Three options for the Bears head coach in 2025

Eric Canha - USA Today Sports

by Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Wed Dec 04 08:00:02 GMT-05:00 2024

It was a long time coming, but following another horrible clock management job from Matt Eberflus, the Chicago Bears handed him his walking papers Friday Morning as he is no longer the Head Coach in Chicago. The move happened after his Friday morning press conference and came after letting another game get away from a divisional opponent.

Acting offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who is receiving his second promotion in a month, will replace Eberflus. While many feel Brown is potentially a great fit to become the Bears' next head coach, he is still an unproven head coach, and the Bears have gone that route with Matt Nagy and Eberflus.

Neither one of them had much success during their tenure with the team, and that does happen with a first-time head coach. Granted, Brown could prove everybody wrong the final five weeks of the season by winning games, but it does feel like this is an audition for another job instead of staying with the Bears. If that is the case, what happens for Chicago when it comes to finding their next head coach?

When it comes to the Bears' next head coach and what they are looking for, they are not only looking for a coach who has previous experience but also someone who is a leader of men. The word accountability comes to mind with the second part of that, as Eberflus never held his players accountable.

The first part of that statement is what could take Ben Johnson out of the mix if the Bears want to move away from an inexperienced head coach. No one will rule that out as a possibility, but the past two coaches in Chicago have been first-time head coaches, and for the most part, they have failed miserably. There is no way the Bears can go down that route again with the same results, so targeting a veteran head coach may be the way to go.

If you're diving into the leader of men part of that quote and looking at coaches who have previous head coaching experience, three names come to mind, and ironically, they are all intertwined in some way.

Mike Vrabel

The first name on the list is Mike Vrabel, who the Tennessee Titans fired following the 2023 season.

Currently working as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns, Vrabel had a successful run with the Titans, where he went 54-45 and made the playoffs four times as a coach. That included one AFC Championship game, but after two poor years in a row, the Titans moved on from him. Vrabel is one of those guys who is considered a players coach, and for the most part, the team has gotten behind him as a coach.

Adding Vrabel would be an excellent addition, but it may not be the splash hiring the fans are looking for. The bonus of that hire would be that he would inherit, by far, his most talented roster and should be able to bring in several strong assistant coaches.

Brian Flores

The next coach to discuss will be one of the hottest candidates of the offseason, and that is Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Say what you will about his tenure in Miami, but the definition of Leader of Men has a picture of Flores next to it. Flores had an up-and-down tenure as a head coach with Miami before ultimately being let go.

In 2022, he was seen as a Bears head coaching candidate before Eberflus got the gig. He took an LB coaching job with the Steelers that season before moving on to the Vikings in 2023. Given how his tenure with the Dolphins ended and the lawsuit against the NFL, there are questions about whether or not he would fit in Chicago. Still, knowing how much of a leader he is, the Bears need to get him in for an Interview.

Bill Belichick

The final name on this list may seem like the least likely candidate for the fans, but according to reports, there could be some interest between Bill Belichick and the Bears. Arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, Belichick is the one coach who could come into Chicago and change the culture of this team from Day one.

With Six Superbowl rings to his name, Belichick knows what it takes to build an organization and has always found a way to build a great staff. The concern would be whether or not Josh McDaniels would want to join his staff as the OC, but to his credit, he has done a phenomenal job as the play-caller under Belichick.

As slam dunk of a hire as it would be, for the Bears to add a guy like Belichick, they would need to restructure their organization and focus on winning more than they do now. That is something the McCaskey family hasn't done and needs to do.

As mentioned above, all three of these names are intertwined in some way, and the biggest way happens to be that they were all on the Patriots staff at some point, with Vrabel and Flores coaching under Belichick. You have seen the success his coaches have had under him, but Vrabel is the only one of his assistants who has had long-term head coaching success.

All three are also defensive-minded head coaches, which is another question mark for this team.

In an era where teams are targeting young offensive-minded head coaches to cater to their quarterback, can the Bears afford to go with a defensive-minded guy again? Probably not, but Belichick changes that decision, knowing he can put the staff together.