10 potenital defensive coordinators for Chicago Bears

8. Steve Wilks

Wilks took a head coaching gig with the Arizona Cardinals and was let go after the Josh Rosen draft. He then was the defensive coordinator with Freddie Kitchens and the Cleveland Browns. However, before that, he had immense success with the Carolina Panthers, going to a Super Bowl as an assistant head coach. Wilks also was the Bears defensive backs coach from 2006-08 making the run to the Super Bowl with Lovie Smith

Pros: If you are hiring him for a defensive coordinator job you are not worried about his failure to evaluate Josh Rosen. You also cannot blame him for the Browns breakdown under Kitchens. In fact, the defense was better than the offense. Before that, he helped coach a lot of really good defense. He was in a couple of bad spots, but after a year’s reset, many will realize this is still a good coordinator. He has worked closely with Sean McDermott and Ron Rivera, who both coached in the playoffs. Having the Chicago ties would help him take a job without long-term security from the front office.

Cons: It has been a few years since he has produced a top tier defense. Will it take him sometime? While his quarterback struggled in Arizona, he also was shown the door so quickly because he tried to fit square pegs into round holes with his scheme.