While Chicago Bears fans wait for official word on the future of head coach Matt Eberflus, the first major surprise of the NFL Head Coaching carousel was revealed on Tuesday when the Tennessee Titans announced that they have fired head coach Mike Vrabel.
While there was speculation surrounding Vrabel's future with the Titans, that was due to the idea that Tennessee may entertain the idea of trading former NFL Coach of the Year to the New England Patriots for draft picks.
Vrabel is now added to what is an already stellar free-agent class for head coaches.
Btwn Vrabel, (maybe) Belichick, Harbaugh….and McDonald, Johnson, Morris…I’d argue this is one of the best head coach “free agent” classes we’ve ever seen.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) January 9, 2024
The question that must be asked of Bears' president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles is whether or not Eberflus can be the coach that not only bridges the gap from the rebuild to the team's contention window but can Eberflus have success while in the contention window?
If the answer to that question is now, the decision is simple, fire Eberflus and find your long-term coach this off-season.
There is an exception to every rule. While the expectation would be for the Bears to hire an offensive-minded head coach to pair with either Justin Fields or the rookie quarterback selected with the top overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Vrabel would be the exception.
If the Bears are unable to lure Jim Harbaugh away from the University of Michigan or a different NFL team, Vrabel is their answer. Even though Vrabel may not have the offensive background that was thought to be desired out of the next Bears' head coach, he's shown an inclination to hire the right offensive coordinator. Regardless of who the next Bears' starting quarterback is, the Bears need to get the offensive coordinator hire right. Hiring coordinators has proven to be the weakness of Eberflus and should be part of the reason why he is fired in favor of a more stable option such as Vrabel.