The Chicago Bears finally put the Green Bay Packers to bed with a win at Lambeau Field in the final game of the 2024 season. It became close after the Bears were winning for most of the game despite the offense struggling early. There was also a bit of deja vu as Green Bay went up by one point with less than a minute left in the game.
Caleb Williams and the offense were able to sustain a drive that put them in position for an even longer field goal (51 yards) than the one the Packers blocked in the first meeting of these two teams. That blocked field goal gave the Packers the win, but this time the kick was good, and the Chicago Bears beat the Packers for the first time since 2018. It was also the first time the Bears beat the Packers at Lambeau Field since 2015. Yikes!
A win for the Bears didn't seem like it mattered, but I'd argue it was very important for these young players who have been losing week after week all season. Despite the win costing them a spot or two in the 2025 NFL Draft, getting that weight off their shoulders and going out on a high note is more important.
The Chicago Bears must finally hire the right coach
As exciting as the victory over the Packers was, it is now time to turn attention to the head coaching hire. Ryan Poles survived Black Monday and looks to be sticking around for at least 2025. My prediction is that the Bears will align his contract with whoever they hire as head coach. The important part now is finally finding the right coach and a coach -- one who can unlock Caleb Williams' potential.
Right now, it looks like the Chicago Bears are going to interview 100 candidates. I am still hoping to see Liam Coen or Bobby Slowik added to the list. As of now, there are 15 confirmed candidates the Chicago Bears are interested in for interviews. I looked at the list, separated them into tiers, and then ranked them. Let's take a look in reverse order.
Tier 6
15. David Shaw
The Chicago Bears have requested an interview with David Shaw. This is one of those out-of-the-box ideas. Shaw isn't even a coach right now. Instead, he is working as a Senior Personnel Director for the Denver Broncos. Shaw hasn't always been on that side of the front office. He was a coach in the NFL from 1997 to 2005. Then he left for the collegiate scene. After one year as an assistant coach for the San Diego Toreros, Shaw went on to coach at Stanford from 2007 to 2019. He became the head coach in 2011 and the team played well throughout most of his tenure -- 8 winning seasons.
I'll leave Shaw at the bottom of this tier for now, but the more I look into him as a coaching candidate the more I like what he has to offer. The more I dig, the more I realize he might even need to jump a tier.
14. Anthony Weaver
It should be noted that any defensive-minded coach is going to be lower in my rankings. I am on record that I would prefer an offensive-minded coach based on the coaches who have been in the last six Super Bowls. Anthony Weaver instantly moves down my list, but he's also the least accomplished of the defensive coordinators. Weaver has been a defensive line coach for most of his career. He was an assistant head coach for two years in Baltimore before becoming the Dolphins' defensive coordinator in 2024.
Weaver is nowhere near ready to be a head coach. This interview may have been a way to meet the Rooney Rule despite multiple candidates on the interview list filling that need.
13. Vance Joseph
Let's stick with the Denver Broncos and quickly talk about Vance Joseph. Joseph is in his second stint with the Broncos. His first stint was as Denver's head coach in 2017 and 2018. The team never achieved more than 6 wins and Joseph was fired. He quickly landed with the Cardinals as the defensive coordinator where he lasted four years before losing his job again. For the last two years, he's been the defensive coordinator for the Broncos and they have been one of the better defenses in the league.
Joseph does not move the needle for me, though. He looks to be one of those coaches best suited to be coordinators rather than head coaches.
12. Mike Kafka
I remember Mike Kafka being a head coaching candidate, on and off for a little while now. I had some interest in him in 2018 when the Bears went with Matt Nagy instead -- both coming out of Kansas City at the time. Looking at it in hindsight, it seems like coaches coming out of Kansas City are all too dependent on the oversight of Andy Reid. That said, I will put Kafka ahead of the defensive coaches for the simple fact that I expect him to be able to help Caleb Williams develop more.
If I had insider information on the list of offensive coordinators who the defensive coordinators would bring in, I might shuffle up this tier a bit. Kafka has been the offensive coordinator under Brian Daboll in New York, but the results have not been appealing. He should not be a realistic candidate.
