While the Bears seem to prefer to hire a GM before they add a new head coach, that won’t stop the organization from interviewing coaching candidates. According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano (via Twitter), the Bears requested an interview with Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier and are planning on interviewing former Eagles HC Doug Pederson (link). ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Chicago has also requested an interview with Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
[RELATED: Bears Fire HC Matt Nagy, GM Ryan Pace]
Frazier has been with Buffalo throughout Sean McDermott‘s five-year tenure, overseeing a Bills defensive resurgence, and would be a second-chance candidate after a four-season run as Vikings HC in the early 2010s. Frazier also has clear ties to the Bears, having played for the team in the 1980s. A starting cornerback on the famed 1985 squad that finished 18-1 and routed the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, Frazier intercepted 20 passes in five seasons with Chicago.
Pederson had Carson Wentz playing at an MVP level through the first 14 weeks of the 2017 season, up until his fateful ACL tear. Then, with backup QB Nick Foles under center, he guided the Birds to their first ever Super Bowl ring. Pederson’s final Philadelphia season ended with a 4-11-1 mark, but he remains an attractive candidate nonetheless. This offseason, he’s already interviewed for the Jaguars HC vacancy.
Daboll started his NFL coaching career back in 2000 with the Patriots. He got his first coordinator gig with the Browns in 2009, and he’s since held the same role with the Dolphins, Chiefs, and the Bills (along with Alabama). He was a popular candidate last offseason, with the Jets and Chargers eyeing the offensive coordinator.
I’d hate to see either go but they certainly deserve the opportunity.
Go Bills!
Serious question not meant to mock the Rooney Rule:
How many teams conduct meaningful searches versus teams that have their guy already? I know they have to interview multiple candidates but how many of the six openings don’t already know who they want.
First, what does this have to do with the Rooney Rule?
Second, if you ever ran a job search, you’d know that targeting one or two people is bad practice, because a number of things could happen in the interview process, including losing their top candidate. Sidestepping the interview process is bad business.
Casting a wide net doesn’t always produce favorable results though. The Bears interviewed about a dozen candidates when Lovie Smith was fired and ended up with Marc Trestman.
That has much more to do with the incompetence of Mark Emery and Ted Phillips.
Emery would not let Bruce Arians bring in his own defensive coordinator, because he wanted to keep Lovie’s system. Then, they hired Mel Tucker, who didn’t know Lovie’s system, to run Lovie’s system.
Fair point, but terrible example.
How many teams still seem like they were dead set on a guy and actually wound up with that guy?
So if the Bears don’t have a GM, Who is conducting the interviews? Shouldn’t the new GM be doing that? Hmmmmmm, Yep they’re doing it backwards again.
Very True. The correct way would be to hire a savvy President of Football Operations that has a blueprint to win the Super Bowl. The President would then hire a GM to execute that blueprint. The GM would then hire a Head Coach to mobilize that blueprint.
That is the correct way.
It’s probably Bill Polian interviewing the candidates and to a lesser extent, Ted Phillips. But I agree, hire the GM first and then worry about the coach. Especially since everyone Phillips picks ends up washing out since 1984.
Haven’t they just finished with 3 dud head coaches like Frazier? Bears being da bears
Daboll makes a ton of sense. Developing and building around Fields is the highest priority and clearest path to winning. And you don’t want to count on an OC who will get a head coach job elsewhere if he does well. Daboll did an amazing job with Allen, plus he’s coming from an organization that got its coach before its GM and had it work out notably well.
He was a bum as a head coach with Minnesota. But it would stand to reason the Bears would hire someone like this
As a Vikings fan I’m definitely in favor of the Bears hiring Frazier. He’s a great coordinator but holy heck he was incompetent as a head coach.
The Bears should hire a GM first before the HC. The need to find an experienced GM that can put together supporting staff. Let them bring in the HC. Pace thought he was some kind of Theo Epstein and was tricked over and over again by other GMs in trades and evaluations not to mention just dumb contracts. Pace crippled Nagy and Nagy’s ego or fear that he wouldn’t get another HC opportunity took the job and felt he could make Trubisky a better player even though he knew the ceiling was low.