3 candidates to replace Matt Eberflus as Chicago Bears head coach

A loss to the Detroit Lions will all but push Matt Eberflus closer to being fired as the team’s head coach. Even with a win, it would seem unlikely that Eberflus can climb out of the grave dug with the dysfunction the Bears have had over the past month.

Some will see Eberflus’ firing as the first time Ryan Poles, assuming he is not fired, will have full autonomy in hiring the next Bears head coach.

When Poles was hired as the Bears’ general manager through outside consultants, the organization is believed to have narrowed the list of head coaching candidates to Eberflus, Dan Quinn and Jim Caldwell. Poles were tasked with choosing between the three with Eberflus winnings, perhaps due to the two sharing the same agent.

Poles can’t get this rental wrong. Without Williams being a bust, Poles will lose his job if he can’t break the cycle of the Bears consistently getting head coaching hires wrong.

But Williams is the difference when it comes to the Bears’ eventual search for a new head coach this offseason. While Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields had potential that drew coaches to Chicago, Williams’ play this season will have candidates lining up at Halas Hall begging for the job.

1. Thomas Brown

Let’s get Thomas Brown out of the way first. If the Bears’ offense and Williams continue to show improvement as the season draws to a close, Brown will not only be in consideration as the next head coach; he might be the favorite. In his press conferences alone, Brown is everything Eberflus is not. That doesn’t mean he’ll be the right head coaching hire, but he has a chance to bolster his candidacy in the coming weeks.

2. Kliff Kingsbury

It seems that Matt Eberflus was afraid to hire Kliff Kingsbury as the Bears’ offensive coordinator last January. That fear may stem from the fact that Eberflus didn’t want his eventual replacement in the same building as him this offseason. The whispers suggest that may be why Eberflus initially overlooked Brown as the team’s offensive coordinator. Kingsbury was a hot name during the Commanders’ early season success and will likely get a look this offseason because of his connection with Caleb Williams.

3. Mike Vrabel

After a surprising firing from the Tennessee Titans last season, Mike Vrabel will likely be a popular candidate in the January recruiting cycle. While not the offensive mind Bears fans want paired with Williams, Vrabel’s offensive assistants have been popular candidates in previous hiring cycles. Above all else, if the Bears are looking for a leader who has the opposite style of Eberflus, Vrabel would be an easy choice.

You might be wondering why Ben Johnson isn’t on the roster, and the evidence suggests he will have no interest in joining a Bears organization that has been the definition of incompetence since George McCaskey took over as the team’s chairman in 2011. because he wants to practice against his current team, the Detroit Lions, twice a season, Johnson is likely looking for more organizational stability than what the Bears can currently offer.