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Bears coaching candidates: Pete Carroll, Ben Johnson best options in Chicago
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- Bears coaching candidates: Pete Carroll, Ben Johnson best options in Chicago
The Chicago Bears started the season with a 4-2 record. They were just seconds away from improving to 5-2 before Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders completed a deflected Hail Mary to earn a last-second win over the Bears.
From there, everything fell apart. Chicago endured a 10-game losing streak before finally snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Green Bay Packers on a walk-off field goal in Week 18.
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But by then, the damage had already been done. The Bears fired Matt Eberflus after the team's poor, late-game clock management cost them a chance to at least tie the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. A moment that summed up Chicago's disappointing season.
Now, the Bears are looking to pivot quickly while trying to find a new head coach. Their two highest priorities are finding a candidate who can maximize Caleb Williams's potential and unearthing a leader who can spark Chicago's years-long rut and get it back into playoff contention.
Who could that end up being? Here's a look at some top coaching candidates linked to the Bears.
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Bears coach candidates
Pete Carroll, former Seattle Seahawks head coach
Carroll spent the 2024 season out of coaching after the Seahawks replaced the NFL's oldest coach with the NFL's youngest , Mike Macdonald. But now, the 73-year-old is eying a return to the sidelines, and according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer , the Bears "at the very least, would like to sit down and talk with him."
Carroll has a 170-120-1 career record as an NFL head coach and led the Seahawks to a Super Bowl 48 victory. The Californian spent nine years coaching at USC – which could immediately allow him to bond with Williams, who played two seasons for the Trojans – and is one of just four head coaches to win a national title and a Super Bowl.
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Carroll has a strong defensive pedigree and would likely focus on turning Chicago's defense back into one of the league's most fearsome units. That would make his offensive coordinator hire important for Williams' development, but if the Bears want a tone-setter to build a culture in Chicago, Carroll could do the job.
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Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator
Johnson has frequently been connected to the Bears, and it's easy to see why. He's one of the top offensive minds in the league and has led the Lions to top-five offenses in yards and points per game in each of his first three seasons as offensive coordinator.
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Johnson's work with 2016 No. 1 pick Jared Goff has been among the most noteworthy, as the quarterback has posted at least 4,000 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns in all three seasons with Johnson. Chicago may believe the 38-year-old can get similar, high-end production out of Williams while developing the potential-packed draft pick into one of the league's best quarterbacks.
Kliff Kingsbury, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator
Kingsbury will likely be their guy if the Bears want to add a coach familiar with Williams. The former Arizona Cardinals head coach worked as a senior offensive analyst at USC during the 2023 season, so he should have an idea of what Williams does best and how to build a quality offense around him.
Kingsbury has done that with Jayden Daniels , the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year winner, and the Commanders in 2024. That allowed the rookie to break Robert Griffin III 's rookie quarterback rushing record and Washington to make the postseason for the first time since 2020.
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While some will remain skeptical of the 28-37-1 mark Kingsbury posted as the Cardinals' head coach from 2019-22, the Bears may not be able to pass on the 45-year-old's combination of experience, offensive acumen and relationship with Williams.
Mike Vrabel, former Tennessee Titans head coach
Vrabel is another former head coach who is among the "names to watch," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero .
Vrabel, 49, spent the 2024 season as a consultant with the Cleveland Browns after posting a 54-45 record during his six years with the Titans. The long-time NFL linebacker built a reputation for getting the most out of his players in Tennessee and surprisingly guided a Ryan Tannehill-led squad to the AFC's No. 1 seed in 2021.
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Giving Vrabel a defense that includes Montez Sweat and a good, young secondary highlighted by Jaylon Johnson could be a boon if the experienced coach can instill a hard-nosed mentality in Chicago's defense as he did in Tennessee. The only question in hiring Vrabel would be about his plans for Williams, but if Vrabel can sell the Bears on his offensive coordinator candidate, this pairing could work.
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Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator
Flores is a similar candidate to Vrabel. He has a decent record in his previous coaching experience (24-25 with the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21) and routinely gets the most out of the personnel that he is given.
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Most recently, Flores has turned a Vikings defense that ranked bottom-five in both points and yards allowed in 2022 into a top-five scoring defense just two years later. His scheme – which involves routinely blitzing to rattle and confuse quarterbacks – has proven transferrable, so it's no surprise that the Bears are interested in Flores.
Hiring Flores would come with the added benefit of weakening a divisional rival's coaching staff, so that can't be discounted as a part of his candidacy.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator
Brady is on the radar of at least one member of the Bears organization. That would be cornerback Jaylon Johnson , who Amazon Prime sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung reported brought Brady up as a potential coaching candidate, along with Johnson, Kingsbury and Vrabel.
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Brady helped architect LSU's historic offense when Joe Burrow led the Tigers to a national championship. He has since helped Josh Allen cut down on his turnovers and become a legitimate NFL MVP candidate. Given the work the 35-year-old did with those two quarterbacks, the Bears should be interested in his services.
Thomas Brown, Chicago Bears interim head coach
Brown isn't likely to get the Bears' coaching gig after failing to reverse Chicago's struggles under Eberflus. At the same time, the team asked a lot of the 38-year-old – promoting him to interim offensive coordinator and interim head coach within a span of a few weeks – so they will probably at least give him a chance to interview for the job.
That said, Brown likely needs more seasoning before becoming a legitimate head coaching candidate. His No. 1 priority in the 2025 NFL offseason should be to find stability after tumultuous years with the Carolina Panthers (2023) and Bears (2024).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bears coach candidates: Who could be next in Chicago?
