With the Chicago Bears' head coaching job already being made available, it stands to reason that many agents across the NFL landscape will use media pundits to get the name of their client in the conversation.
That is one of the reasons why Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman already has a new contract from the school following his name being on the early list of potential candidates for the Bears' opening.
The Bears' opening also seems to be how one of the team's former players and defensive coordinator is trying to get their name back in the head coaching cycle. In his latest for The Athletic, Dan Pompei makes a case for the Bears to consider former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera.
If I'm being honest, with no offense to Pompei, the piece reads as a puff piece from Rivera's agent. Given Rivera's previous history with the Bears, there is no doubt that he had cross-over with Pompei's coverage of the team. It seems as if Pompei is doing a solid for Rivera in getting his name back in the conversation for head coach openings this offseason.
The belief from Pompei is that if the Bears truly are looking for a "leader of men", Rivera would be the right choice. The problem with that is in Rivera's 13 seasons as a head coach between the Panthers and Commanders, he only has 3 winning seasons. Sure, Rivera's Panthers reached the Super Bowl in 2015 but he does not have the coaching success that Chicago media wants you to believe he has.
No, Ron Rivera isn't the answer for the Chicago Bears.
As for the "leader of men" reputation that Pompei pushes for Rivera, his 4-13 season with the Commanders last year featured suggestions that he also did not have full control over the locker room.
Rivera is currently out of football, doing broadcast work for Westwood One.
Rivera would be a disastrous hire for the Bears. It goes back to what we mentioned yesterday with Ben Johnson, there is no need for the Bears to complicate the process and overthink it. Johnson is the right choice.