Chicago Bears Head Coach Tracker: Which candidates will be interviewing for the team's vacant position

The Chicago Bears' head coaching search is officially underway after the team's 2024 season came to a close.The Bears had a head start on the search after making the decision to part ways with former head coach Matt Eberflus following the team's Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.With the search now underway […]

Kole Noble — Chicago Bears News Writer
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Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson watches practice during mini camp at Detroit Lions headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Chicago Bears' head coaching search is officially underway after the team's 2024 season came to a close.

The Bears had a head start on the search after making the decision to part ways with former head coach Matt Eberflus following the team's Week 13 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.

With the search now underway for multiple teams needed a head coach, things are going to get a little hectic when it comes to following who is interviewing where. This tracker will be updated with all the candidates the Bears will look to bring in for interviews to help keep up with the team's search. Before we get to the list of requests and interviews, here's some important things and dates to remember.

 NFL Interview Policies/Dates:

Due to the NFL's interview rules, teams are prohibited from requesting interviews with candidates from non-playoff teams until the third day after the candidate teams’ Week 18 game and interviews must be held virtually before the end of divisional-round.

Interviews with candidates from non-playoff teams can begin interviewing starting on Tuesday, January 7th or Wednesday, January 7th.

Interviews with candidates on current playoff teams with first-round byes (Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs) can take place virtually between Wednesday, January 8th and Monday, January 13th.

Interviews with candidates on current playoff teams who are playing during Wild Card weekend cannot interview for jobs at all until three days after their wild-card game.

Interviews with candidates who are not currently employed by other teams are free to interview with teams with vacancies.

Bears' HC Interviews and Requests

Below are the confirmed requests the Bears have send out for various candidates around the league. This list will be updated as more requests come in.

Thomas Brown

The Chicago Bears turned to Thomas Brown for the final five games after the team moved on from Matt Eberflus. In those five games, Brown helped rebuild the locker room amid the all turmoil, despite getting promoted for the second time in the span of a month. The results weren't ideal with the Bears finishing the season 1-5 but Brown's command and level of respect in the locker room was evident from Day 1.

Brown has been a rising candidate for the last few years after rising up the NFL coaching ranks under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams. In 2023, Brown left the Rams to become the offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers and was tasked with developing the team's first overall pick, Bryce Young. Brown faced a similar situation in Chicago the following year by helping develop rookie QB Caleb Williams.

Ben Johnson

The hottest name on the cycle the last two years quickly expressed interest in the Bears' job once the position officially became available and the Bears have shared similar interest in the top candidate. Johnson has turned down head coaching jobs in each of the last two cycles and is awaiting the perfect opportunity for him.

With the Lions, Johnson's offense has reached a historic level over the last three seasons. In 2023, Johnson's unit ranked first in points per game scored and second in total yards per game. The 38-year-old will have plenty of interested teams but he is expected to be picky with which open job he considers, if any.

Aaron Glenn

On the same staff, Aaron Glenn has been a rising name on the list of candidates and fielded multiple interviews in last year's cycle. Like Johnson, Glenn chose to stay in Detroit in 2024 with hopes of bringing the first ever Super Bowl to the city.

Glenn's defensive work in Detroit has been just as prolific as the team's offense, but Glenn's leadership has been his defining trait as a head coach candidate. In an NFLPA survey conducted following the 2023 season, Glenn was voted as the most popular defensive coordinator in the league. Players clearly love this guy and for good reason.

Mike Vrabel

The former Tennessee Titans' head coach has one of the most impressive résumés among candidates in this year's cycle. Mike Vrabel's no-nonsense attitude and leadership qualities helped create a strong locker room culture and winning mentality in Tennessee until issues with power dynamics led to his remove as head coach following the 2023 season.

Vrabel spent the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns working with various position groups throughout the year. Vrabel is expected to be back in a head coaching position sooner than later with teams lining up to potentially bring him in.

Anthony Weaver

Similar to Vrabel and Glenn, Anthony Weaver's strength comes from the defensive side of the ball, but his leadership traits have made him an attractive candidate in the eyes of front offices around the league.

