The Chicago Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, the morning after another catastrophic late-game scenario. Eberflus’ tenure will be unique in that the Bears seemed so close to shutting down top-tier opponents had it not been for moments – Hail Marys, missed timeouts, strange formations, unaware quarterbacks, blocked punts – that once would have served as memorable. lifetime outliers for some franchises. Instead, those moments had become the Bears’ defining story between 2022 and Thanksgiving of ’24. A weekly roller coaster ride turned into a haunted house.

Instead of digging back into these examples, let’s look forward. Thomas Brown is the team’s interim head coach. Brown, a former lieutenant of Sean McVay, sparked something in Caleb Williams after the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron a few weeks ago. We wrote about Brown as one future head coach two years agobefore becoming the offensive coordinator of an ill-fated staff put together by Frank Reich in Carolina to coach Bryce Young. Brown is the son of a preacher and, according to those who know him well, a dynamic speaker who can command a room. He has interviewed for head coaching jobs in the past and received positive marks for those opportunities.

Considering we liked Brown two years ago, I’m certainly not ruling out the possibility that he could get a handle on the situation and worm his way into the conversation. The Bears’ current power structure has many coaches they hold dear on staff, including highly regarded special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. I’m assuming Brown’s promotion was intentional, giving him the opportunity to run the operation for the team’s final five games.

I don’t think the Bears would have made this move if they weren’t at least curious. Again, Hightower would have been the obvious choice as it would allow both sides of the ball to remain somewhat stable. Brown will now be pulled from the offensive meeting room, which, as we saw with New York Jets interim Jeff Ulbrich, complicates his ability to focus on a unit that showed some promise. The possible upside of him taking over a room is worth exploring.

If it’s not Brown? Here are a few options. After completing the 2024-2025 version of my annual list of future head coaches, these would be my recommendations, ranging from the obvious to more wild choices. If you’d like to check out the entire list, including my top 27 names I’m projecting to interview this cycle, please click here.

On to my shortlist:

The Detroit Lions offensive coordinator is admittedly selective and given his affinity for Dan Campbell, I wonder if he would take a job in the NFC North. But to summarize the thoughts of an industry source I spoke to Friday morning: Johnson could be waiting forever for this supposed dream job. The Bears check a lot of boxes on everyone’s list: a franchise that is relatively patient (Eberflus got over two years, and Matt Nagy got four seasons for that), has a quarterback of the future and some veteran playmakers who can deliver immediate success. If Eberflus’ tenure has taught us anything, it’s that this team isn’t far off the mark.

Outside of Johnson, Flores has been the most dominant coordinator this season. He built a Viking defense from the ground up, while the team let go of more expensive veterans. Flores replaced the key players with non-famous names such as Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman. Unlike other Bill Belichick protégés, Flores has been able to emulate the legendary head coach’s true secret sauce: an amoebic defense built on trust; a group of players learned well enough to think and act independently. According to those familiar with the DC, he learned a lot from his previous stint as head coach of the Miami Dolphins and considering he coached under some very unique circumstances, his tenure is worth looking back on for reconsideration. Combined with a strong offensive coordinator, Flores will be a top prospect on the market. Mike Tomlin, who coached with Flores in Pittsburgh the year after Flores left the Dolphins, told me, “I feel the same way about him as I did about Raheem Morris when I talked to people about (Morris’) candidacy. I thought Raheem was the best coaching candidate in the world without a head coaching job, and I think the same about Flo in this cycle.

In January 2023, Kliff Kingsbury interviewed for the Bears’ offensive coordinator job, although that meeting certainly could have served a dual purpose as Kingsbury worked closely with Caleb Williams at USC and the Bears were planning on signing the No. 1 quarterback to draw up. Williams will be at the heart of this decision and Kingsbury has one of the most defined relationships with the quarterback on this carousel. Although his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals yielded just one playoff appearance and no wins, he did land a second contract and built a talented staff that included Vance Joseph as defensive coordinator. Staffers who worked with Kingsbury in Arizona found him flexible when it came to adapting his Air Raid tendencies to the NFL, combining it with a more McVay-like Rams offense.

Kingsbury has been instrumental behind the scenes in preparing Jayden Daniels for the big stage. Daniels’ play has tapered off lately, though the Commanders had to adjust their play due to Daniels’ rib injury.

Slowik was red hot at the end of last year’s cycle and had good interviews with the Commanders and Atlanta Falcons. While this year’s Texans team is working its way through some personnel-related issues, Slowik was at the helm of CJ Stroud’s Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign a year ago and has a strong background in the Kyle Shanahan tree. Kyle’s father, Mike, told me about Slowik: “When Kyle got a job in San Francisco, I said: You better call Bobby. He got Bobby on the defensive side of the football for a few years, then moved him to the offensive side. He was the perfect man for Kyle. It was a great situation for everyone.

“Bobby knows football extremely well,” Shanahan continued. “He’s a great person. Very smart. He knows the staff as well as anyone. He has studied both sides of the football and if you ever talk to him you can find out how sharp and on top of things he is.”

Starting his career on defense has given Slowik many schematic advantages. His proximity to Shanahan coaches, as well as coaches on Houston’s defensive staff under DeMeco Ryans and his work with Stroud in 2023 make him a must-interview.

Smith interviewed for the Carolina Panthers head coaching vacancy this season. He stands out because his interpersonal skills are probably the most respected of all the coaches on this list. Smith’s ability to make those around him feel comfortable and appreciated has been discussed by many of his former players, and his hybrid background on the offensive line and as a coordinator under Mike McDaniel has only enhanced his candidacy in my opinion improved.

Even before Brian Callahan left to take the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans, there was a lot of buzz about Pitcher, who has been a position coach for Joe Burrow since Burrow was drafted and now coordinates an offense that is among the best in the NFL . the past four weeks. It’s important to separate Cincinnati’s offensive performance from their defensive personnel issues as the organization looks to make a quarterback-driven decision. Werper was a collegiate quarterback at Colgate and SUNY Cortland, has experience coaching the No. 1 pick and, while unfamiliar with the Bears, has experience navigating a similarly constructed roster.

While the Coach of the Year winner has an established track record and should be appreciated in Cleveland, could the Browns move on from Stefanski for some change? Especially when the team is desperately trying to pull off a Hail Mary move with Deshaun Watson? Stefanski’s quarterback skills are widely accepted and he has an intimate knowledge of the division, having spent most of his career with the Vikings. This would be a home run for the Bears and eliminate some of the guesswork with a crucial hire.