ESPN analyst floats outside-the-box candidate for next Bears' head coach

In a way, isn't it kind of freeing to know that the Bears are, in fact, going to fire Matt Eberflus in a few weeks? Outside of all the losses that make your Sundays miserable, there was always this lingering doubt that the McCaskeys were going to do what they do best – which is to say, not a whole lot – and keep Eberflus around for another year of pointless football.

But it's pretty strongly starting to feel like Eberflus is a goner. Either that, or the McCaskeys don't actually care about losing to the Packers that much anymore. Which I guess is entirely possible? Sorry.

RELATED: Matt Eberflus' awful postgame quote proves Bears are stuck in hellish timeloop

So now, Bears fans have six weeks to obsess over which popular coordinator is coming to Chicago next. The usual suspects are all still available, but in a recent big ol' mailbag from ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak, he floats an interesting, new name: Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

Ben Solak floats Cardinals OC Drew Petzing as an interesting option for Bears' next HC

"I'm not sure I trust the body of work of any of the current hot playcallers -- Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady -- just yet ... Of the named guys, I think I'd like Petzing the best for the Bears. The Cardinals do really cool stuff, and stylistically, there's a solid comparison between Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams."

Solak also floats Lions' defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn – in fact, he says that Glenn's the best choice overall – but is understandably cognizant that Bears fans are a bit worn out on the idea of going with another defensive-minded coach after [gestures at the last three years].

The Cardinals are one of the more surprising stories in the NFL this year – except for your most annoying friend who won't shut up about how he knew they'd be better than expected – and Petzing has been a major reason why.

League-wide, Arizona ranks 5th in rushing yards, 8th in rushing touchdowns, and 2nd in yards per attempt. The Cardinals' passing numbers are, uh, a little concerning, but Kyler Murray ranks among the Top-10 in a bunch of individual QB stats (EPA/play, Success Rate, EPA+CPOE, etc). It may not be as flashy as Ben Johnson or Bobby Slowick, but it can't be worse than Eberflus and Shane Waldron. And for the Bears, that's a comfortable place for the bar to be for now.