The Chicago Bears finally did what we have been screaming for since the middle of the 2020 NFL season. This league is all about what people have done for me lately, and well, the Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace era fell off drastically after the 2018 glory season. Despite the offense never being better than average that season, a historic defense helped lead the team into the infamous “double-doink” game. Now, we can turn our backs on that time in our lives and finally move forward.
Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised that the Chicago Bears took this long to remove Matt Nagy. The hope was that they could get a jump on things prior to the end of the year due to the new rule changes that allow teams to interview coaching candidates virtually during the final two weeks of the season. The problem was always who would be doing the hiring. Now, there are multiple head coaching vacancies as the NFL 2022 Black Monday is upon us.
Chicago Bears fire Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace on this NFL 2022 Black Monday
My gut is telling me that the Chicago Bears will move through this process rather quickly. If I was a betting man, I’d guess we know who will be running this team within two weeks. Now that the George McCaskey clown show is over and we know that literally, nothing has changed — I don’t buy the George McCaskey isn’t going to lean on Ted Phillips for football decisions behind the scenes. Today felt exactly the same as it did last year with the plus that Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace were actually fired this time.
I have been going through all of the potential coaching candidates that I think are worth mentioning (Brian Flores wasn’t on that list since he wasn’t fired until today). I’m going to do one final stock report hopefully by the end of this week, but I wanted to put together my shortlist. The bad news is that the team is scheduled to interview guys I have on my “do not draft” list, but they also have at least one name on my shortlist. Let us hope for the best here! In reverse order…
*Wait, I need to point out that I’m not including Sean Payton who would easily be the top choice here for me, but I just don’t see it being possible.
The Chicago Bears should at least interview Kellen Moore
If the Chicago Bears were to go down the road most traveled recently in the NFL, then Kellen Moore would be a name to keep an eye on. The problem here is that it seems that the front office is going to look at more experienced coaching candidates. Moore does not fit that mold, but he makes my top five (shortlist) anyway.
The Dallas Cowboys are a team that keeps being overlooked. I have seen some say that the Packers have such an easy path through the NFC. I am sorry, but I would take the Dallas Cowboys roster (except Aaron Rodgers over Dak Prescott and Davante Adams over any Dallas WR) team over the Packers literally any day of the week.
Moore has helped lead the Cowboys into the top spot in the NFL in both offensive yardage and points. They are 10th in giveaways. This team is rock solid on offense. The offensive line works, the running game is solid and the passing attack is great too. This is a well-balanced machine of an offense when healthy. Moore proved that as the offensive coordinator in 2019 (his first year coaching) as well. 2020 was a slightly different story, but that can happen when you lose your starting quarterback for a large portion of the year.
Personally, I doubt Kellen Moore gets an interview here, and Jerry Jones might not let him leave by opening up his checkbook, but he is one of the hottest names in the NFL coaching carousel for a reason.
My out-of-the-box hire at head coach for the Chicago Bears is Dave Toub
If the Chicago Bears want to go in an opposite of Kellen Moore and out-of-the-box direction, they should look no further than Dave Toub. Kellen Moore has three years of NFL coaching experience. Dave Toub on the other hand has 21 years. That doesn’t include his 14 years prior as a coach in the collegiate ranks. Within those 21 years of NFL coaching experience, that includes nine years with the Chicago Bears (2004-2012).
Toub has been interviewed by a few teams over the years for a head coaching position, but he must not be the best interview because he has never been given the opportunity. Toub has been the assistant head coach to Andy Reid for the last four years while also handling the special teams coordinator position. He is likely to be overlooked once again, but I have an admiration for him.
Toub has been one of the best special teams coaches in the NFL. His teams are constantly one of the better teams in terms of special teams every year. Special teams coordinators are one of the most plugged-in coaches within the NFL too. This is why most of the time if a head coach is unavailable or an interim coach steps in for a mid-season fired coach, it is usually a special teams coach.
This has to do with the fact that they aren’t bogged down with the offensive or defensive playcalling and gives them the ability to be a CEO and oversee things. We have seen it with John Harbaugh in Baltimore and you can somewhat say the same with Sean Payton in New Orleans. For more on Dave Toub being a great head coaching candidate for the Chicago Bears, read here. The key to not hiring an offensive-minded coach is that they lock in a top-notch offensive coordinator.
Greg Roman deserves a shot as head coach of the Chicago Bears
I know what you are thinking. Rob, how can you have Greg Roman in your top five when the Ravens missed the playoffs due to a six-game losing streak to end the season? Well for starters, Roman only had starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson, available for one of the six games. Prior to losing Jackson, the team was 8-5 on the year. Had they won any of their last five games, they would have made the playoffs. Instead, they lost them all.
In their last matchup, they faced the Pittsburgh Steelers. The winner of that game would advance unless the Raiders and Chargers tied (which nearly happened). The Steelers came away victorious and the Ravens are watching the playoffs from their sofas.
Why on earth would I want him as the next Chicago Bears head coach then? Well, for starters, he has succeeded nearly everywhere he has been as an offensive coordinator. Roman has worked with rushing quarterbacks throughout his career. He did a superb job with Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco. He then had similar results while coaching Tyrod Taylor. Finally, we have seen him work wonders with Lamar Jackson also.
