The Chicago Bears bucked a big trend with their previous head coach hire, but they may do the opposite this time around.
The Bears hired Matt Eberflus as their head coach as their replacement for Matt Nagy after the 2021 season. Eberflus came from a defensive background, which made the team’s hire unusual. At the time, other teams were mostly bringing in offensive coaches to serve as their head coach.
Eberflus went 3-14, 7-10 and then began this season 4-8 before being fired.
As the Bears look to replace Eberflus, they will probably look for a coach with an offensive background, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Schefter shared the note during “Monday Night Countdown” before Chicago’s Week 15 game at the Minnesota Vikings.
“Many people around the league believe that when the coach hire is made that it will be made with the offense in mind, and that that coach will have some time of offensive background, because it’s the most important thing that this organization will do,” Schefter said. “There’s so much riding on this next hire for this franchise, and we’ll see what they decide to do next.”
Nine new head coaches were hired after the 2021 season to be coaches for 2022. Of those nine, only three previously served as defensive coordinators: Eberflus, Dennis Allen (Saints) and Lovie Smith (Texans). Both Allen and Eberflus were fired this season, while Smith was fired after one season. Of the six offensive coaches, only two have since been fired — Josh McDaniels (Raiders) and Nathaniel Hackett (Broncos).
The biggest key to future success for the Chicago Bears will be the development of Caleb Williams, whom the team selected No. 1 overall in April. As Adam Schefter notes, there is a lot riding on the team’s next hire, so it’s no surprise they will probably do everything possible to help bring Williams along, including hiring an offensive coach to lead the team.
