The Bears’ Next Leader Revealed: Complete List of Head Coaching Candidates Interviewed So Far
The Chicago Bears have been the busiest team in the NFL through the first week or so of the 2025 head coaching cycle. General manager Ryan Poles has a wish list of candidates that’s so big it’s almost embarrassing.
Bears fans are used to the ridicule, unfortunately. Past double doinks that turn into present Hail Marys seem to flip into a circus for Chicago’s future head coach. It just never ends.
And neither does the daily alert of another coaching candidate who interviewed virtually or in person for the Bears job.
Chicago Bears head coaching interviews
Here’s an updated list of the coaches, or in the case of Broncos consultant David Shaw, executives who’ve interviewed so far:
Mike Vrabel, former Titans head coach
Thomas Brown, Bears interim head coach
Anthony Weaver, Dolphins defensive coordinator
Mike Kafka, Giants offensive coordinator
Pete Carroll, former Seahawks head coach
Drew Petzing, Cardinals offensive coordinator
Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator
Aaron Glenn, Lions defensive coordinator
Ron Rivera, former Panthers and Commanders head coach
David Shaw, Broncos senior personnel executive
From that list, only Vrabel has been eliminated. He’s now the head coach of the New England Patriots.
Former Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy will be added to this list on Wednesday. We know several candidates have interview requests pending, including Joe Brady (OC, Bills), Todd Monken (OC, Ravens), and Brian Flores (DC, Vikings), among several others.
No one knows how long it will take Poles and the Chicago Bears to decide who they want to hire, but they don’t seem to be in a rush. To be fair, the Bears are limited in how aggressive they can be for candidates like Johnson and Monken, whose respective teams advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs.
McCarthy is the Bears coaching candidate to monitor. He’ll be at Halas Hall for an in-person interview, which hasn’t been the case for most of the interviews conducted so far. He has a history of building winning programs and developing quarterbacks, two must-haves in Chicago’s coaching requirements.
Maybe McCarthy will leave a strong impression on Poles and end the wait. Maybe he won’t. What we do know is the Bears have no shortage of names to consider as their coaching search continues.
