ESPN’s trio of Louis Riddick, Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Clark called it.
All three said Bears head coach Eberflus should be fired after Chicago butchered its time management in a 23-20 road loss to the Lions on Thanksgiving and then hearing him say he liked how his team handled the final seconds.
The Bears ultimately fired Eberflus on Friday morning.
“You don’t deserve the be in the role of the Head Coach saying crap like this. Embarrassing,” Riddick wrote on X, including Eberflus’ postgame comments.
Trailing by three with a chance to tie the game in the final minute Thursday, the Bears ran the clock from 32 seconds down to six seconds with one timeout left while at the Lions’ 41-yard line before quarterback Caleb Williams fired an incomplete pass to wideout Rome Odunze as time expired.
After Chicago’s sixth straight loss, Eberflus said, “I like what we did there” and didn’t take accountability for leaving his quarterback in limbo with no huddle.
“I think we handled it the right way. .. It didn’t work out the way we wanted to,” Eberflus added.
During Friday’s installment of “First Take” prior to Eberflus’ dismissal, Smith said the Bears should’ve fired the embattled coach when the team touched down in Chicago.
ESPN personality Ryan Clark called it a “fireable finish” for Eberflus during “Get Up” on Friday.
“To me, [Eberflus] has absolutely sealed the deal … on whether or not he should continue being the head coach of this team going forward,” Clark said.
The Bears’ chances of an upset went away after Williams was sacked with roughly 32 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter at Ford Field.
Instead of calling a timeout for a quick play call with a 59-yard field goal looming, the Bears let the clock run out, with Williams looking panicked before throwing a deep, incomplete pass to end the game.
“In that situation, I’m living with the call and letting coaches make that decision,” Williams said in his post-game press conference. “Maybe in the later years of my career [he may call a timeout himself], right now I get the call and I’m trying to lead my team to a win.”
The Bears actually let Eberflus conduct a press conference Friday before his exit and he said he met with Bears president Kevin Warren and GM Ryan Poles after Thursday’s game for their normal postgame debrief and would meet with them again Friday afternoon.
Eberflus said he was focused on the Bears’ next game against San Francisco.
He was then asked twice about whether he expects to be coaching that game, according to ESPN.
Eberflus responded with, “operation has been normal” in regards to his future with the Bears.
Eberflus finished 14-32 as the Bears’ head coach.
Chicago will take on the 49ers (5-6) in San Francisco on Dec. 8 with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown serving as the interim head coach.
