Ten Potential Head Coach Replacements for John Fox

9. Matt Patricia, New England Patriots Defensive Coordinator

The Bears will most likely go the route of hiring an offensive-minded head coach. The Bears need the right guy in place to mentor Mitch Trubisky and elevate him into a top-notch NFL quarterback. While that’s the case, it can’t be ignored that Pace’s plan clearly revolves around having a fantastic defense.

Pace has spent much of his first three seasons building up the Bears’ defense and he has several key pieces in place. It would seem foolish to spend three years to build up the defense only to fire the coach bring in an offensive coach and ignore the defense.

While developing Trubisky is the most important aspect of the Bears’ team right now and that will most likely lead to a new head coach with an offensive background, the Bears will definitely consider a couple of defensive coaches. Patricia has been highly regarded the last few years under Bill Belichick and will get his head coaching opportunity any day now.

Odds on being next head coach: 150 to 1