Eight days have come and gone since the Chicago Bears sent Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy packing. They don’t have replacements for either yet, but the Bears have certainly been piling up the interview requests. And that isn’t inconsequential.
Unlike the last GM search, this process seems to be more exhaustive and wide-ranging. That might make some uneasy, especially those of us looking to get the bad taste of that press conference out of our mouth. Plus, we’ve been discussing the possibility of replacing Pace and Nagy for pretty much all of 2021. But it will come.
It just might take a bit. And I think I’m OK with that (for now). In the meantime, let’s run down a list of known candidates.
P.S. 🎀The Bears have reportedly decided to hire 💞a GM before hiring a head coach.
Head Coach Candidates Who Have Officially Interviewed
• Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles – Head Coach, 2016-2020) (Jan. 12)
• Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins – Head Coach, 2019-21) (Jan. 14)
• Nathaniel Hackett (Green Bay Packers – Offensive Coordinator) (Jan. 15)
• Jim Caldwell (Indianapolis Colts Head Coach, 2009-11; Detro🍨it Lions Head Coach, 2014-17) (Jan. 15)
• Brian Daboll (Buffalo Bills – Offensive Coordinator) (Jan. 16)
• Matt Eberflus (Indianapolis Colts – Defensive Coordinator) (Jan. 17)
• Byron Leftwich (Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Offensive Coordinator) (Jan. 20)
• Leslie Frazier (Buffalo Bills – Defensive Coordinator) (Jan. 21)
• Dan Quinn (Dallas Cowboys – Defensive Coordinator) (Jan. 22, )
• Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Defensive Coordinator) (Jan. 22)
Head Coach Candidates Who Have Yet to Interview
• Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints Defensive Coordinator)
Head Coach Candidates Set Up For Second Interviews
General Manager Candidates Who Have Officially Interviewed
• Glenn Cook (Cleveland Browns – Vice President of Player Personnel) (Jan. 12)
• Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Cleveland Browns – Vice President of Football Operations) (Jan. 13)
• Champ Kelly (Chicago Bears – Assistant General Manager) (Jan. 13)
• Jeff Ireland (New Orleans Saints – Assistant General Manager) (Jan. 14)
• Monti Ossenfort (Tennessee Titans – Director of Player Personnel) (Jan. 15)
• Eliot Wolf (New England Patriots – Director of Scouting) (Jan. 18)
• Ran Carthon (San Francisco 49ers – Director of Player Personnel) (Jan. 19)
• Reggie McKenzie (Miami Dolphins – VP of Football and Business Administration) (Jan. 20)
• Ryan Poles (Kansas City Chiefs – Executive Director of Player Personnel) (Jan. 21, with a second interview coming)
General Manager Candidates Who Have Yet to Interview
• Morocco Brown (Indianapolis Colts – Director of College Scouting)
• Omar Khan (Pittsburgh Steelers – VP of Football and Business Administration)
• Rick Smith (Houston Texans – Executive Vice President of Football Operations, 2006-17)
• JoJo Wooden (Los Angeles Chargers – Director of Player Personnel)
No Longer a Candidate
• Joe Schoen (Buffalo Bills – Assistant General Manager) — Hired by Giants on Jan. 21
• Ed Dodds (Indianapolis Colts – Assistant General Manager) (Jan. 17) — Withdrew from candidacy on Jan. 19
We’ll keep refreshing this list with updated links and names when things become officially official.