When Weaver took the Dolphins' defensive coordinator job in 2023 after getting multiple head coach requests and left Baltimore, Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh made sure to mention that Weaver would be a great head coach someday thanks to his ability to resonate with his players. It seems like it's only a matter of time until he lands a job somewhere in the league as a respected head coach.

Drew Petzing

When Drew Petzing was hired to lead the offense in Arizona on head coach Jonathan Gannon's staff, many around the league questioned the decision given Petzing's age. Two seasons later, the 37-year-old continues to get offers for head coaching jobs.

Petzing's coaching career started with the Vikings where he overlapped with Bears president Kevin Warren. Petzing then landed with the Cleveland Browns as a tight ends coach (2020-21) and quarterbacks coach (2022). Despite his age, Petzing has continued to impress a lot of prominent people with his offensive mind.

Mike Kafka

The former NFL quarterback continues to be a hot name in the head coaching cycle after getting interviews with six jobs over the past two years and second interviews for three of those positions. The Giants assistant head coach and offensive coordinator has great leadership traits and a history being a strong QB developer.

His coaching career started with the Kansas City Chiefs, reuniting with Andy Reid, whom he played for during his career as a quarterback. Kafka jumped from Reid's shadow in 2022 to become the Giants OC. In 2024, he was given the assistant head coach title under Brian Daboll. He's had some strong interviews in the past and narrowly missed out on his first head coaching opportunity with three different teams.

Brian Flores

The Vikings' defensive coordinator has been a popular name associated with the Bears' vacancy ever since the position opened up. Brian Flores has prior connections with team president Kevin Warren in Minnesota and was college teammates with general manager Ryan Poles.

Beyond that, Flores is an attractive candidate based on his coaching-style and defensive success with the Vikings. The former Miami Dolphins' head coach will have to answer for some of the things that went down in Miami during his three seasons including why he went through 4 different OCs and a soured relationship with his young quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Not to mention a previous lawsuit against the NFL.

Arthur Smith

This one comes as a surprise but it's good the Bears are doing their due-diligence on offensive minds around the league. Arthur Smith joined the Steelers staff in 2024 and worked with quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson to help lead the team into the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

Prior to joining Pittsburgh's staff, Smith spent three seasons as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach, finishing 7-10 in all three seasons. Before that, Smith earned high praise as the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator from 2019-2020 where his unit finished second in yards per game and fourth in points per game during the 2020 season.

Mike McCarthy

The Bears being interested in Mike McCarthy is interesting for a variety of different reasons. McCarthy would bring exactly what Chicago needs in a strong offensive system with someone who has a strong repertoire of winning. The kicker is that he could return to Dallas as the head coach. The Cowboys have until his contract expires on January 14th to work something out or McCarthy will be able to talk to other clubs.

The Bears tried to get ahead of this by requesting permission from the Cowboys, however that request was denied on January 8th. The interest from Chicago is clearly there, it just depends on whether or not the Cowboys want to keep their current HC.

Todd Monken

The Bears are hitting on a wide range of candidates and Todd Monken adds to the group of veteran experienced offensive minds. Monken joined the Ravens in 2023 and helped quarterback Lamar Jackson win his second MVP award and helped lead the team to an AFC North crown in each season.

Before joining the Ravens, Monken served as the offensive coordinator for the University of Georgia, helping lead the program to back-to-back National Championship wins. Earlier in his career, Monken also served as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Cleveland Browns.

David Shaw

David Shaw continues to be a fascinating candidate because somehow the guy always gets interviews every year. Last year, he had two interviews and now already has two more lined up this cycle for a head coaching gig.

Shaw's claim to fame for head coaching attention came from his time as a head coach at Stanford where he coached Andrew Luck and Davis Mills. He also previous served as an assistant with the Eagles, Raiders, and Ravens. Shaw joined the Broncos in 2024 as a personnel executive where he evaluated NFL and college talent for the team.

Joe Brady

The Buffalo Bills' offensive coordinator might be the best young offensive-minded candidate after Ben Johnson. Joe Brady has already been around the game for a while at the professional and college level leading multiple successful offenses. He's a bright mind that continues to get a lot of interest around the league.

