The Chicago Bears remain one of the NFL's gold-star franchises. With a history that spans back for over 100 years, the Bears have been the home for some of the game's greatest players and coaches during their more successful seasons.
While the Bears' recent downturn in success and largely tough runs of the 1960s and 1970s made success more difficult to come by than during George Halas' days, there have been a few coaches with the acumen needed to jump right in and turn Chicago into a winner.
These five coaches are, without question, the best in the history of the Bears. Time will tell if Matt Eberflus is able to ride Caleb Williams to a spot on this list or if he will join the scrap heap of coaches unable to match the past success this franchise has been used to.
Criteria for selection
These coaches were chosen based on a combination of:
- Win-Loss record
- Postseason Success
- Longevity
- Memorable Moments
Top 5 head coaches in the history of the Chicago Bears
5. Matt Nagy
While Dick Jauron had the Bears playing so well that he had them at the top of the NFC and Dave Wannstedt won a playoff game, Nagy was a double-doink away from doing the same. While it ended poorly, Nagy revitalized the Bears by winning Coach of the Year in his first season.
Nagy had a winning record despite playing most of his games with Mitch Trubisky (25-13 when Trubisky started). He was forced to lean on a group of fill-ins like Mike Glennon, the corpse of Nick Foles, and a rookie Justin Fields. He helped build consecutive top-five defenses in 2018 and 2019.
What ultimately sunk Nagy, oddly enough, was his offense, as it became so boring and bland by the end that no team was scared by it. Fans were left to wonder if it was bad because of terrible quarterback play or Nagy's limitations. The answer is likely somewhere in the middle.
After coaching the Bears, Nagy earned a Super Bowl ring as Patrick Mahomes' OC in Kansas City.
4. Ralph Jones
Jones only coached the Bears for three seasons after Halas' initial retirement in 1930, piling up a .706 winning percentage that is the highest in franchise history. In 1932, Jones led the Bears to an NFL championship after introducing innovations still in use to this day.
Jones, who was a high school coach the year before Halas hired him, became the first coach to always have the quarterback line up under the center. He refined Halas' T-formation by splitting ends out wide and using motion. All of this was done at a time when you had to be five yards behind the line of scrimmage to throw.
Jones was a victim of circumstance in Chicago. The effects of the Great Depression meant that the Bears lost money in 1932 despite winning a title. Jones was let go as Halas returned to coaching to save money on salary. Jones would later return to the college ranks.
3. Lovie Smith
The mastermind of an elite Rams defense that was overshadowed by the Greatest Show on Turf, Smith wasted no time turning the Bears around, By his second season, Chicago went from 5-11 to 11-5, and he made it to the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman as his quarterback in his third campaign.
Smith made it back to the NFC Championship Game in 2012, but he mustered just three playoff wins in nine seasons with the Bears. However, Chicago was never bad enough to bottom out, as his first year on the job was the only time the Bears won fewer than seven games.
Smith left Chicago with a solid 81-63 record under his belt, as he and Jay Cutler were able to give the Bears a respectable offense for the first time in forever. While he never won the big game, Smith's tenure as Bears head coach had quite a few moments of unbridled success.
2. Mike Ditka
On the Mount Rushmore of beloved Chicago sports figures, Ditka's contributions to arguably the greatest team of all-time in the 1985 Bears will make him a legend across the annals of NFL history, but his success in getting the Bears back to being a consistent winner is his greatest legacy.
Ditka went 106-62 in the regular season with the Bears and won six playoff games. In 11 seasons with Chicago, Ditka made the playoffs seven times and hit double-digit wins in each of those seven campaigns. Since the merger, no Bears coach has had more success than Ditka.
Some may criticize Ditka for a 1-3 postseason record in a three-year span where he went 37-10 in the regular season, but that's complaining about a birthmark on Cindy Crawford. The Bears haven't been the same as a franchise since Ditka vacated his post after 1992.
1. George Halas
It is not hyperbolic to say that Halas is the most important figure in NFL history. the owner/player/coach still maybe the best coach who ever put a whistle around his neck, as Halas' teams defined success over the course of almost five different decades
Halas made it to nine championship games as a coach, winning six. Only Don Shula has won more games as a coach than Halas and his 318 triumphs. The fact Halas won championships in 1921, when the legality of the forward pass was in debate, and 1963, when Vince Lombardi reigned supreme, speaks to his football acumen.
Halas' spot on this list is immutable, as no Bears figure can ever match the impact he had on the franchise and legacy he leaves as a contributor and pioneer.