Oct 28, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy calls in a play in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy doesn’t have time for sulking following the Denver Broncos’ surprising 38-35 loss to the Baltimore Ravens as his calendar continues to fill up.  The San Diego Chargers have added him to their list of prospective head coaching candidates, while reports out of Arizona indicate the Cardinals will make a serious push to get McCoy to be their next head coach.  If Phil Emery and the Chicago Bears want a shot at McCoy, they’re going to have to speed it up or risk missing out on the hottest coaching candidate going.  (more…)

If Chicago Bears GM Phil Emery was worried that he would have to wait around while his coaching candidates went deep into the playoffs and couldn’t be hired, a couple of those worries disappeared on Saturday night.  Two of Emery coaching candidates, Packers offensive coordinator and Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy both suddenly have nothing going on as their teams dropped their playoff games. (more…)

UPDATED 1/8/13

Aug 30, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub yells in the first half of a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Dave Toub

Current Position: Chicago Bears special teams coordinator

Current Status (as of 1/8/13): Reportedly already interviewed with Phil Emery to move to the corner office.

Comments: None of the prospective head coaching candidates know this Bears roster and know these Bears players better than Toub.  His special teams units are consistently among the tops in the NFL.

Jan 1, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings special assistant to the head coach Mike Singletary looks to the video board in a break from the action with the Chicago Bears at the Metrodome. The Bears win 17-13. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Singletary

Current Position: Minnesota Vikings linebackers coach

Current Status (as of 1/8/13): Singletary’s name popped up on Monday night as the latest to be on Phil Emery’s radar.  No interview date has been released.

Comment: Singletary’s candidacy takes the coaching search over the shark.  This cannot happen, no matter how he eyeballs Emery.

Nov 20, 2011; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer during the game against the Oakland Raiders at the Mall of America Field. The Raiders defeated the Vikings 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Priefer

Current Position: Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator

Current Status (as of 1/8/13): Just like Singletary, Priefer’s name just popped up Monday night.  No word on a time for his interview.

Comments: Priefer is widely respected around the league and has a military background.  He and Emery were at the Naval Academy in the 90′s when Emery was strength and conditioning coach.  A longshot at best.

Dec 1, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Eagles 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Derrell Bevell

Current Position: Seahawks Offensive Coordinator

Current Status (As of 1/6/13): CBS Sports is reporting the Bears have requested permission to interview Bevell.  His Seahawks pulled off an upset over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.  He’ll be busy preparing for the Atlanta Falcons this week, but an interview is expected to take place.

Comments: Bevell has taken his turn through the NFC North, having worked as an offensive assistant (2000 – 2002) and quarterbacks coach (2003 – 2005) with the Green Bay Packers before becoming the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings (2006 – 2010).  He’s currently the offensive coordinator for Pete Carroll’s surging Seahawks.

Jan 15, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison during the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at M

Rick Dennison

Current Position: Houston Texans Offensive Coordinator

Current Status (As of 1/6/13): Bears requested permission to interview Dennison follow the Texans’ win over the Bengals on Wild Card Saturday.   The interview has been granted but no official word on when it’s set to take place.  The Texans head out to New England to take on the Patriots in the Divisional round of the playoffs.

Comments: I have to credit my guy Adam over at Chicago Bears Huddle, who was the first that I saw to drop Dennison’s name as a prospective candidate.  Dennison was the Broncos’ offensive coordinator when Jay Cutler made a trip to the Pro Bowl.  His Texans offense is nothing to sneeze at either.  A solid choice.

Marc Trestman

Current Position: Head Coach, Montreal Alouttes

Current Status (As of 1/6/13): The Bears will reportedly interview Trestman on Monday.

Comments: Don’t be fooled by Trestman’s status as a head coach in the CFL; he’s got plenty of NFL experience.   The 56-year old Trestman has kicked around the NFL since 1985 and spent a bulk of his last 25 years working with and developing quarterbacks.  In fact, he’s worked with a lot of college QB’s prior to the Combine, including Jay Cutler back in 2006.

Dec 30 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians on the sidelines during a game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeats Houston 28-16. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Arians

Current Position: Indianapolis Colts Offensive Coordinator/Interim Head Coach

Current Status (as of 1/6/13): Bears set to interview Arians this week even though he fell ill just before the Colts’ loss to the Ravens in Wild Card Weekend.

Comments: Arians has a Super Bowl ring from his days coordinating the Pittsburgh Steelers offense from 2007-2011.  The 60-year old Arians stepped in as the Colts head coach and led them to a 9-3 record while Chuck Pagano had to step down for part of the season while undergoing cancer treatment.  If there were doubts about his legitimacy as a head coach before this season, he’s silenced his doubters.  He’s a coach of the year candidate.  It’s not often those types of guys hit the market, so it’s a huge opportunity for the Bears.

August 25, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael during the second half of a preseason game against the Houston Texans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Texans 34-27. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Pete Carmichael

Current Position: New Orleans Saints Offensive Coordinator

Current Status (As of  January 6, 2013): Emery interviewed Carmichael on Thursday 1/3/13.

Comments:  Carmichael ran the Saints’ 2nd ranked Saints offense this season while Sean Payton sat out in the wake of the Bountygate scandal that rocked the Saints.  The 41-year old Carmichael has been with the Saints since 2006, where he’s served as quarterbacks coach, passing game coordinator and offensive coordinator.  He’s been in the NFL since 2000 where he spent time with the Chargers, Redskins and Browns.

Tom Clements

Current Position: Green Bay Packers Offensive Coordinator

Current Status (As of 1/6/13): Emery is set to interview Clements in Green Bay on Thursday 1/10/13.

Comments: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.  A few years back Clements was the quarterbacks coach for the Packers and the Bears requested to interview him for their vacant head offensive coordinator position.  The Packers have been long been developing quarterbacks.  Clements has worked with Favre and Rodgers, so that’s pretty good resume material.
(more…)

Oct 28, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) talks with offensive coordinator Mike McCoy in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Sports Authority Field. The Broncos went on to win 34-14. Mandatory Credit: Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

To help get some extra insight into the Chicago Bears head coaching candidates, I’ve decided to use the weekly 5 Questions format to reach out to some of our friends around the blogosphere.  First up is Denver Broncos Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy.

To help us get some extra insight into McCoy, I reached out to longtime friend Kim Constantinesco, editor of Predominantly Orange.   Here are my questions and Kim’s answers: (more…)

Oct 28, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy calls in a play in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Sports Authority Field. Mandatory Credit: Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears are not wasting any time moving on from Lovie Smith.  Jay Glazer is reporting that the Bears have requested permission from the Denver Broncos to interview offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

The Bears have already asked for permission to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. He’s a very, very hot name right now

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) December 31, 2012

McCoy fits the bill as the hot coordinator that the Bears usually hire, but he’s operating on the offensive side of the ball whereas the Bears usually hire defensive minded guys.

Since the Broncos have a bye this week, the Bears are hoping to take advantage of the limited interview window.  McCoy has become a hot name for re-shaping the Broncos offense over the last couple of seasons.  He completely retrofitted the Broncos offense to fit Tim Tebow’s unique skills to make the Broncos a playoff team last season and now this season has re-vamped the offense again to suit Peyton Manning and lead the Broncos to a #1 seed in the AFC.

It’s good to see the Bears going in the offensive direction and being decisive about it.  There are a lot of coaching vacancies popping up on Black Monday, so it makes no sense to sit around waiting for the music to stop before finding the last man without a seat in the game of head coaching musical chairs.

Kudos to Phil Emery so far for his decisiveness and swift action.