Former ESPN college football and NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho called the manner of his ex-employer’s firing of Ryan Clark “wild.”

Clark, a longtime ESPN NFL analyst, learned he was getting fired during Monday’s edition of “NFL Live.”

“Firing a man during his show that he’s helped bring an Emmy award is wild!” Acho said on X.

“Wild. Why did they say they did it? Because they didn’t want him to find out on social media. So you fire him during a show and pull him during the last 10 minutes of a segment?”

ESPN did not plan to fire Clark on air, according to Awful Announcing, but once his departure began being posted elsewhere, they decided to call him while the show was airing so he’d hear from them.

Clark did not finish the show.

Acho recalled a time when he was fired, saying he found out through social media because the executives were “cowards,” but that the Clark situation was not how you should handle a firing either.

He added that former athletes — both Acho and Clark played in the NFL — can take hard news because they go through it during their playing career with cuts and injuries.

Clark was supposed to be notified Tuesday, along with a few others, in a round of ESPN playoffs.

Acho, the host of “Speakeasy” on YouTube, said Clark is “objectively” a good analyst and that he earned “NFL Live” to Emmy Awards they would not have gotten without him.

A report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand on Monday said Clark’s relationship with ESPN “soured” after an on-air exchange between Clark and Peter Schrager last Sept. 5 during ESPN’s “Get Up” show.

While talking about Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb, Clark argued against Schrager by saying his take was the “non-player in you.”

“Oh, stop!” Schrager replied. “Don’t belittle me like that. I can come and say, as three ex-players are saying one thing, and give an alternative perspective that maybe CeeDee Lamb did play well.”

Clark later apologized.

Acho also recommended anyone getting into sports television start their own show so they can’t be fired.

“Once you get good, you will become so good that you become too expensive to afford,” Acho said.

“And networks can only afford so much great talent. [Pat McAfee], Stephen A. Smith, to some degree [Mike Greenberg]. They’re getting the big money for doing daily shows on ESPN.”

Acho started “Speakeasy” in 2025 with co-host LeSean McCoy as a late-night sports and culture podcast.