The Chicago Bears figure to re-enter the head coaching market for the fourth time in the past decade next month. That is unless Matt Nagy can pull a rabbit out of his hat and string together some wins in pursuit of a playoff berth. At 4-7 with the Cardinals and Packers up next? The odds of that happening are remote. This is why most insiders are hearing that Nagy is all but gone when the season concludes on January 9th.
Perhaps one question that hasn’t been asked enough in the midst of this is what sort of competition the Bears could face on the coaching market. There has never been a case where only one team fired its coach during an offseason. While most might agree Chicago will be a favorite destination due to the presence of Justin Fields, the competition will be there. It is a matter of who. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the expectations are that between “six and eight” teams will be seeking new coaches in 2022.
That is a lot of competition for the Chicago Bears to consider
Especially considering how unreliable George McCaskey has proven in the hiring process before. Since taking over in 2011, the team chairman has produced Marc Trestman, John Fox, and Nagy as his head coaches. None of those three have won a playoff game and two of them didn’t make the postseason at all. So there will be a ton of pressure on the Bears ownership to get it right this time. Who might he be battling for the services of top candidates? Here is a rundown of the most likely.
New York Giants
Joe Judge was under a ton of pressure to win this season after a rough 6-10 start his first year. Especially after the Giants spent considerable money to upgrade the roster. Instead, the team is 4-7 with quarterback Daniel Jones continuing to struggle. With GM Dave Gettleman all but gone, most believe Judge will follow him out the door.
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Las Vegas Raiders
John Gruden was forced to step down as head coach in the wake of the email controversy that revealed racist and homophobic rants. Ralph Bissacia, the Raiders special teams coordinator, took over as interim head coach in his place. He has gone 3-3. Not bad all things considered but likely not enough to keep the job after the season ends.
Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll has held sway over the Seahawks since 2010. During that time he has been among the winningest coaches in the NFL, including two Super Bowl appearances and a Lombardi trophy. However, at 70-years old with the team falling apart it is believed he may finally either step down or force the organization to hit the reset button.
Jacksonville Jaguars
It has hardly been the glorious start many hoped for from Urban Meyer when the Jaguars made their splash bringing the three-time national champion to the NFL. What they have instead is a 2-9 record and a public controversy of the man engaging in “activities” with a woman at a bar. Some wonder if he might be one-and-done.
Minnesota Vikings
Mike Zimmer has been surrounded by rumors of losing his job for the past couple of years now. He successfully dodged them before but at 5-6, he may not be able to this time. If the Vikings fail to make the playoffs it’ll be the third time in four years since their NFC championship appearance in 2017. This may force the organization to seek a fresh start.
Pittsburgh Steelers
It is crazy to think that Mike Tomlin has run the Steelers organization since 2007 and never had a losing record. Even Bill Belichick can’t make that claim anymore. However, at 5-5-1 things have begun turning against him. The defense is falling apart and the team is in danger of its first losing season since 2006. Could that force a mutual parting of ways?
Denver Broncos
Back in October, everybody was convinced Vic Fangio was going to lose his job in Denver. The team was 3-4 and he’d already had two losing seasons. Then a funny thing happened. The Broncos won three of their next four to reach 6-5. Still, he has two games against Kansas City. A team Fangio has yet to beat. That could define their season and his future.
So there is definite competition the Chicago Bears will likely face come next month. An interesting question yet to be answered is whether McCaskey will take advantage of the new window installed by the NFL that allows teams with head coaching vacancies to start interviewing candidates two weeks before the end of the regular season.
