The Chicago Bears are in the market for a new general manager and head coach.
So who will they hire? We have possible head coaching and general manager candidates to keep an eye on, plus the latest moves and interview requests from around the NFL.
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Todd Bowles: What to know about the Buccaneers defensive coordinator
Dan Quinn: What to know about the Cowboys defensive coordinator
Leslie Frazier: What to know about the Bills defensive coordinator
Byron Leftwich: What to know about the Buccaneers offensive coordinator
Matt Eberflus: What to know about the Colts defensive coordinator
Brian Daboll: What to know about the Bills offensive coordinator
Jim Caldwell: What to know about the former Colts and Lions coach
Nathaniel Hackett: What to know about the Packers offensive coordinator
Brian Flores: What to know about the former Dolphins coach
Doug Pederson: What to know about the former Eagles coach
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Ryan Poles: What to know about the Chiefs executive director of player personnel
Reggie McKenzie: What to know about the Dolphins senior personnel executive
Ran Carthon: What to know about the 49ers director of pro personnel
Morocco Brown: What to know about the Colts director of college scouting
Eliot Wolf: What to know about the Patriots senior consultant
Ed Dodds: What to know about the Colts assistant general manager
Joe Schoen: What to know about the Bills assistant director of player personnel
Monti Ossenfort: What to know about the Titans director of player personnel
Jeff Ireland: What to know about the Saints assistant general manager
Champ Kelly: What to know about the Bears assistant director of player personnel
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: What to know about the Browns VP of football operations
Glenn Cook: What to know about the Browns VP of player personnel
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Here’s what to know about the search for a new Bears coach and general manager.
‘Thorough, diligent and exhaustive’: Inside the Chicago Bears’ search for a new coach and GM — and why the ever-growing candidate list could be a concern
Within some league circles, there is a belief that the Bears don’t have a comprehensive understanding of how this process should work, even with Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian helping to run the show.
But after such a lengthy stretch of futility, the most common reaction to George McCaskey’s news conference was a hard eye roll and a “we’ll see about that” response.
As the Bears march on, here are six other notes, nuggets and snippets of chatter from the first week-plus of the team’s searches.
What can Bears offer a new GM and coach? The pros and cons in 4 areas, including what the team has in QB Justin Fields.
As the five-person Bears search committee narrows its choices, it also will be selling what the franchise has to offer the next GM and coach. Six other teams are looking for a coach, and three others are trying to find a GM.
So what exactly is the appeal of the Bears jobs, and what is the downside to what the next GM and coach will inherit?
A blowout playoff win followed by an interview with the Bears. For Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, this is the definition of ‘strike while the iron is hot.’
If the Bears were intent on doing comprehensive research for their simultaneous searches for a new head coach and general manager, perhaps their Saturday night homework should have ended with a peek into the interview rooms at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
You don’t have to be a sophisticated football evaluator to understand what the Bills did Saturday night was extraordinary and rare. They possessed the ball eight times and assembled an eye-popping drive chart: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, “victory formation.”
Op-ed: We’ve seen progress, but more can be done to make the NFL’s front offices more inclusive
Creating a new playbook. Specializing with intentionality. Identifying and lifting up the game-changers. Trusting the process.
That’s not just how winning teams are assembled in the NFL. That’s also how inclusive front offices are also built, writes Troy Vincent Sr., executive vice president of football operations for the NFL.
‘The roster needs work.’ How does the Bears coaching job stack up with the other NFL openings? A look at how attractive each team is.
How attractive is the Bears coaching job? Quarterback Justin Fields is considered a young player with upside. Ownership has supported its football operation, recently pouring a ton of money into a renovation of Halas Hall. The Bears are considered an attractive home and have some young talent on the roster.
The Tribune polled 19 league executives, coaches and veteran agents with knowledge of rosters and how teams operate, asking them to rank the seven openings, which assumes the Raiders job opens.
How will the Bears conduct their searches for a new GM and coach? And what do we know about the search committee?
While George McCaskey said he ultimately will make the decision on the next GM and coach, the Bears assembled a five-person search committee — McCaskey, Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, Phillips, vice president of player engagement LaMar “Soup” Campbell and senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion Tanesha Wade.
Why the NFL’s ‘socialistic enterprise’ means the Bears win at the bank — even when they lose on the field
When the Bears lowered the lid on another disappointing season, it was easy to view them as an NFL franchise in disarray. But when you look at things another way, the Bears are doing just fine.
Every home game was a sellout, or close to it. TV ratings remained high. And when Forbes released its annual list of estimated team values, the Bears had shot up 16% year-over-year, to $4.1 billion. Only six NFL teams are worth more.
That’s not even counting the new stadium the Bears appear ready to build in Arlington Heights.
George McCaskey promises a ‘thorough, diligent and exhaustive’ search for the next Bears GM and coach after firing Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy
During an hourlong video conference, George McCaskey said he consulted “a number of people” in NFL circles before making the decisions and finalizing his conclusion Sunday night. He said Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, 99, also was consulted as part of the team’s board of directors.
“Everybody wants to win one for her,” McCaskey said. “And we’re doing everything we can to make that happen. At one point in our conversations, I asked her for her assessment of our season, and she said, as only a mother can, ‘I’m very, very disappointed.’”
George McCaskey’s inability to recall when the Bears united with Bill Polian is peculiar. But Polian’s influence on the upcoming coach and GM searches is now paramount.
The revelation came subtly from Bears Chairman George McCaskey.
Bill Polian had been tabbed to jump into the driver’s seat for the upcoming coach and general manager searches. And, boy, were the most important leaders at Halas Hall pumped.
Yet McCaskey also seemed to be suffering from a bit of selective amnesia. He couldn’t remember exactly when Polian linked up with the team. “At some point during the season,” McCaskey said. “I can’t recall when.”
‘This is a results-driven league’: Bears players react to the firings of coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace
Running back David Montgomery acknowledged that he was emotional. Given the news that Bears coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace had been fired a day after the team finished its 6-11 season, Montgomery couldn’t wall off a combination of disappointment, sadness and sentimentality.
“It’s pretty emotional for me,” he said.
Pace was the GM who traded up in the 2019 draft to select Montgomery at No. 73 in the third round. Nagy was the energetic coach with whom Montgomery developed a close bond during their three seasons working together.
Even if the news wasn’t all that stunning to anyone inside or outside of Halas Hall, the finality still packed a punch.
From George Halas to Matt Nagy: What was said about each Bears coach when they were hired
The day a new Bears coach is introduced can be one of the most thrilling for fans.
As the search to find the next coach of the Bears begins, here’s a look back at when each of the team’s previous 16 coaches were introduced by team management.
How Matt Nagy’s 34-31 record stacks up with other Bears coaches
With a loss to the Vikings in the last game of the 2021 season, Bears coach Matt Nagy ended his fourth — and final — season with the team with a 34-31 record.
Here’s a look back at how Nagy’s coaching record compares, season-by-season and amongst 15 former Bears coaches.
The Bears are seeking their 17th head coach. Here’s a look at how past coaches fared — and when they left the franchise.
The Bears will be looking for their 17th head coach in the franchise’s 100-plus-year history. Some of the previous 16 were significantly more successful than others, but either way, the Bears never have fired a coach midseason — nice work if you can get it.
Here’s a look at how Bears coaches fared and what the circumstances were when they left the franchise.