Ryan Clark insisted the Chicago Bears should move on from head coach Matt Eberflus following his error late in the loss to the Detroit Lions. A few hours later, he was officially let go.

On Thursday, the Lions secured their first win on Thanksgiving Day since 2016 as the NFC North leaders held on to win 23-20 against their division rivals. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams delivered a near-flawless performance despite early struggles by throwing for 256 yards and three touchdowns, but it was all for naught – and blame lies at the feet of Eberflus.

Following a paltry showing through the first two quarters, the Bears offense fought back in the second half. Williams impressively found Keenan Allen with two touchdown passes either side of an elegantly thrown score to DJ Moore, and the Bears had possession on what could have been a game-winning drive.

On the final drive of the game, the Bears moved into field goal range before Williams was sacked and, despite having a timeout in their pocket, Chicago head coach Eberflus decided not to call it. Williams changed the play up and took a while to snap the ball, wasting precious seconds. The rookie eventually started the play with four seconds remaining, lofting a hopeful game-winning touchdown pass to Rome Odunze that fell incomplete.

As a result, the Bears fumbled a potentially game-tying field goal opportunity – and sparked ridicule across the NFL world. Clark fumed at the lack of preparation the Bears displayed and insisted the failure to call a timeout was a “fireable” offense.

“I don’t use malpractice – I use fireable finish because that’s what it is,” Clark said on ESPN’s ‘Get Up’. “To me, he has absolutely sealed the deal – if you’re making decisions and you’re the Chicago Bears – on whether or not he should continue being the head coach of this team going forward. When you look at the end of that game, I want to think about something that Keenan Allen said: ‘We did enough as players’.

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Caleb Williams was forced to change the play at the line of scrimmage as time ticked away

Caleb Williams was forced to change the play at the line of scrimmage as time ticked away ( 

Image:

Getty Images)

“That’s one of your star players, a veteran in this league, a guy who’s been a Pro Bowler multiple times saying, ‘as players, we executed or did what we were told to do’. And now you get into that moment, and you hear Matt Eberflus say, at first, under seven seconds, and then he goes after 12 seconds. Well, Matt, it got under 12 seconds so even by your own admission and the bull c*** that you are spewing post-game, you are wrong because it got down to nine seconds before you snap the football. There’s no urgency on this team. There’s no preparation on this team – no way that they understand what’s happening in the moment.

“You should have drilled this over and over and over again on Fridays in the two-minute drill. You should have drilled this over and over and over again in the mock game on Saturday. They weren’t prepared for this moment, and you could tell it was an organizational failure from Matt Eberflus on down. And to me, if you have an opportunity to take stock in this week, you move forward even if you don’t have someone that’s been a head coach on this team.”

Those watching on were also furious with Eberflus’ error, and social media erupted with calls for the 54-year-old to be fired. NFL icon JJ Watt tweeted: “Man, I feel for you Bears fans. That was just brutal. It was literal coaching malpractice.”

NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho added: “You only get 17 NFL-guarantee games a year. Players practice, lift weights, abandon their family on national holidays, and yet you undermine ALL OF THAT work because you can’t figure out how to work a clock. A freaking clock. I’m livid.”

Eberflus ultimately explained his decision, saying the team was in field goal range and wanted more yardage before calling a final timeout. He told reporters: “Disappointing for the players. They put a lot of work in in a short week and put themselves in position to win that game.”

It is unclear if Eberflus will be in charge when the 4-8 Bears take on the San Francisco 49ers in their next game on Sunday, Dec. 8.

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