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Chicago Bears' Initial Shortlist for Coaching Candidates Revealed

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net | By Samir Patel | Last updated Dec 10, 2024 2:42 PM ET

The Chicago Bears will be looking to fill their head coaching vacancy this offseason after firing Matt Eberflus following the Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions. Current interim head coach Thomas Brown has no previous head coaching experience and will likely not be a serious contender for Team President Kevin Warren, who indicated this would be the "most coveted job" in the league next year. During his joint press conference with GM Ryan Poles, Warren described the type of coach the Bears would be interested in.

"Leader of men" is a vague term, but it's something the Bears could use. After the locker room reached its boiling point during the loss to the Lions, it would seem now more than ever that a true culture creator is needed to turn this around.

Former Chicago sports broadcaster Dan McNeil tweeted out an initial list of candidates the Bears plan on targeting.

Sources confirm these FOUR coaches are on the Bears' list for HC: Ben Johnson, Brian Flores, Joe Brady, Mike Vrabel. They may want to talk to more candidates, but they're targeting these four. More as soon as I get it. #IBearWitness
— Dan McNeil (@DannyMacShow) December 9, 2024

These names have been tied to the opening since Eberflus' departure. While Johnson and Brady fit the mold of offensive gurus who can help quarterback Caleb Williams develop, Flores and Vrabel fit the mold of Warren's earlier points. Both coaches come from the Bill Belichick school of no-nonsense and would quickly change the culture.

Another wrinkle in this coaching hire is the future of General Manager Ryan Poles. Adam Jahns of the Athletic recently reported that while Poles and Matt Eberflus were hired during the same offseason, their contracts were not aligned.

This came up on the podcast. So I’ll add it here, too: Matt Eberflus got a 5-year contract; Ryan Poles has a 4-year deal.

The Bears signed Ryan Pace to an extension before he started his HC search that ended with Matt Nagy.

To my knowledge, Poles hasn’t been extended yet.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) December 9, 2024

Chairman George McCaskey decided to offset these contracts for some reason. While this may seem odd, here are all the reasons why Bears fans shouldn't be surprised.

This ultimately means one of two things for Ryan Poles as he heads into this offseason with one year left on his deal.

1) He will actively participate in hiring the team's next head coach and will likely have his extension align with both the new coach and Caleb Williams' rookie deal.

2) Kevin Warren will fire Ryan Poles at the end of the season and line up the new GM with the new HC.

Option 2 is what the Bears decided to do when they moved on from former GM Ryan Pace and HC Matt Nagy. The problem was that they had already keyed in on Matt Eberflus and had named him a finalist before hiring Ryan Poles. While there is a new voice in the building with Kevin Warren, there is warranted skepticism that this ownership group can do things in a logical manner. Unfortunately for fans, all they can do is cross their fingers and hope they luck into success.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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