Tier 5
11. Arthur Smith
If the Chicago Bears are looking to bring in a head coach with NFL head coaching experience, Arthur Smith could be that guy. He was with Atlanta just a year ago (2023) but the Falcons never won more than seven games. In fact, all three years he was the head coach of the Falcons they finished with a 7-10 record. Most of his success took place in Tennessee under Mike Vrabel. Now, with Pittsburgh, the results have been like a roller coaster but they won 10 games and are in the playoffs. Russell Wilson and even Justin Fields looked better, but not good enough.
I'm being a bit of a hypocrite here putting Smith at the bottom of Tier 5 after I moved Mike Kafka up to the top of Tier 6. Kafka was put ahead of the defensive-minded candidates in Tier 6, but I have Arthur below two defensive-minded candidates in Tier 5. There is just something I don't like about Smith.
10. Brian Flores
I used to be a big proponent of Brian Flores. Back in 2022, when the Chicago Bears were going through their hiring process, I did these rankings too. Brian Flores was interviewed and I had him as the highest defensive-minded head coach at sixth out of 11. By the way, Matt Eberflus was one spot behind him at seven. Flores is a good coach, but it has been reported he is very difficult to work with. This especially bubbled to the top as Tua Tagovailoa was very critical of his former head coach. That said, Flores wins wherever he goes and the Dolphins had two winning seasons in his three years.
Flores' coaching style is not for everyone. He berates his players and calls out when they do things wrong. He allegedly would tell Tagovailoa almost daily that he sucks. Tagovailoa has blossomed further under new coach Mike McDaniel. Is this what we want for Caleb Williams? I think Flores is a great coach but should probably remain a coordinator.
9. Aaron Glenn
A hot name this cycle is Aaron Glenn out of Detroit. Ben Johnson does not deserve all of the credit up north. Glenn has done a great job with the Lions the last couple of seasons. This year, we have seen a number of starters go down for multiple weeks or the full season in Detroit—Aidan Hutchinson, for example. Glenn was able to keep the defense going and deserves credit, but as a defensive-minded coach, I am not putting him high on this list.
Like Johnson, Glenn comes with plenty of promise but also the fear of the unknown. Where Johnson stands out to me more than Glenn, besides looking like an offensive genius, is the consistency of the offense over the last two years. Glenn's defense was nowhere near as good in 2023 as it was in 2024.
Tier 4
8. Drew Petzing
Many Chicago Bears fans won't know who Drew Petzing is because he is only 37 years old and just now getting his first crack at being an offensive coordinator. Kevin Warren has a connection to Petzing during his time with the Minnesota Vikings. I'm not sure how much interaction the two had as Petzing was an assistant wide receiver coach for most of their time together. He was promoted as high as wide receivers coach before leaving for Cleveland. He was also an assistant QB coach for a season while both Warren and he were in Minnesota.
We have seen two different situations for Petzing. Last year, the Cardinals barely had Kyler Murray and the offense struggled. This year, they were 12th in scoring and 11th in total yards. I do not think that Petzing is ready to be a head coach, though, and shouldn't truly be considered by the Bears.
7. Joe Brady
When I started putting this list together, Brady was not a verified candidate for the Bears. However, in my mind, I had him as one of my favorites. Turns out as I was going through each candidate, I kept moving Brady down the board. Proven head coaches had to be higher, and it's hard to give Brady too much credit for what Buffalo is doing seeing they seem to do it every year no matter who is calling the plays. When former OCs go elsewhere as head coaches though, they don't seem to succeed. I'm worried we will see the same thing here with Brady.
Brady did have success in New Orleans as an offensive assistant coach, but that job doesn't scream importance in the grand scheme of things. He quickly jumped to being an offensive coordinator in Carolina, and things went poorly. I'm also concerned that he only has seven years of coaching experience in the NFL. Brady wouldn't ruin my day if he's hired, but I'd prefer others over him.
