Rumors: 3 Chicago Bears coaching candidates emerge
As the Chicago Bears are just days away from firing their head coach, there have been rumors spreading all around as to who the team will have interest in. However, while everyone is obviously drawn to the big names like a moth towards the light, very often it is under the radar coaches who excel in the biggest ways.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated laid out three potential head coaches for the Chicago Bears that are not making national headlines, but Breers’ hears that the Bears have serious interest in. When you look at all other reports, Breer should be taken the most seriously, as he is the most connected in NFL circles.
With that in mind, who are the three legitimate coaching candidates for the Chicago Bears?
3. Jerod Mayo
Jerod Mayo would be an off of the radar hire, but in a lot of ways, it would be one that is met with optimism. Mayo is young, at just 35 years old. He also has only been an NFL coach since 2019. However, he came straight into the coaching off of the field and was a linebacker for the New England Patriots before that.
Mayo was a first-round pick in 2008, and played with the Patriots until 2015, winning a Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks. Then in 2019, the Patriots hired him as their linebackers coach. After Brian Flores left the Patriots did not promote a defensive coordinator, but most assume that it is Mayo with Bill Belichick over-seeing the young star.
Mayo is the coach that you want to hire before anyone else figures out how smart he is. You can complain about the Belichick tree, but the former player of the group on that tree is Mike Vrabel. He is doing great. Mayo is just like Vrabel in that they were the play-caller on the Patriots’ defense on the field before they got the chance off of the field.
The combination shows a multitude of smarts, but also an understanding that is going to get buy-ins from the players, where the Matt Patricias of the world come off as fake.
Nobody is screaming to hire Mayo, but it certainly makes sense to give him an interview and see If you are blown away.