Oddsmakers list unexpected candidate for Bears head coaching job

The Chicago Bears are looking for a new head coach, and oddsmakers can envision a truly wacky scenario unfolding.

Online sportsbook SportsBetting.ag released odds on Tuesday for the next head coach of the Bears, who just fired Matt Nagy after four seasons. New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was unexpectedly listed among the candidates for the Bears job.

Payton, who has been the head coach of the Saints since 2006, actually had a brief stint as a Bears player back in 1987. He also has other ties to the Illinois area, having attended high school in Naperville (a suburb of Chicago) and college at Eastern Illinois University.

Granted, it is tough to imagine that Payton would ever leave New Orleans for another job. SportsBetting.ag lists his odds of becoming the next Bears coach at +2500, which is the lowest of any candidate listed and reflects the unlikeliness of such an outcome. But the sportsbook also posted odds for the other four NFL coaching jobs that were open as of Tuesday morning (Miami, Denver, Jacksonville, and Minnesota). Payton was not listed as a candidate for any of those jobs, making his inclusion with the Bears fairly noteworthy.

As it stands right now, SportsBetting.ag has the three top candidates for the Bears job as Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll at +600, University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh at +550, and this candidate who is set to interview with the Bears as the favorite at +500.