Day 15 of the Chicago Bears offseason. The temperature outside when I woke up had a “real feel” of negative-8 degrees. Please be safe and stay warm if you have to venture outside today.
- Call it a hunch, but I think the Bears will have a new head coach by the end of the week. Of their known candidates, the only ones whose teams are still in the playoffs are Washington Commanders Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady. Everyone else sitting atop the team’s wishlist is out of the postseason mix and can begin having in-person interviews at Halas Hall starting today. I am keeping my eyes peeled for those announcements.
- If you are curious when Joe Brady and Kliff Kingsbury can interview, the next time they can chop it up with the Bears is one week from today (at the earliest).
- The New Orleans Saints aren’t wasting much time getting into Round 2 of their interview process. Mike Kafka (who interviewed with the Bears early in the process) is reportedly receiving a second meeting with the Saints.
- Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell discusses the possibility of losing both of his top coordinators…
Coach Campbell on potentially replacing coordinators pic.twitter.com/iH5uPlNdpj
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 20, 2025
- … however, he hasn’t been told by OC Ben Johnson or DC Aaron Glenn about their future plans. However, it sounds like he plans on losing them. So I suppose there is a non-zero chance that one (maybe both?) returns. But with the Bears and Raiders vying for Johnson, and Genn seemingly a favorite for the Saints and Jets gigs, it is tough to imagine Detroit running it back with the gang who won the NFC North next season.
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter/X) lists Scottie Montgomery (Lions Assistant HC/RBs Coach) and Tanner Engstrand (Lions Passing Game Coordinator) as candidates who are expected to get consideration for the offensive coordinator position if Ben Johnson leaves. Meanwhile, Lions LBs Coach Kelvin Sheppard will get a look to replace Aaron Glenn.
- When the BEars go on the search for coordinators, they’ll probably be competing with the Lions โ who have what I would expect to be very coveted positions.
- I know the Lions’ defense looked ROUGH on Saturday in that loss to the Commanders. And yet, if I was part of the Bears’ head coach search committee, I would still be interested in picking his brain regarding defensive philosophy and what makes Dan Campbell tick. Might as well collect intel while you can.
- Ranking 10 Bears coaching candidates in tiers, but with emojis:
- 🥇: Ben Johnson
- 🥈: Todd Monken
- 🥉: Mike McCarthy
- 🆒: Joe Brady, Marcus Freeman, Aaron Glenn, Kliff Kingsbury
- 🆗: Pete Carroll
- ⛔: Thomas Brown, Brian Flores, Vance Joseph, Mike Kafka, David Shaw, Arthur Smith, Adam Stenavich, Anthony Weaver
- 🤷: Matt Campbell, Eddie George, Drew Petzing, Ron Rivera
- On a different timeline, I’d be interested in Eddie George as a Bears head coaching candidate. George was a star college football player, stud as a pro, and has been making his climb up the coaching ranks. George’s Tennessee State team won the Big South-OVC last year and was the league’s Coach of the Year recipient. The College Football Hall of Famer might have a bright future as a coach. Maybe there is a job for him in Chicago down the line.
- If Eddie George doesn’t get the Bears job, I hope the team does him a solid. Something along the lines of bringing him and some players in for a visit at Halas Hall. That kind of gesture could be beneficial for the Bears and George (think of the stories and pitches you could give recruits โย on top of a rรฉsumรฉ as a player and coach worth boasting).
- There were moments during my weekend watch of playoff games where I felt that the Bears wouldn’t be so far off with the right coaching and some upgrades at certain position groups. But the reality is, that at the end of games where the Bears unraveled in the regular season is where this team would’ve fallen apart in the postseason. For me, that is where the biggest difference is between Chicago’s football team and the ones still battling for a shot at the Lombardi Trophy.
- Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) writes that Jayden Daniels could haunt the Bears in the future. On the one hand, I understand the sentiment. However, on the other hand, to present the idea that there can only be one good quarterback from any given draft class (which is the sentiment at the core of this piece) feels disingenuous after watching draft classmates Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen duke it out in the divisional round one week after seeing Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold lead their particular teams to the playoffs despite not doing so with the teams that drafted them. There is no rule that states that Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams can’t both be great.
- A message from the Chicago Bears:
- The Chicago Cubs finished in second place in the Tanner Scott Sweepstakes.
- Over at BN Bulls, Elias Schuster has the latest on a report that the Chicago Bulls are ready to move on from Patrick Williams (just months into his five-year, $90 million extension).
- Tab Bamford has more on how much the NHL’s salary cap will go up next year.
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