Bears attempted to check in on acquiring another Super Bowl winning head coach, only to be met with yet another rejection
The Chicago Bears truly are leaving no stone left unturned in the search for the team's next head coach over the last few weeks.The Bears have reached out to, and already interviewed, some top coordinators and former head coaches, along with top names at the college level.The search party has even checked in on acquiring […]
The Chicago Bears truly are leaving no stone left unturned in the search for the team's next head coach over the last few weeks.
The Bears have reached out to, and already interviewed, some top coordinators and former head coaches, along with top names at the college level.
The search party has even checked in on acquiring head coaches who are still under contract with other clubs around the league.
The first instance of this came when the Bears requested to interview then Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. The team's request was denied, only for Dallas to part ways with McCarthy days later, allowing the team to finally speak with him.
But, apparently McCarthy isn't the only former Super Bowl winning head coach the Bears reached out about. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Bears recently called the Pittsburgh Steelers to see if Mike Tomlin was available via trade.
This comes after another disappointing first round exit and a fifth consecutive playoff loss by the Steelers' head coach. However, the Steelers quickly shut down the Bears inquiry in making a deal to land Tomlin.
Even if it didn't work out, you can't fault the Bears for asking. And it seems like they weren't the only team interested. Schefter added that at least one other team reached out to the Steelers in hopes of making a deal.
Since the Steelers' playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the organization has came out in support of running things back with Tomlin, who signed a 3-year extension with Pittsburgh last offseason and holds a no-trade clause in his contract.
"As long as I'm afforded the opportunity to do that, I will continue. But I certainly understand the frustrations, and probably more importantly than that, I share it. Because that's how I'm wired," Tomlin said during his end of season press conference. "I'm not a big-time comfort seeker, and particularly in circumstances such as this, I don't view myself as a comfort provider because words are hollow. It's about what we do and less about what we say."
Tomlin went on to tell other teams who might be interested in acquiring him to "Save your time."
As for the Bears, the rejection isn't ideal but the team likely didn't have high hopes of being successful in the inquiry going into it, and they'll be okay. The team has already interviewed 14 candidates for their vacant position and will soon begin cutting down the list and inviting a handful of them back for second interviews at Halas Hall.
NFL Insider believes the Bears’ head coaching search is a ‘two-horse race’ but another top candidate could gain some ground over the weekend
The search is starting to heat up.
