve this week.”

Waldron lasted just nine games after he was hired in January to replace the fired Luke Getsy. Brown takes over an offense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL.

The Bears are averaging fewer yards per game than only two teams. New England is one of them, and the Patriots beat Chicago 19-3 at Soldier Field on Sunday.

“I’m not really looking into quick fixes," Brown said. "I want long-term solutions to kind of get us going in the right direction. The goal again is to have success and have success immediately. I’m not doing anything to be a loser or have a loser’s mentality. My players don’t either.”

Williams was looking forward to seeing how the offense performs with Brown calling the plays.

“I think we’ll do a good job of marrying everything up together, making everything look the same,” Williams said. “And then from there, you’ll get a few easier passes, a few extra layups. I think it’ll help us in the run game. I think it’ll help us in the pass game being able to do that. And then, I think from there it provides a little bit more explosiveness for us as an offense.”

The Bears have gone without a touchdown in back-to-back games for the first time since 2004. It’s been 23 consecutive possessions without a TD since they scored in the final minute at Washington in Week 8, when they lost on a Hail Mary pass by Jayden Daniels.

The offense has two touchdowns in 34 drives in the three games since Chicago’s bye. The Bears won three in a row prior to their off week, and Williams and the offense looked as if they were finding their rhythm, even if they were doing it against struggling teams.

Players expressed frustration about the offense to Eberflus. But he insisted they didn't call for any firings.

“I don’t think anybody really asked for (Waldron) to be gone,” receiver DJ Moore said. “We expressed our frustration, but never to have somebody’s livelihood taken away. I mean, it’s hard, but on to Thomas, and we got his back.”

Brown was hired as Chicago's passing game coordinator after interviewing for the job that went to Waldron. He's now in a familiar spot, taking over play-calling duties during the season and doing it with a No. 1 overall pick at quarterback.

Carolina's offensive coordinator last season, Brown took over play-calling duties from coach Frank Reich, who eventually took them back before he was fired with the Panthers at 1-10 and quarterback Bryce Young struggling.

Brown is now working with Williams, who seemed to be progressing before taking steps back during this skid. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner was sacked nine times against New England and acknowledged he's been holding onto the ball too long at times.

“I took a few sacks that I shouldn’t have," Williams said. "I think that getting back to getting the ball out of my hands, being decisive is really important. That needs to start now.”

As for the decision to fire Waldron?

“I don’t get to choose the decisions, nor do I get to choose whether the decision is good, bad or indifferent," he said. "My job is to listen and from there go do my job.”

Notes: The Bears released veteran G Nate Davis even though they are banged up on the line, after signing him to a three-year, $30 million contract prior to last season. Davis reported back tightness on Sunday morning and was sent home prior to the game. He started 13 of the 16 games he played in for Chicago. He dealt with a lingering groin injury during training camp that popped up again after he started the first two games, and then fell on the depth chart.

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looks down as he listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown reacts as he listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown smiles as he listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus speaks during an NFL football news conference at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus listens to reporters during an NFL football news conference at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill., Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan for Ukraine.

At a high-stakes EU summit in Brussels, the 27-nation bloc’s leaders are set to decide on whether to use tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to underwrite a loan to meet Ukraine’s military and financial needs over the next two years.

The bulk of the assets — some 193 billion euros ($227 billion) as of September — are held in the Brussels-based financial clearing house Euroclear. Russia’s Central Bank sued Euroclear last week.

“Give me a parachute and we’ll all jump together,” Prime Minister Bart De Wever told members of the Belgian parliament just before the summit began. “If we have confidence in the parachute that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Belgium fears that Russia will strike back and would prefer that the bloc borrow the money on international markets. It wants frozen assets held in other European countries to be thrown into the pot as well, and for its partners to guarantee that Euroclear will have the funds it needs should it come under legal attack.

European officials say Russia is waging a campaign of sabotage and disruption across the continent. The Central Bank lawsuit ramped up pressure on Belgium and its European partners ahead of the summit.

The “reparations loan” plan would see the EU give 90 billion euros ($106 billion) to Ukraine. Countries like the U.K., Canada and Norway would make up any shortfall.

Russia's claim to the assets would still stand, but the assets would remain locked away at least until the Kremlin ends its war on Ukraine and pays for the massive damage it's caused.

In mapping out the loan plan, the European Commission set up safeguards to protect Belgium, but De Wever remains unconvinced.

“I have not yet seen a text that could satisfactorily address Belgium’s concerns," he said. "I hope to see one today.”

De Wever insisted that Belgium remains “a faithful ally” of Ukraine and wants to continue to help.

Whatever method they use, the leaders have pledged to meet most of Ukraine's needs in 2026 and 2027. The International Monetary Fund estimates that would amount to 137 billion euros ($160 billion). The war-ravaged country is at risk of bankruptcy and needs the money by spring.

“We have to find a solution today," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. EU Council President António Costa, who is chairing the meeting, has vowed to keep leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “Now we have a simple choice. Either money today or blood tomorrow." He insisted that "all European leaders have to rise to the occasion.”

EU envoys have worked around the clock in recent weeks to flesh out the details and narrow differences among the 27 member countries. If enough countries object, the plan could be blocked. There is no majority support for a plan B of raising the funds on international markets.

“At this stage, it depends on political will,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Whatsapp chat with reporters while flying to Brussels. “I very much hope that we can obtain a positive decision. Without it, Ukraine will face a major problem.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he hopes Belgium's concerns can be addressed.

"The reactions of the Russian president in recent hours show how necessary this is. In my view, this is indeed the only option. We are basically faced with the choice of using European debt or Russian assets for Ukraine, and my opinion is clear: we must use the Russian assets.”

Hungary and Slovakia oppose von der Leyen’s plan for a reparations loan. Apart from Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Malta are also undecided.

“I would not like a European Union in war," said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who sees himself as a peacemaker. He’s also Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe. “To give money means war.”

Orbán described the loan plan as “a dead end,” and said that “the whole idea is a stupid one.”

The outcome of the summit has significant ramifications for Europe's place in negotiations to end the war. The United States wants assurances that the Europeans are intent on supporting Ukraine financially and backing it militarily, even as the talks drag on with few results so far.

The loan plan in particular also poses important challenges to the way the bloc goes about its business. Should a two-thirds majority of EU leaders decide to impose the scheme on Belgium, which has most to lose, the impact on decision-making in Europe would be profound.

Finding voting majorities and avoiding vetoes in the future could become infinitely more complex if one of the EU's founding members is forced to weather an attack on its interests by its very own partners.

De Wever too must weigh whether the cost of holding out against a majority is worth the hit his government's credibility would take in Europe.

Whatever is decided, the process does not end at this summit. Legal experts would have to convert any political deal into a workable agreement, and some national parliaments may have to weigh in before the loan money could start flowing to Ukraine.

Associated Press Writers Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin and Illia Novikov in Kyiv contributed to this report.

From left, Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, European Council President Antonio Costa, French President Emmanuel Macron and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban during a round table meeting at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

European Council President Antonio Costa, center right, speaks with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, center left, during a round table meeting at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever, center, speaks with from left, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Netherland's Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a round table meeting at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks with the media as he arrives for the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, arrives for the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center, is greeted as she arrives for a round table meeting on migration at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, attend a round table meeting on migration at the EU Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - A view of the headquarters of Euroclear in Brussels, on Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)