Let me first start by saying that what the Chicago Bears should do in the wake of firing Matt Eberflus and what they will do are likely two different things.
On Friday, Eberflus became the first Bears head coach to be fired mid-season in their 104-year history. And while Chicago did something they’ve never done before, they’ve perpetuated a cycle that’s been their reality for almost a decade.
Less than a year after drafting a quarterback in the first round, they fired the staff that brought him in. It was the case when they fired John Fox after Mitchell Trubisky‘s first season in 2018. They did it again and fired Matt Nagy after Justin Fields‘ first season in 2022. Now, Caleb Williams suffers the same fate.
Now, Williams has shown signs of development and, dare I say, special talent, despite all the chaos around him. In the game where seemingly everything changed against the Washington Commanders, Williams willed the Bears to their first lead of the game with 25 seconds left on the clock. He had the Bears within Cairo Santos‘ range to kick a game-winning field goal against the Green Bay Packers. Williams and the Bears offense forced overtime against the Minnesota Vikings against that defense. With all the adversity he’s already overcome, there’s optimism that Williams can fare better than his predecessors.
But that doesn’t change one simple fact: The Bears absolutely have to nail this hire.
The roster, even outside of Caleb Williams, is talented from top to bottom. It will be the most “coveted job in the National Football League” as team president Kevin Warren put it on Monday.
With Caleb Williams, are the Bears a good coaching destination?
Yet, the Bears can’t rest on that alone. They need to put resources behind their head coaching search. That means paying his salary, his staff salaries and paying for miscellaneous resources across the organization that can help the Bears win.
That’s not something Chicago has historically done. It’s also something it could be reluctant to do given the monetary resources planned for a multi-billion-dollar stadium. History isn’t on the Bears side, even recent history, which has shown plenty of dysfunction.
There’s the fact that Bears brass had Eberflus conduct his weekly press conference on Friday, letting him humiliate himself before firing him two hours later.
There’s the mixed messaging of the Monday press conference with both Warren and general manager Ryan Poles, where Poles was concerningly quiet as it became evident Warren was the one calling the shots, despite his insistence it would be a “collaborative effort.”
The levels of red tape that are evident to outsiders turn into red flags for potential coaching candidates.
Provided the McCaskeys, Warren and Poles can all get on the same page, who do we see as potential candidates in this search?
Let’s get to it.
Are the Chicago Bears giving Caleb Williams enough support?
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
This is likely a pipe dream. Johnson, should he choose to even leave Detroit, won’t come cheap. He will have the most interest of any single head coaching candidate in the 2025 cycle and, as a result, can basically name his price. That’s the single biggest obstacle in getting him to Chicago.
Now, if the Bears do something completely out of character and pony up for the offensive guru, there could be endless possibilities between Johnson and the roster. You have to think there’s interest on Johnson’s part with a dynamic young quarterback like Williams and offensive weapons like D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift and Cole Kmet, among others. Prioritize some badass offensive linemen this offseason and the Bears could have their own video game characters offensively.
Johnson has never been a head coach before, but he has also seen how culture can be changed, having seen Dan Campbell do it for the Lions organization. The hope is that those philosophies have rubbed off on Johnson, even if his personality differs from Campbell’s. You also hope that Johnson would be able to bring in the right staff with him. That’s a huge component of nailing the head coach hire — who are these candidates bringing with them? It’s harder when you’ve never had your own staff before. I don’t know how many guys Johnson could or would want to poach from Detroit’s staff. But it isn’t a question that Johnson will be the biggest splash, wherever he ends up.
Chicago Bears: Who will replace Matt Eberflus as HC next season?
Former Tennessee Titans head coach and current Browns personnel consultant Mike Vrabel
Two of the league’s top teams have non-playcalling head coaches, including Johnson’s Lions under Campbell. There’s also Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia. Odds are that one of those teams will be in the Super Bowl this year. Could that be a formula for Chicago?
