The Chicago Bears had a pretty darn good coach in John Fox. He wasn’t able to make a poorly assembled team win, though, and now, it’s going to be up to the Windy City brass to find a coach for one of the least-talented teams in the NFL.
Favorites to Be Next Chicago Bears Head Coach
Josh McDaniels (6/1) as next head coach is the most logical choice from Chicago’s perspective. The Bears need someone who is going to help build the franchise through Mitchell Trubisky, and it’s clear they’re going to want a coach who has experience working with young quarterbacks. McDaniels is largely attributed to the continued growth of Tom Brady in New England, and he even deserves a little bit of credit for the brief development of Tim Tebow.
Still, there’s a wonder whether McDaniels would even want the Bears’ job. He’s going to make himself available for all of the job openings out there, and Chicago is probably the least desirable of the bunch. If he believes in Trubisky, he’ll look strongly into the Bears. However, most agree that it was a reach to make Trubisky the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft last year, especially since Deshaun Watson could have been had in the middle of the first round.
While McDaniels is the sentimental favorite in the Windy City, realistically, there’s a better chance to land Pat Shurmur (6/1). Both McDaniels and Shurmur are 6/1 choices to become the next Chicago coach, but Minnesota’s offensive coordinator feels like the far better bet.
Shurmur already has some experience coaching a bad team from his two years at Cleveland. It’s unfair to say that these Bears are as bad as those Browns were in 2010 and 2011, but if Trubisky is a bust, they might be in worse shape.
Shurmur should be praised for his work with Case Keenum this year, especially since he was thrown into the fire as Minnesota’s de facto third-string quarterback. Whether he could do the same with Trubisky and the Chicago offense is a far different story.
Frank Reich (8/1) will surely be summoned for an interview by the Bears at some point, but it should be interesting to note that John DeFilippo was the first man the Bears asked permission to interview.
DeFilippo is the coach who is largely credited with the evolution of Carson Wentz, and if the Bears think that he can do the same work with Trubisky, don’t be surprised if they go off script and hire Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach over its offensive coordinator.
More 2018 NFL Head Coach Odds & Candidates
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Indianapolis Colts
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Longshots to Be Next Chicago Bears Head Coach
There are arguments as well for Dave Toub (9/1), Mike Shula (12/1), Todd Haley (15/1) and Jim Bob Cooter (15/1), but these names all feel like secondary potential hires for the Bears.
The Next Chicago Bears Head Coach Will Be…
Frank Reich.
For as interesting as it is for DeFilippo to get the first call from Chicago, we think it will ultimately cycle back around to Reich, a man who feels far more certain to be a successful head coach than most of these other candidates. The Bears need to be smart here, though. Whereas everyone else is going spend a lot of time courting the two New England coordinators, they need to set their sights on Reich and do it right from the get go. If they do, Reich might be enamored with the job, and he might also realize that this might be his only shot this year to land that coveted head coaching gig.
Though we don’t think Reich is a long-term answer in the Windy City, we aren’t sure that anyone truly would be. This is the toughest job of the availabilities in the NFL.
