National NFL writer has a far-fetched solution for the Chicago Bears' head coach vacancy that sounds too good to be true
The search is on to find the next head coach of the Chicago Bears after the team decided to part ways with Matt Eberflus last week.The Bears are planning to conduct an exhaustive search to find the worthy candidate to lead the team into the future.After hearing from team president Kevin Warren on Monday for […]
The search is on to find the next head coach of the Chicago Bears after the team decided to part ways with Matt Eberflus last week.
The Bears are planning to conduct an exhaustive search to find the worthy candidate to lead the team into the future.
After hearing from team president Kevin Warren on Monday for the first time since firing Eberflus, here are some of the traits the team will be looking for in the search.
“We need an individual who has extremely high standards,” Warren said. “Who is tough, who is demanding, who is bright, who has attention to detail, who seeks and will win championships, who creates an environment of accountability, who’s creative, who’s intelligent, who’s a decisive decision maker, and who will represent the city of Chicago, all of our fans, this franchise, in a manner that is well deserved.”
That's quite the checklist to go off of and should signal that the Bears are going to take their time with this search.
Multiple reporters and outlets have floated many different names who could be potential candidates including Bill Belichick, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Marcus Freeman, Brian Flores, and many others.
However, on Tuesday, we got another name joining the list thanks to national NFL writer Mike Florio who proposed a wild idea he believes the Bears should consider while appearing on the Mully and Haugh Show on 670 The Score.
Florio stated he believes the Bears would be wise to inquire about the possibility of trading for San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
"I feel like he's on the Andy Reid path where he's never going to reach his full potential unless he goes to a new team," Florio explained. "His dad's from Illinois and there's kind of an appeal to that."
Over the past few days, Bears' fans have jokingly been stoking the fire under Shanahan on social media hoping something sparks that could lead to the innovative head coach suddenly becoming available. But, that's not going to happen.
However, trading for Shanahan could be an option, albeit a far-fetched one. As Florio later added, the 49ers nearly traded former head coach Jim Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns years prior and seeing if the team would be willing to discuss moving another head coach is worth looking into.
The last head coach to be traded was Sean Payton, who was traded from the New Orleans Saints to the Denver Broncos after initially retiring. In the trade, the Broncos sent a 2023 first-round pick (29th overall) and a 2024 second-round pick while getting a new head coach and a 2024 third-round pick in return.
Bruce Arians (Cardinals-Buccaneers), Herm Edwards (Jets-Chiefs), and Jon Gruden (Buccaneers-Raiders) were also head coaches traded in recent years.
Given Shanahan's status and recent success, it would likely take more than what the Broncos gave up for Payton, which would be hard to cough up. However, the Bears already have a loaded roster with a franchise quarterback in place and nearly $80 million in cap to fill remaining holes.
Shanahan would also be the perfect fit for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Pairing Williams with an offensive-minded head coach would be in the Bears' best interest and Shanahan has a strong history helping different style quarterbacks find success.
Again, this is a long shot possibility and one I probably wouldn't consider if I were general manager Ryan Poles. But, if Shanahan believes his window has closed in San Francisco, Chicago would be the best landing spot in the league for him to land with.
