Is this coordinator an under the radar Chicago Bears head coach candidate

The Chicago Bears are going to be in the cycle of hiring a new head coach very soon. While many are fawning over the usual suspects, the team has to look beyond popularity to hire the best name. Tom Peliserro of NFL.com listed a group of possible NFL head coaches that are talked about a bit but are young and up and coming. His yearly list has included 14 recent hirings over the past three seasons.

With that in mind, if they are on this list, there is at least a chance that he will be considered as a coaching candidate. One name that Peliserro lists are Todd Downing, the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator.

Why the Chicago Bears should hire Todd Downing

The first thing that Peliserro notes is that Mike Vrabel has a good track record of picking coordinators. Vrabel first hired Matt LeFleur, who went on to Green Bay and then promoted Arthur Smith, who is the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. If Downing is next on that list, he may be worth considering.

Beyond that, he is just 41 years old, which makes him young for head coach standards. However, he is also an NFL lifer. He has been in the NFL since 2005, and the combination of youth and experience is hard to come by. It also makes you assume that he would be able to put together a strong staff, because he has made multiple stops, and coached with many prominent names.

Downing has only been an offensive coordinator at two stops, but he has been a quarterbacks coach, tight ends coach, and even spent time as a defensive assistant. His all-around resume and experience is at least something that makes you want to bring him in for an interview.

Why the Chicago Bears should not hire Todd Downing

It is fair that Derrick Henry, A.J. Brown, and Julio Jones missed most of this season, but the offense that Downing has brought into Tennessee has been vanilla at times. This would not be a huge issue if his first stop in Oakland did not go similarly. As a quarterbacks coach, he saw a career year out of Derek Carr, but after being promoted to offensive coordinator, the Raiders fell back down.

So, in his two stints as OC, he saw a great offense with him as an assistant get worse when he stepped up a bit.

Beyond that, his best work has been Carr and Ryan Tannehill. He spent some time in Detroit with Matthew Stafford as well. The quarterbacks he has worked with are able to move but much more in the bootleg variety than the scramble variety. He has not had an offense for someone like Justin Fields.

Downing may be a better assistant than a leader. The experience is great, and he has had success in a reduced role. The question is whether the Chicago Bears can be the team that takes the leap and bets on him to grow into a bigger role.