Bears’ Coaching Search Heats Up: Rumor Mill Explodes with the Best Candidate for…
The Bears coaching search will not officially begin until after the Bears and Packers have completed the NFL season Jan. 5 at Lambeau Field.
Until then it exists only in the shadows—the rumor mill.
There hasn’t been one sourced report yet saying they definitely are inteviewing a specific candidate for the job and it’s unlikely anything will get beyond rumors until after the last game and before they are allowed to start their interviews on Jan. 8.
All the talk about Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel and others so far is only speculation. It’s all he said, he said since nothing can happen yet.
Even Vrabel is tied up now even though he lost the Tennessee coaching job after last season, as he is a contracted advisor to the Cleveland Browns for this season.
The Bears will be getting everything in order for their search now, talking to people who know potenital candidates who could be on their long list before they decide to shorten it up and begin the interviews after the season.
The process described by president Kevin Warren puts GM Ryan Poles in the driver’s seat, although it’s going to need Warren’s approval and ultimately George McCaskey will have a chance to weigh in on it.
It was never made clear whether they’ll be using a search firm of any type to either come up with their list or for any other aspect. Poles was asked at the Matt Eberflus firing press conference and wasn’t specific, although they seemed to be leaning toward handling it in-house.
“We have not made that decision right now,” he said. “We are going to lean on both of us and our entire organization, everyone in that think tank and make sure we make the best decision.”
