At this point, we can safely say the Chicago Bears are contemplating life after Matt Eberflus. While he won’t be fired before the end of the season, multiple insiders have indicated his chances of getting a third season are remote. He would need to win most of the remaining five games. Considering he’s yet to produce a winning streak of any kind in his career, that feels unlikely. Already, names have surfaced as targets for the job. Internal discussions were had about Jim Harbaugh. Washington offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was also openly pinpointed as a likely target.
There will be others. Ben Johnson from Detroit and Brian Johnson from Philadelphia are expected to get looks. Sources informed SM that the list put together by team president Kevin Warren and GM Ryan Poles features around 12 names. All of them aren’t known, but one did come up that might raise some eyebrows. That is Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.
The 39-year-old has held the job since 2019. He had a direct hand in developing former #1 overall pick Joe Burrow into an All-Pro. They’ve finished top 10 in scoring each of the past two seasons, with a Super Bowl appearance in 2021.
Callahan replacing Matt Eberflus wouldn’t be a shock.
Though young, he’s had lots of success in his coaching career. He was part of the Denver Broncos staff that guided the team to a championship in 2015. He served as a quarterbacks coach for Detroit in 2016 and 2017. Matthew Stafford had one of the best seasons of his career during the latter. Since then, he’s helped Cincinnati make the playoffs each of the past two seasons. Yet perhaps his finest moment came this past weekend when he helped backup QB Jake Browning throw for 354 yards and a touchdown in a wild overtime upset of the heavily favored Jacksonville Jaguars. Browning also ran for a touchdown.
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So we know he can develop young quarterbacks. That seems rather important as the Bears prepare to potentially inherit the #1 overall pick.
Callahan comes from NFL royalty. His father, Bill, is widely regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in league history. On top of that, he’s a native of Champaign, Illinois. So he’s a hometown guy. Poles loves to bring in people with local ties to the city, believing it gives them extra incentive to do well. George Halas was born in Chicago. Dick Butkus was born in Chicago. Callahan feels exactly like the kind of coaching candidate he’d get behind—certainly a name to watch if Matt Eberflus is gone a month from now.
