Bears News: Head Coach decision could reach conclusion following Divisional Round

The conclusion of the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs may have brought the conclusion of the Chicago Bears' head coaching search into focus.

During the weekend, the Detroit Lions lost to the Washington Commanders on Saturday night, with one of the main fallouts from the loss being that Lions' coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn will now find their respective landing spots for one of the head coach openings in the NFL. On Sunday night, the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Buffalo Bills, making Ravens' offenisve coordinator Todd Monken free to take a job as a head coach.

As of today, the Bears can have in-person interviews with any candidate for their head coach opening. Along those lines, on Sunday, the Bears interviewed Eddie George in person. With that interview, the Bears have satisfied the NFL's Rooney Rule.

A betting man would likely point to the Bears having their next head coach in place by the end of the week. It would seem that the three top candidates for the position would be Johnson, Monken, and former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy

Johnson remains at the center of it all.

Of note, on Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders interviewed Lance Newmark for their general manager vacancy. Previous reports have marked Newmark as the general manager Johnson would like to work with.

The Bears and Raiders seem to be the frontrunners for Johnson. Complicating matters for the Bears is that McCarthy, who some believe to be the Bears' preferred backup option to Johnson, is a finalist to be the next New Orleans Saints head coach. The Saints are lining up final interviews for their head coaching vacancy this week. McCarthy's final interview with the Sants is expected to be completed on Tuesday.

Jobs are likely to be filled this week and the Bears will need to be prepared to act. Ideally, the week concludes with Johnson being the next head coach of the Bears but history would suggest McCarthy being the option.