Reflecting on the Bears' 2022 head coaching search to see where those candidates are now and what the team did differently in the 2025 search
This time last week, the Chicago Bears were working hard behind the scenes to finalize the team's head coaching search and by the end of the day it was reported that the team was expected to hire Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.The hire of Ben Johnson was the second head coaching hire the Bears […]
This time last week, the Chicago Bears were working hard behind the scenes to finalize the team's head coaching search and by the end of the day it was reported that the team was expected to hire Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
The hire of Ben Johnson was the second head coaching hire the Bears made since 2022 but this one feels different for the organization in more ways than one.
To further break down how this coaching search was different for Chicago, let's first look back at the previous search in 2022 that led to the hiring of Matt Eberflus.
Bears' 2022 Head Coaching Search
The decision to hire Eberflus as head coach, after previously serving as the Indianapolis Colts' defensive coordinator, raised a lot of eyebrows around the league. Some believed the Colts were even about to move on from Eberflus before the Bears swooped in to give him a coaching promotion.
The Bears were also quick to hire him. Chicago requested to interview Eberflus on January 11th and then hired him on January 27th, two days after the team hired general manager Ryan Poles.
As for the process itself, here are the other candidates the Bears interviewed for the position and where they are now.
Jim Caldwell: For a while Jim Caldwell's name was always floating around in coaching searches after many believed he shouldn't have been fired in Detroit. Caldwell has since never gotten another head coaching opportunity and his last job came with the Carolina Panthers as Frank Reich's senior assistant in 2023.
Dan Quinn: This was probably the candidate the Bears should have ideally gone with, even though Quinn wasn't hired until the 2024 offseason. Still, what Quinn did in Year 1 as the Washington Commanders' head coach was historic, leading the Commanders to the NFC Championship game with a rookie quarterback. I don't understand how so many teams passed on this guy for so long.
Doug Pederson: Not long after Eberflus was hired, the Jacksonville Jaguars went with Pederson in their own coaching search. The hire looked strong after the Jaguars won the AFC South and lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in his first season in Duval. However, Pederson was fired following the 2024 season and replaced by Buccaneers' OC Liam Coen.
Brian Flores: The Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator and former Miami Dolphins' head coach also got an interview from the Bears, and multiple other teams, during the 2025 cycle but will be staying put once again. Flores has a close connection with Poles and seemed like a strong candidate in both cycles.
Brian Daboll: The former Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator was hired as the New York Giants head coach one day after the Bears hired Eberflus. In his first season, Daboll led the Giants to the playoffs and a Wild Card road upset over the Vikings. He then had two bad seasons but will be retained for the 2025 season on a short leash.
Nathaniel Hackett: See, things could have been worse for Chicago. The former Green Bay Packers' offensive coordinator was a hot name after working with Aaron Rodgers and luckily for the Bears, the Denver Broncos choose to hire him with high hopes of landing Rodgers too. The latter never happened and Hackett was fired after not even making it through one season. He recently teamed back up with Rodgers in 2024 as the New York Jets' offensive coordinator.
Bryon Leftwich: The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive coordinator has continued to receive head coaching interviews, and even got one with the New England Patriots during the 2025 cycle. However, he's last coaching stint came in 2022 during his final year as the Buccaneers' OC.
Todd Bowles: The process for Bowles in 2022 was an interesting one. At the time, Bowles was the defensive coordinator of the Buccaneers and was taking interviews with other teams for another shot at being a head coach. He ended up staying in Tampa Bay but was soon promoted to head coach after Bruce Arians moved up to a front office role in March 2022. He is still the head coach of the Buccaneers and led the team to three straight division titles.
Leslie Frazier: The long-time defensive mastermind was the Buffalo Bills' defensive coordinator during the 2022 cycle and had a lot of interest. He instead didn't get another opportunity in the big chair and spent one last season in Buffalo in 2022. In 2024, Frazier joined the Seahawks' staff as an assistant head coach and recently interviewed for the Cowboys' head coach vacancy before the team made their hire.
How Different Was The Approach In 2025?
Looking at that list of names, the Bears had a lot of solid candidates who ended up becoming head coaches. And they did a solid job interviewing former successful head coaches along with up-and-coming coordinators.
But, overall the list wasn't that large. During the 2025 search, the Bears vowed to leave no stone left unturned and ended up interviewing 17 different candidates before coming back around to Ben Johnson. The search also included the team inquiring about trading for Mike Tomlin and pursuing Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.
The main difference in the 2025 search was the fact that the Bears had a general manager already in the building and under contract to lead the search. In 2022, Poles was hired days before Eberflus and then was asked his input on the search the team had already started without him. The only name he was close with was Eberflus, since the two shared the same agent, Trace Armstrong. In 2025, Poles was given full reigns to run the search and dive deep into the research on each candidate in consideration.
The other difference in the Bears' 2025 search was the presence of team president Kevin Warren. The Bears hired Warren in January of 2023 to help turn the team around. Warren's influence in the search was major and his word meant a lot to the organization in terms of getting the owners to open the checkbook. With Warren in the picture, the Bears understood what needed to be done and what should not be allowed to happen going forward. Johnson's agent confirmed that he absolutely gives credit to Warren for landing the top candidate on the cycle.
After this latest hire, many are hoping for good things out of Ben Johnson thanks to the grueling work Poles and Warren went through to make this decision. We'll soon see if this latest head coaching hire finally pays off for the Bears, or not.