For a team that needs a cultural overhaul and struggles in in-game situations, maybe a coach whose only job is those two things would be exactly what they need.
That’s where Vrabel comes in. He’s the ultimate football guy. He’s also proven he knows how to identify coaching talent. The first offensive coordinator he named in Tennessee as head coach was Matt LaFleur. Arthur Smith followed him when LaFleur got the Green Bay head coaching gig.
A culture guy with a strong rolodex should be extremely high on the consideration list. Even if Vrabel is notoriously a big personality, he has reason to be. He’s won playoff games, plural. There’s a track record there that doesn’t exist anywhere else on this list, and it’s one that could carry weight with (all) the guys in charge.
Mike Vrabel has proven he knows how to identify coaching talent. Could he do so in building a great Bears staff? (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury
This is the name you’ll probably most see associated with the Bears’ vacancy given his familiarity with Williams (Kingsbury was one of Williams’ coaches his last year at USC) and what Kingsbury has been able to do in Washington with another rookie quarterback. Under Kingsbury, the Commanders’ offense ranks third in offensive EPA/play this season behind only the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions, per PFF. A league-leading 49.1% of their offensive plays generate positive EPA. Daniels himself broke the rookie record for completion percentage in a single game at 91.3% against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. The way that Kingsbury was able to ease Daniels into the NFL, get his confidence up before then opening up the offense has worked out beautifully, and ahead of schedule for the Commanders.
Kingsbury has also been a head coach and for as poorly as his tenure in Arizona ended, Kingsbury helped quarterback Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to some real success. Murray was named to two Pro Bowls with Kingsbury as his coach.
Under Kliff Kingsbury, the Commanders’ offense ranks third in offensive EPA/play this season. (Photo by Getty Images)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen
Yes, the Bucs may only be 6-6 right now, but what Coen has been able to do in Tampa Bay and with Baker Mayfield can’t be overstated. The Bucs’ offense ranks in the top 10 in most major offensive metrics. They’re tied for fifth in scoring offense with the Cincinnati Bengals, averaging 27.9 points per game. They’ve diversified their run scheme and just saw a rookie running back rush for 152 yards and a touchdown against a division opponent on Sunday.
Mayfield looks like a new man. He ranks third in completion rate and his passer rating of 98 on the season ranks eighth, per PFF. Coen has been excellent at identifying what Mayfield does well and scheming the offense around it. As a result, Mayfield’s confidence is through the roof, and he continues to come in clutch time and again for the Bucs.
We’ve already seen Caleb Williams be capable of some late-game heroics, all he needs is someone to help him polish the rest of the rough off. Coen could easily be that guy, but the Bears won’t be the only ones with interest.
What Liam Coen has been able to do in Tampa Bay and with Baker Mayfield can’t be overstated. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown
This is the least exciting option for Bears fans, but this final stretch of the season will determine if it’s the right one. Brown, within the constraints of a playbook he didn’t install, has excelled at overhauling Chicago’s offense in such a small amount of time. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Williams has recorded a 7.8% completion rate above expectation and is averaging 10.8 yards per attempt against the blitz since Brown took over playcalling. As a result, Williams has the third-most passing yards against the blitz.
In contrast, under former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, Williams had a -3.8% CPOE against the blitz and just six yards per attempt.
Part of that has to do with the fact that Brown has given Williams more answers by simply adding more motion into the offense. Under Waldron, Chicago ranked near the bottom in motion rate and under Brown, they’ve skyrocketed into the top 10. Motion can help quarterbacks in a variety of ways but the biggest thing it does is give the guy under center more information about what he’s facing based on how the defense adjusts (or doesn’t adjust) to whatever window dressing the offense decides to do.
Being able to identify problems, work to fix them and galvanize the team in the process are all qualities the Bears have said they’d like their next coach to have. Especially if the players respond down the stretch, it would be hard to get rid of a guy like that.
Honorable mentions: Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Carmen Vitali is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.
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