Bear Digest

Ranking the Chicago Bears' confirmed head coaching interviews so far

On the first day of the offseason, the Chicago Bears cast a wide net in their head coaching search, reeling in some exciting names and some puzzling ones.

Pete Martuneac

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The Chicago Bears wasted no time on Monday as they got to work looking for a new head coach. They announced several interviews, including some names that were long expected to be at the top of their list, but also a couple of surprise candidates. Additionally, Bears GM Ryan Poles confirmed on Sunday that interim head coach Thomas Brown would get a formal interview for the job, as well.

Here's all the names that the Bears have requested to interview and how they stack up to each other.

The No-Brainers

Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Mike McCarthy

Ben Johnson is once again the leading head coach candidate. No surprise that he was the first interview of the day announced. Glenn, Detroit's defensive coordinator, is another great candidate. He might not be a quarterback guru, but as Johnson's counterpart, he's done a spectacular job keeping the Lions in games despite losing so many starters.

McCarthy is still technically under contract with Dallas, but if they decide to move on, he'll be a heavily sought after coach. His resume, which includes a Super Bowl victory, speaks for itself.

Just a guy

Todd Monken, Brian Flores, Arthur Smith

Monken, Flores, and Smith all have head coaching experience, which is always a plus. As coordinators, Monken has kept Baltimore's offense humming the last two years, while Flores has returned the Vikings' defense to the days of the Purple People Eaters. Smith took over Pittsburgh's offense this season and appeared to be getting the most out of limited quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson.

Same old Bears

Anthony Weaver, Drew Petzing, Mike Kafka, Thomas Brown

While it's nice that the Bears are leaving no stone unturned in their head coaching search, some could argue that they're barking up the wrong tree with some of these names. Hiring them would cause many Bears fans to shake their heads and mutter, 'Same old Bears.'

These last four names are all underachieving coordinators from non-playoff teams. Brown, who for three weeks seemed to be the answer to Chicago's woes as the interim offensive coordinator, proved over the last five weeks that he's not ready to be a head coach. Kafka's offense with the New York Giants was even worse than Chicago's.

Meanwhile, Drew Petzing seemed unable to work Marvin Harrison Jr., widely considered to be a future perennial All-Pro receiver, into his offense consistently. That's a major red flag. But easily the most bizarre interview request is with Anthony Weaver, the defensive coordinator for Miami's lackluster defense. The Bears shouldn't totally ignore defensive coaches in this process, but at least go after successful ones.

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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