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Matt Eberflus trudges right along, preparing for the next game. But Chicago Bears players like Keenan Allen seem to think leadership is the issue. After an inexcusable debacle at the end of the game against the Lions, Stephen A. Smith sounded off on Eberflus.
The Bears had the ball in Lions territory in the final minute with a possible chance for a game-tying field goal, but they blew the opportunity. With the ball at the Lions’ 41-yard line and over 30 seconds left, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took a sack. The Bears had a timeout remaining, but Williams and the Bears used all of the remaining time as he chucked an incomplete pass as time expired. The Bears carried the timeout back home to Chicago, where it could be used as evidence in the firing of Eberflus.
That’s basically what Smith said in a tirade against Eberflus, according to a post on X by First Take.
“That head coach is no head coach,” Smith said. “You gotta get rid of him.”
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus hanging by a thread?
There’s no doubt Eberflus’ job is in jeopardy. And this most recent mental meltdown is the kind of thing that could keep Eberflus from ever being a head coach again in the NFL.
Smith said he would not have waited even a day to send Eberflus packing.
“As far as I’m concerned, that man, Eberflus, should have been fired the minute they landed back in Chicago,” Smith said. “If it were me, he might have been fired at Ford Field. He would have took a commercial flight home. It’s just that egregious, just that bad. To have 30 seconds left. You have a timeout available to you, (and) you don’t call a timeout. You don’t spike the ball, (and) you don’t provide any kind of instructions whatsoever. This is just the latest and the most egregious in a littany of errors involving this man.”
Bears' impressive comeback falls short
Chicago trailed 16-0 at halftime and 23-7 after three quarters. But Williams rallied the Bears. He connected with Allen for a touchdown with 5:36 left in the game to pull the Bears within three points.
Williams drove the Bears from their one 1-yard line to the Lions’ 25 with 43 seconds remaining. A penalty pushed them back to the 35, and then Williams took the sack before the debacle ensued.
Smith also took issue with the comments made by Eberflus in the postgame setting.
“And then to have the postgame conference where he’s talking about he didn’t think he did the wrong thing,” Smith said. “He just seemed detached from reality.”
Also, Smith talked about the Bears’ history-making losing streak.
“The Bears are the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose six straight games despite not throwing a single interception,” Smith said. “It’s really, really bad. It is time just to get that negative effect out of the locker room. The players don’t respect their head coach. They know he’s ill-equipped for the job.”
