As the NFL's oldest franchise, the Chicago Bears and their fan base have an extensive, rich history to boast about.
If it weren't for George "Papa Bear" Halas, who knows when professional football, or the NFL in general, would have come along. It's all thanks to the founding father of the Bears and the league as we know it.
Halas coached a total of 40 years and ended his professional career having coached just under 500 games in total (497), but his imprint upon the game and Chicago will last forever.
Taking a look back at where it all began, we make our way through the timeline of every Bears head coach in franchise history, starting with the man, the myth, the legend, Papa Bear.
Every Chicago Bears head coach in team history
Name (Tenure with CHI) | Record with CHI |
|---|---|
George Halas (1920-1929, 1933-1942, 1946-1955, 1958-1967) | 318-148-31 |
Ralph Jones (1930-1932) | 24-10-7 |
Hunk Anderson, co-head coach (1942-1945) | 23-11-2 |
Luke Johnsos, co-head coach (1942-1945) | 23-11-2 |
Paddy Driscoll (1956-1957) | 14-9-1 |
Jim Dooley (1968-1971) | 20-36 |
Abe Gibron (1972-1974) | 11-30-1 |
Jack Pardee (1975-1977) | 20-22 |
Neill Armstrong (1978-1981) | 30-34 |
Mike Ditka (1982-1992) | 106-62 |
Dave Wannstedt (1993-1998) | 40-56 |
Dick Jauron (1999-2003) | 35-45 |
Lovie Smith (2004-2012) | 81-63 |
Marc Trestman (2013-2014) | 13-19 |
John Fox (2015-2017) | 14-34 |
Matt Nagy (2018-2021) | 34-31 |
Matt Eberflius (2022-present) | 10-24 |
Fun facts about notable Chicago Bears head coaches
George Halas
Halas was born in Chicago. He is truly a man of the city. As one of the very first 17 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Halas was an 8-time NFL champion, twice the NFL's Coach of the Year, a member of the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team.
While being a coach, player and executive, he also served in the U.S. Navy, which is one reason for some of the breaks in his tenure with the Bears. Halas served during World War I and World War II, earning a Bronze Star during his service as well.
Halas played in 104 career games in addition to the hundreds of contests coached, and will forever be remembered as the single-most important individual in the history of the organization. It's no wonder the team honors him by stitching his initials on the sleeves of every player's jersey.
Mike Ditka
One of the most animated head coaches in league history, Mike Ditka was called a lot of things during his tenure with Chicago, but some terms he was never called? Shy, bashful, reserved, cool-headed or boring.
Ditka's fiery personality and coaching style, paired with his "I don't give a (fill in the blank) " attitude are part of what made him who he was.
The mustache. The vest. The shades. The entire get-up still gets emulated today by Bears fans all over the world. It's hard not to love the guy who helped bring Chicago its only Super Bowl championship back in the 1985 season.
Lovie Smith
In the Bears' only Super Bowl appearance since Ditka's team won it all, Lovie Smith led the Bears and that vaunted defense to face off against Peyton Manning back in Super Bowl XLI. Although the Bears lost the game, Smith's team will forever be remembered for some stellar moments that season, including seeing Devin Hester be the first player to ever return the Super Bowl's opening kickoff for a touchdown.
Smith won NFL Coach of the Year in 2005 and he made his hay by knowing the ins and outs of the defensive side of the ball, having started coaching back in 1980 at Big Sandy High School, working his way up through the college ranks before becoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' linebackers coach in 1996 and working alongside Tony Dungy.
Matt Nagy
The first Bears head coach to win NFL's Coach of the Year since Smith, Matt Nagy took home the award in his first season with the Bears (2018). His positive, engaging outlook won over fans from Day 1, yet seemed to wear off just as fast as it caught fire. Nagy coached under Andy Reid in Kansas City, which caused the Bears to believe he could bring an electric offensive style to Chicago. Bears fans know the ending to that story far too well.