Roman has had nine years’ worth of experience as an offensive coordinator. In 2019, the Ravens ranked second in yards and first in points. Last year they were seventh in points. His offenses are not the best in yardage usually, but outside of the 2014 season in San Francisco and this season without Lamar Jackson for major portions of the year, his offense has been 12th or better in points. Chicago Bears fans would love to see an offense work with this type of efficiency.
The Chicago Bears are already planning to interview Brian Daboll
Brian Daboll is probably my top head coaching candidate from a realistic standpoint when it comes to the Chicago Bears. You’ll see why once you read my top choice. What I love about Daboll is his coaching background. He has experience working under Bill Belichick in New England. He has worked with Todd Bowles in Miami. He has worked under Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini throughout his career too. Now he’s learning under Sean McDermott.
Although not all successful, branching out and gaining experience is important. Maybe even more important is the fact that Brian Daboll has a long tree of connections. This should help him bring in some solid offensive and defensive coordinators to work on his staff. I am of the belief that it is more important for a head coach, especially one who isn’t fully established, to be a CEO type. This is one reason why Dave Toub made my shortlist while he won’t make many others.
The fear I do have with Daboll is that he has not seen great success outside of his time in Buffalo. Many saw the Bills drop off in areas this year, but Daboll was able to rally them back to finish the year as the fifth-best offense in regards to yards and third in points.
Last year they finished second in both. He has been given credit for helping groom Josh Allen into an MVP-caliber quarterback. That would be ideal here in Chicago with Justin Fields as well. Would he bring the Bills quarterbacks coach, Ken Dorsey along with him to be the offensive coordinator? This sounds like the start of a solid staff in my opinion. The Chicago Bears have already requested an interview with him.
Jim Harbaugh is my top choice as the next head coach of the Chicago Bears
This would be my favorite outcome. The problem is, I don’t see Bill Polian and George McCaskey even interviewing Harbaugh. Now there are reports that Harbaugh is likely to remain in Michigan and the fact he entertained the idea of going back to the NFL was just a negotiation ploy to earn an extension from UM.
I don’t blame him for doing something like that, but I was hopeful to see him return to the NFL and report to what I’ve read is one of his dream jobs — the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Many have said this job is a “legacy job.” I don’t honestly agree as I feel that is outdated, but the fact that Chicago is the third-largest market, a huge football city and it only takes one Super Bowl victory to enshrine you into the fans’ Hall of Fame here (see the ridiculous notion that Mike Ditka is actually a good head coach) and I can see the appeal.
What I love about the idea of Harbaugh is he too would be a CEO-type of head coach. He has great connections and would build a fantastic staff. In fact, recently released head coach of the Denver Broncos and former Bears defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio would likely join forces with him again. They were a great pairing while in San Francisco.
Although a pipe dream, Harbaugh would easily be my top choice (outside of Sean Payton) if truly available. The fact that he would buck the trend and not just follow the team’s mild-mannered, toe-the-company-line approach is also very appealing to me.
These are a few guys who have bounced back and forth in my top shortlist
This is a unique hiring process and without access to actual interviews, it makes it a little more difficult to know for sure who would be the right fit. I don’t care about fitting in with George McCaskey’s ideal candidate. I want to know who is going to be the right person to help bring in and develop talent to move this offense into the current century. I’m tired of those 14-point totals every week. I want to see this team average 26-plus points each week. Is that too much to ask?
Byron Leftwich
Byron Leftwich has been put on and off my shortlist multiple times. I eventually elected to move Kellen Moore up over him and I moved Dave Toub over them both. I might be crazy here, but I just think Toub would make a great head coach. Leftwich is already scheduled to meet with the Chicago Bears for an interview. Leftwich is the Bucs offensive coordinator. We have to try and separate how much his play-calling and how much is Tom Brady and Bruce Arians.
Matt Eberflus
Not anywhere near my shortlist only because I haven’t come around to the idea of a defensive-minded coach. That said, if I put that aside, Eberflus would be towards the top of my candidates. I like the idea of Eberflus more than the likes of Leslie Frazier for example. Let me take the time here to say I do not, and I repeat, do not want Leslie Frazier as the next Chicago Bears head coach.
Eberflus has helped the Colts become a dominant defense in the NFL and pairing him Ed Dodds or Morocco Brown out of Indy would be a nice match. The Chicago Bears have requested to interview all three by the way.
Todd Bowles
If we look at Todd Bowles career, it has been up and down. He has been one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, but as a head coach, he has not had the best of luck. This is partly due to who he had at quarterback while coaching the New York Jets from 2015-2018. During that time he had Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh McCown and Sam Darnold in his rookie season as his quarterbacks. I am not sold on a defensive-minded head coach, but Bowles is someone I’d at least interview. The
Chicago Bears agree as they have requested to interview him.
Brian Flores
This was a bit of a surprise even though we mentioned it earlier as a potential job opening as competition for the Bears. Flores is coming off back-to-back winning seasons but reports are that Flores and general manager, Chris Grier have not been on the same page lately. If I knew Flores was going to be available I would have considered him more in my top five. He could move up easily based on his interview explaining the situation there in Miami.
10 realistic General Manager Candidates for Chicago Bears
10 realistic General Manager Candidates for Chicago Bears. The Chicago Bears are going to hire a General Manager in the next week or so, and have already
We will be releasing a tracker for all of the general manager and head coaching candidates being requested to interview with the Chicago Bears shortly. Check back for that and live updates as we can verify them.