Bear Digest

Former NFL QB sounds the alarm against Bears head coaching candidate

The Chicago Bears must make the correct hire in their 2025 head coaching search, and one former NFL quarterback had harsh words for a candidate the Bears will interview soon.

Bryan Perez

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had quite the career. He played for nine teams across a 17-year career and crossed paths with an endless list of head coaches and coordinators during that time.

So when Fitzpatrick sounds the alarm against Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who's one of the popular Chicago Bears candidates in this year's head coaching search, the decision-makers inside Halas Hall better listen.

Fitzpatrick played for Flores during his two-year stint with the Miami Dolphins. It's fair to say Flores didn't make the best impression. Take a listen:

Opinions are unique, and it's entirely possible that Fitzpatrick's feelings about Flores -- which are so strong he called him a dictator -- are isolated to his experience.

Or, maybe not. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa shared his recollection of his time under Flores during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show over the summer.

"If you woke up every morning, and I told you that you suck at what you did, that you don't belong doing what you do, that you shouldn't be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven't earned this right, and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, 'Dude, you are the best fit for this. You are accurate, you are the best whatever, you are this, you are that.' How would that make you feel, listening to one or the other? You see what I'm saying?

"And then you hear it and hear it -- regardless of what it is, the good or the bad -- and you hear it more and more, you start to actually believe that. I don't care who you are. You could be the President of the United States. (If) you have a terrible person that's telling (you) things that you don't want to hear or probably shouldn't be hearing, you're gonna start to believe that about yourself. That's sort of what ended up happening. It's basically been two years of training that out of, not just me, but a couple of the guys as well that have been here since my rookie year all the way 'til now."

Yikes. That's two different quarterbacks who were in very different stages of their careers and with very different NFL outlooks sharing a similarly harsh opinion of Brian Flores, who suddenly doesn't sound like the kind of head coach who should be charged with developing the Chicago Bears' most prized talent, Caleb Williams.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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