Bears’ Next Move: How Trading for a Rival Head Coach Could Spark…
The Chicago Bears are searching for their fifth head coach since the 2012 season when they fired Lovie Smith. The Bears have made two playoff appearances (no wins) since Smith was fired.
On Friday, the Bears gave up on Matt Eberflus following a 14-32 record in his three seasons with Chicago. CEO Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles have the benefit of December to look for Eberflus’ replacement.
A GM on the hot seat is helping to hire a coach for a second-year QB
During his press conference on Monday, Poles admitted that he would have to “work through” the fact that any head coaching candidate might be turned off by coming on board to an organization that had a general manager on the hot seat.
One solution might be for Chicago to trade for a coach instead of convincing one to sign with the team.
Could the Chicago Bears trade for Kevin O’Connell?
ESPN‘s Kalyn Kahler urged the Bears to think outside the box and trade with the Minnesota Vikings for Kevin O’Connell.
“This is going to sound crazy, but the Bears need to think crazy,” Kahler posted on X. “They should trade for Kevin O’Connell. Caleb and KOC love each other. I don’t know if the Vikings would ever part with him, but Chicago should at least try. Added bonus: I believe his agent is Trace Armstrong.”
Armstrong is Poles’ agent.
O’Connell has led the Vikings to a 30-16 record in his three seasons with Minnesota. The Vikings won the NFC North in 2022. The Vikings took a step back in 2023 when Kirk Cousins suffered an Achilles injury. Minnesota was expected to struggle in 2024 with a new quarterback situation (Sam Darnold and rookie J.J. McCarthy), but the Vikings have started the season 10-2 and are in the hunt for the NFC North and playoffs.
NFL teams have traded draft picks for a head coach eight times in league history. The New York Jets and New England Patriots made an in-division trade in 2000 that gave the Patriots Bill Belichick, though he hadn’t coached a snap for the Jets. The last swap for a head coach came in 2023 when the Denver Broncos traded with the New Orleans Saints to acquire Sean Payton.