6. Pete Carroll
The most recent name added to the list of potential candidates is Pete Carroll. Carroll has been coaching football for 30 years. He's one of the oldest candidates the Chicago Bears are looking to interview, but he's also one of the most established. Outside of his assistant coaching positions in the NFL, he was also the head coach of the Jets for a season and had a brief three-year stint as the head coach of the Patriots before making for Bill Belichick and heading off to coach the USC Trojans. Carroll coached USC for nine seasons before returning to the NFL with the Seahawks.
Carroll was the head coach of the Seahawks from 2010 to 2023. He took the Seahawks to the Super Bowl twice, winning once and losing the other time. Carroll is definitely the type of coach to turn this organization into a contender, but I worry that he's no longer a perennial playoff coach who will push for consistent Super Bowls.
5. Thomas Brown
Whoa! I know what you are thinking. How can I have Thomas Brown so high on this list? Well, he's definitely in this tier and even though he could be lower, Brown was given a raw deal. He didn't do enough to wow me into pounding the table for him as the next head coach of the Bears. However, I think he'd do much better if he built his own staff and did things the way he wanted. He already said the offense would look much different if he was given the job. I believe him. He had to work with Shane Waldron's playbook. I know he helped install plays but it's just not the same.
I love Brown's background working with Sean McVay. He might not be ready to be a head coach, but I think he's more talented than Bears fans give him credit. He won't be the Chicago Bears next head coach, but I like him enough to rank him this high and I hope to see him get an opportunity again soon.
Tier 3
4. Mike McCarthy
I shocked myself by putting Mike McCarthy this high on the list. Just like Pete Carroll, I would not hate the idea of either being the next head coach of the Chicago Bears. However, I fear neither will win any Super Bowls despite both having won one in their career. McCarthy gets the nod over Pete Carroll for me since he is an offensive-minded coach. He helped guide the Cowboys to a 7-win season despite having Cooper Rush under center for most of the year. Dak Prescott has looked great when healthy and McCarthy helped develop Aaron Rodgers. Who else plays like Rodgers? Caleb Williams.
If I am being honest with myself, McCarthy could be third on my list and Carroll fifth, but something about older coaches puts a bad taste in my mouth. I want the genius play-caller type. Note that McCarthy might be staying in Dallas, but I left him on the list anyway. The Cowboys blocked the Bears' attempt to interview him but also haven't given McCarthy an extension and his contract expires next week.
3. Todd Monken
There seem to be those who love the idea of Todd Monken and those who don't. The ones who don't usually start off by saying Monken is successful because Lamar Jackson is an amazing quarterback. Jackson is amazing, but that shouldn't take away from Monken's success as a playcaller. Lamar Jackson has had his two best passing seasons under Monken and broke 4,000 passing yards for the first time in his career this year. His TD:INT ratio is off the charts this year and was solid last year too. He was MVP last year and is in the running for it again this year too.
Monken also had success in Tampa Bay as an offensive coordinator. The Bucs were top nine in total yards in two of the three years he was calling the plays. They were 12th in scoring in his last season before the Bucs fired Dirk Koetter and cleaned house. He's a bit older but I like what I've seen from him.
Tier 2
2. Mike Vrabel
I could be falling into the hype here with Mike Vrabel. His coaching success isn't anywhere near Mike McCarthy or Pete Carroll, yet I have him higher on the list. He is also defensive-minded which is crazy that I view him this high. There is just something about his presence and ability to get the most out of lesser talent. The fear here is who he brings with him. There are certain offensive connections I want nothing to do with, and if any of them are going to be his offensive coordinator, no thank you!
That said, I think he instantly changes the locker room culture and holds everyone accountable. He seems like a less crazy version of Dan Campbell with the Lions, and well, if he hits on the offensive side of the ball, then watch out. That said, I do hope he ends up in New England so the Patriots don't hire my top candidate.
Note: Liam Coen and Bobby Slowik would be in this tier if the Bears extend interview requests.
Tier 1
1. Ben Johnson
This one seems obvious, and I'm not going to go into great detail. The Chicago Bears must find a way to hire Ben Johnson. He is an elite play-caller and has built the Lions' offense into his own vision. The only fear here is whether he can handle running a complete team while also remaining detailed in his play calls and play designs. I'm not overly concerned. Hire this man now!