Top candidates for the Bears head coaching job

The Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, the morning after another disastrous end-of-game scenario. Eberflus’ tenure will be unique in that the Bears seemed so close to knocking off quality opponents had it not been for moments — Hail Marys, missed timeouts, strange alignments, clueless quarterbacks, blocked kicks — that once would have been unforgettable. For some franchises, these are blips in life. Instead, those moments had become the Bears’ defining narrative between 2022 and Thanksgiving 2024. A weekly roller coaster ride turned into a haunted house.

Instead of going through these examples again, let’s now look ahead. Thomas Brown is the team’s interim head coach. Brown, a former lieutenant under Sean McVay, sparked something with Caleb Williams after offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired a few weeks ago. We’ve written about Brown as named prospective head coach two years agobefore becoming the offensive coordinator of an ill-fated team that Frank Reich assembled in Carolina to coach Bryce Young. Brown is the son of a minister and, according to those who know him well, a dynamic speaker who can command a room. He has interviewed for head coaching positions in the past and received positive marks on those occasions.

Given that we liked Brown two years ago, I certainly don’t rule out him taking control of the situation and entering the conversation. The Bears’ current power structure consists of many coaches they care about, including highly regarded special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. I assume the move to promote Brown was made deliberately to give him a chance to lead the organization in the team’s final five games.

I don’t think the Bears would have made this move if they weren’t at least curious. Again, Hightower would have been the obvious choice as it would have kept both sides of the ball somewhat stable. Brown is now being pulled out of the offensive meeting room, which, as we saw with New York Jets interim Jeff Ulbrich, complicates his ability to focus on a unit that showed promise. The potential benefit of knocking out a room is worth exploring.

If it’s not Brown? Here are some options. After filling out the 2024-25 version of my annual list of future head coaches, these would be my recommendations, ranging from the obvious to some more wild options. If you would like to take a look at the entire list, including my top 27 names that I predict will be interviewing this cycle, please contact us Click here.

On to my short list:

The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is admittedly picky and given his affinity for Dan Campbell, I wonder if he would accept a job in the NFC North. However, to summarize the thoughts of an industry source I spoke to on Friday morning: Johnson could end up waiting forever for this supposed dream job. The Bears check a lot of boxes on every list: a franchise that is relatively patient (Eberflus had more than two years and Matt Nagy four seasons before that), has a quarterback of the future and some experienced playmakers who can lead to immediate success. If Eberflus’ tenure has taught us anything, it’s that this team isn’t far away.

Other than Johnson, Flores was the most dominant coordinator this season, building the Vikings defense from the ground up as the team let go of high-priced veterans. Flores replaced key players with unknown names like Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman. Unlike other Bill Belichick protégés, Flores was able to emulate the legendary head coach’s true secret sauce: an amoeba defense built on trust; A group of players have learned well enough to think and act independently. According to those familiar with DC, he learned a lot from his previous stint as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, and given that he coached under very unique circumstances, his tenure is worth looking back and revisiting. Paired with a strong offensive coordinator, Flores will be a top candidate on the market. Mike Tomlin, who trained with Flores in Pittsburgh a year after Flores left the Dolphins, told me: “I feel the same way about him as I did about Raheem Morris when I talked to people about (Morris’) candidacy. I thought Raheem was the best coaching candidate in the world without a head coaching job and I feel the same way about Flo this cycle.”

In January 2023, Kliff Kingsbury interviewed for the Bears’ offensive coordinator position, although that meeting certainly could have served a dual purpose since Kingsbury worked closely with Caleb Williams at USC and the Bears wanted to draft the No. 1 quarterback. Williams will be at the center of this decision and Kingsbury has one of the strongest relationships with the quarterback in this carousel. While his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals yielded just one playoff appearance and no wins, he managed to earn a second contract and fielded a talented staff, including Vance Joseph as defensive coordinator. Staffers who worked with Kingsbury in Arizona found him lenient when it came to changing his NFL air-raid tendencies and pairing them with a McVay-style Rams offense.

Kingsbury was instrumental behind the scenes in preparing Jayden Daniels for the big stage. Daniels’ performance has declined recently, although the Commanders have had to adjust their game plan to accommodate Daniels’ rib injury.

Slowik was red hot at the end of last year’s cycle and had good interviews with the Commanders and the Atlanta Falcons. Although the Texans team is dealing with some personnel issues this year, Slowik was at the forefront of CJ Stroud’s Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign a year ago and has a strong background in Kyle Shanahan’s pedigree. Kyle’s father, Mike, told me about Slowik: “When Kyle got a job in San Francisco, I said: You better call Bobby. He moved Bobby to the defensive side of football for a few years, then moved him to the offensive line. He was the perfect guy for Kyle. It was a great situation for everyone.

“Bobby knows football very well,” Shanahan continued. “He is a great person. Very clever. He knows the staff as well as anyone. He has studied both sides of the game and if you ever talk to him you can find out how smart and competent he is.”

Starting his career in defense has given Slowik many schematic advantages. His proximity to Shanahan coaches as well as coaches on Houston’s defensive staff under DeMeco Ryans and his work with Stroud in 2023 make him a must-interview.

Smith interviewed for the Carolina Panthers head coaching job this offseason. What sets him apart is that his interpersonal skills are probably the most valued of all the coaches on this list. Smith’s ability to make those around him feel comfortable and valued has been discussed by many of his former players, and his mixed background on the offensive line has, in my opinion, only enhanced his candidacy as coordinator under Mike McDaniel.

Even before Brian Callahan left to take the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Pitcher, who had been the position coach for Joe Burrow since Burrow’s draft and now coordinates an offense that is one of the best in the NFL the last four weeks. It’s important to separate Cincinnati’s offensive performance from its defensive personnel issues as the organization moves toward a quarterback-driven decision. Pitcher was a college quarterback at Colgate and SUNY Cortland, has experience coaching the No. 1 pick and, while unfamiliar with the Bears, has experience navigating a roster similarly constructed.

While the Coach of the Year winner has an established track record and needs to be valued in Cleveland, could the Browns part ways with Stefanski to gain some draft capital? Especially when the team is desperately trying to find a solution with Deshaun Watson? Stefanski’s quarterback skills are widely recognized and he has extensive knowledge of the division, having spent the majority of his career with the Vikings. This would be a home run move for the Bears and would take some of the guesswork out with a critical addition.