Brady's first crowning achievement came with LSU after leading an offense that featured Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Ja'Marr Chase to a National Championship. Brady then jumped to the NFL as the Carolina Panthers' OC but was scapegoated by then head coach Matt Rhule, who was later fired. In 2023, Brady became the Bills' interim OC and was given the full time role after the season ended. In 2024, the Bills' offense was one of the league's best with the team primed for another playoff run.

Pete Carroll

The connection between Pete Carroll and the Bears first popped up on Thanksgiving morning after Adam Schefter reported Carroll was interested in the team's opening, soon after the team shared similar feelings.

Now, the two sides have lined up an interview, which creates quite an interesting turn to the entire search. Carroll is an intriguing candidate who was unfortunately forced out of his role with the Seahawks despite years of success leading the team. His former players always speak highly of his leadership that helped bring the first ever Super Bowl to Seattle. However, at 73-years-old, Carroll's age presents some concern.

Kliff Kingsbury

It was only a matter of time until Kliff Kingsbury's name joined this list and it is now official. Kingsbury is close with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams from their time together at USC when Kingsbury was a senior offensive assistant on the staff. The Bears had multiple meetings with Kingsbury last offseason for the vacant OC position.

Kingsbury instead landed with the Commanders and helped led rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense to the playoffs. Kingsbury is expected to be hesitant to take another HC job given the success in Washington and the fact he's still be paid from his time as the Arizona Cardinals' head coach. We'll see if he changes his mind.

Matt Campbell

Every cycle it seems lately, you see Matt Campbell's name pop up for the work he's done with the Iowa State program and now the Bears are the latest team expressing interest. In 2021, the Lions made a push for this Campbell before ultimately settling on Dan Campbell, but other teams have also expressed interest before.

Campbell has been at Iowa State since 2016 and has the record for the most wins in school history. He's coming off the best season in program history in which he led the team to an 11-3 record and a trip to the Big 12 Championship game against Arizona State. Campbell's background as an offensive line coach offers intriguing value as well.

Ron Rivera

The Bears are the second team of this cycle to reach out to Ron Rivera for a head coach opening after Rivera already interviewed with the Jets. The Bears' interest in the former head coach would bring him back home, considering he played nine seasons with the Bears after being drafted in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft. In 1985, Rivera was a part of the Super Bowl XX winning team. Rivera also began his coaching career in Chicago as a defensive coordinator from 2004-06.

As a coach, Rivera won two AP Coach of the Year Awards with the Carolina Panthers during his nine years with the team. After that, Rivera went on to coach the Washington Commanders for another four seasons. As a coach, Rivera holds a 102-103-2 record overall and has led his team to five different playoff appearances and one Super Bowl appearance in 2015. He is currently an analyst for ESPN.

Marcus Freeman

The head coach of the Fighting Irish was one of the first names attached to the Bears' opening not long after the team made the decision to fire Eberflus. However, the connection then seemed like nothing but smart agent work once Freeman signed a four-year extension in December with Notre Dame, tying him to the program for six more years.

However, it was reported on January 12th that the Bears were still interested in bringing Freeman in for an interview despite his recent deal. The only catch is that Freeman will be unlikely to consider the job until after the National Championship Game on January 20. That's a long time to wait just to get a response for an interview.

Adam Stenavich

Another late addition to the list, the Bears requested to interview their biggest rival's offensive coordinator following the Packers' Wild Card loss in the playoffs. Stenavich has been a rising name on Matt LaFleur's staff, whom LaFleur referred to as "brilliant."

Stenavich was promoted from an offensive line coach / run game coordinator to OC in 2022 after then OC Nathaniel Hackett left to become the head coach of the Denver Broncos and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy left to join the Bears. In the new role, Stenavich worked with the offensive line, quarterbacks, and handled most of the team's run game operation that saw Josh Jacobs rush for 1,329 yards in 2024.

Eddie George

The legendary college football running back and NFL great is now a late addition to the Bears' coaching search. Eddie George has turned Tennessee State into a solid program at the FCS level over the last four years as the team's head coach.

George was named the Big South/Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the team to a 9-4 record and a playoff appearance. Interestingly enough, George has started to become closely connected to Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, whom the Bears have high interest in for their HC vacancy. The Bears, however, are waiting to hopefully speak to Freeman following the National Football Game. 

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