For weeks now, the Chicago Bears have had a head coaching vacancy since firing Matt Eberflus after the Thanksgiving timeout fiasco.
This organization continues to reel in the losses, even after firing Eberflus, though. This is indicative of a serious problem at Halas Hall, and one that's been around for quite some time. The Bears need a true leader to step in to those shoes, once and for all.
Chicago has been starved of a head coach who can set the tone, change the culture and hold his players accountable. But, at the same time, this is a team that's lacked any real knowledge or creativity on the offensive side of the ball.
The Bears need a multitude of things, right now, and it's tough to know just which direction they'll go with this head coach search.
Prior to the team's Week 17 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, the vacancy was a topic of conversation among the pregame panel on Prime Video. At one point, they brought in NFL insider Albert Breer to give the latest intel on what the Bears are thinking at the moment.
We heard, just days ago, that former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll was interested in the Bears' coaching job. Breer confirmed this before kickoff.
"Yes, Pete Carroll has an interest in the Bears job. But, that's not the only one that he's looking at. I'm told that he's told all the teams that have openings that he's looking at getting back into coaching in 2025," he said.
Not only in Pete Carroll interested in the Bears, but the feeling is mutual
When this original report came out about Carroll being interested in the job, the easy response from Bears fans would have been something like, "But, are the Bears interested in Carroll?"
As it turns out, the Bears are, indeed, interested in Carroll.
"Additionally, I'm told that the Bears are interested in sitting down and having a conversation with Carroll about their opening," Breer finished.
Whether or not Bears fans are elated or enraged by this news is irrelevant, for now. The season isn't yet over. The process hasn't entirely begun in terms of interviewing. So, there's no reason to read too much into this just yet.
But, there are reasons to be alarmed at the thought of Carroll coaching in Chicago. He's experienced and comes with a lot of winning, sure. But, he has more of a defensive background. Is that a problem? To some fans, it might be.
There are other concerns whether it be his age (73) or the fact that, just last year, his offensive coordinator was none other than Shane Waldron. Now, Carroll did seem to understand that Waldron was a liability, so at least he has that going for him. That's neither a vote of confidence or an indictment, but it must at least be addressed.
For now, we'll just take this news with a grain of salt and see where it goes.