Chicago Bears: 4 Replacement head coaches for Matt Nagy in 2022

Chicago Bears Coaching Candidates: Notable Mentions

These four are easily not the only names that will be floating around this offseason. The Chicago Bears could get really creative and go after a college head coach. This type of thinking is exactly what led to Marc Trestman (Canadian Football League). We saw how that went, but the Chicago Bears cannot be afraid to swing again too soon.

Lincoln Riley, HC – Oklahoma

Lincoln Riley is probably not even interest in the NFL, let alone taking on the Chicago Bears head coaching gig. However, as he continues to find offensive success at Oklahoma, he will always be worth noting as a possible coaching candidate.

Ryan Day, HC – Ohio State

Say what?! Yeah, I hope you read that in your head the same way that I was inflicting it while typing it — that high-pitch questioning of everything. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about this one, shall we?

I know it is way out there in left field, but we have seen just how well Kyler Murray has done in Arizona with his former college coach, Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury coached Kyler Murray for one season at Texas Tech in 2015 before Murray transferred to Oklahoma to finish out his collegiate career. That was all it took though and these two seem very comfortable with one another while the Cardinals tear up defenses.

Why not see if Ryan Day could do the same thing for Justin Fields? Fields was beyond good at Ohio State — he was amazing. In two seasons as a Buckeye, Fields threw 63 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. Day has built a successful program at Ohio State. Is it his time now in the NFL?

Matt Campbell, HC – Iowa State

Matt Campbell’s name has come up recently as a head coaching candidate. Rumors are that he turned down an offer from the Detroit Lions last season. He has built a solid program there in Iowa. In fact, maybe pairing him up with his former running back, David Montgomery, could bring some offensive firepower to the Chicago Bears’ offense?

Campbell has led Iowa State to four consecutive Bowl games. His teams went 2-2 during that span, but a .615 winning percentage is very solid and Campbell will have plenty of other teams looking at him soon I am sure.

Eric Bieniemy, OC – Kansas City Chiefs

The only non-college coach on this list is Eric Bieniemy. I was all in on Bieniemy as a solid option when I thought Matt Nagy might get fired the last offseason. Going from one former Kansas City Chief’s offensive coordinator in Nagy to another in Bieniemy might not go over well, but these two are very different. That said, I fear that Bieniemy has less control with Andy Reid being the loudest voice in the room, than people think. He is worth looking into though and has definitely earned his stripes throughout his coaching career.