Chicago Bears could take very unconventional approach to filling head coaching vacancy

Now that the regular season is over, the NFL hiring cycle is in full bloom. For the Chicago Bears, their coaching search started long ago after firing Matt Eberflus for starting with a 4-8 record. But they couldn’t officially interview with anyone until now.

Chicago has gotten a strong start on vetting potential candidates, scheduling interviews with Detroit’s Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, plus Mike Vrabel. They’ve also requested interviews on several others, including Miami’s Anthony Weaver, Arizona’s Drew Petzing, Giants OC Mike Kafka, Minnesota’s Brian Flores, Pittsburgh’s Arthur Smith, Dallas’ Mike McCarthy, Baltimore’s Todd Monken, Denver’s David Shaw, and Buffalo’s Joe Brady.

But there’s another way the Bears could fill their head coaching vacancy, and none of those candidates are mentioned above.

Chicago Bears could trade for their next head coach

While everyone is focused on who the Chicago Bears will hire from the available head coaching candidates, it sounds like they’re casting a wide net that also includes current NFL head coaches. Yet, in order to do so, the Bears would have to complete a trade for their next head coach.

According to Bears GM Ryan Poles, Chicago is considering trading for another NFL head coach. Here’s what he said when asked about potentially trading for a current NFL head coach.

“We’ll look at all avenues to get the best coach here.”
Ryan Poles on Chicago Bears HC search

Previously there were rumors that teams were planning to try trading for Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell since he has just one year left on his contract. He’s since expressed a strong desire to stick with the Vikings, so we can rule him out.

However, another report indicated that teams could try trading for Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin too. But again, it seems hard to imagine that the Steelers would move on from their future Hall of Fame head coach either. Still, as Poles noted, the Bears will consider all their options.