CHICAGO -- As the Bears' coaching search began its second week, a prominent name was added to a lengthy list of candidates.
The Dallas Cowboys announced Monday they will not bring Mike McCarthy back for a sixth season after the two sides failed to agree on terms of a contract extension. Chicago's request to interview McCarthy while he was under contract in Dallas was denied by the Cowboys. Now that McCarthy is a free agent, the Bears can speak with him as early as Wednesday, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Bears' list stands at 19 with completed interviews (9), requested interviews (9) and an NFL Network report about interest in speaking with Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, whose team will play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game Jan. 20.
With the wild-card round complete, Chicago can interview a handful of intriguing candidates, from Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Chicago general manager Ryan Poles vowed a thorough search that would include names that would "surprise" many as the Bears aim to dig deeper on this head coaching pursuit than they have before. The goal remains finding a coach who will maximize the skills of former No. 1 pick Caleb Williams.
Here's a breakdown of the candidates.
Completed interviews
Thomas Brown, interim Bears head coach: Brown interviewed with the Bears on Monday and also has interviewed for the Seattle Seahawks' offensive coordinator opening. No other coach has the type of insight on Williams and the Bears offense than Brown, who was promoted twice in-season to offensive coordinator and interim head coach for Chicago's final five games.
Pete Carroll, former Seattle Seahawks HC: Carroll expressed interest in the Bears job in December and was the fourth interview the team conducted last week. He spent 14 seasons in Seattle, where he won a Super Bowl (2013) and captured a national championship with USC in 2004. Carroll, 74, has the most head coaching experience of any candidate the Bears are interested in with additional stints with the Jets (1994) and Patriots (1997 to 1999). He spent the 2024 season as an advisor with Seattle.
Aaron Glenn, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator: Glenn interviewed with the Bears during Detroit's first-round bye. Detroit allowed 20.1 points per game (7th) and had the NFL's best third-down defense (32.4%) en route to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Glenn completed his fourth season in Detroit and previously coached defensive backs in New Orleans and Cleveland.
Ben Johnson, Lions offensive coordinator: The biggest name of the coaching cycle completed a virtual interview with Chicago during Detroit's bye before interviewing with the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders. Johnson has coordinated a Lions offense that ranked No. 1 in scoring (33.2) and was second in yards per game (409.5). Johnson spurned the Commanders for a second head coaching interview last year and is in high demand this cycle.
Mike Kafka, New York Giants OC: Kafka and Poles overlapped in Kansas City for five seasons, including four when Kafka was Patrick Mahomes quarterbacks coach. For the past three seasons, Kafka has been the Giants offensive coordinator and called plays for most of his first two seasons before coach Brian Daboll took over playcalling in 2024. The Giants had an offense that ranked 30th in yards and 31st in points per game.
Drew Petzing, Arizona Cardinals OC: Petzing overlapped with Bears president/CEO Kevin Warren for five seasons (2014 to 2018) in Minnesota, where he worked with receivers and quarterbacks. After a season as Cleveland's quarterbacks coach (2022), Petzing spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator in Arizona, where he called plays for a top-10 rushing offense with quarterback Kyler Murray, who threw for 3,851 yards, 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season.
Ron Rivera, former Commanders and Carolina Panthers HC: Rivera was the first candidate the Bears interviewed in person Jan. 12. He spent 13 years as a head coach of two NFL franchises (Washington and Carolina) and compiled a 102-103 record while being twice named Coach of the Year. He also guided the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season.
Rivera hasn't had a winning season in the NFL since 2017 but boasts experience in building the type of culture that Poles, Warren and chairman George McCaskey believe is pivotal in getting the Bears back on track. The 63-year-old was a linebacker for the Bears for nine seasons and was the team's defensive coordinator from 2004 to 2006.
David Shaw, former Stanford head coach/current Broncos senior personnel executive: Shaw has coached in the NFL and college football and spent the 2024 season as a senior personnel executive for the Broncos. He developed quarterback Andrew Luck into the No. 1 overall pick while at Stanford and also coached Houston QB Davis Mills.
Anthony Weaver, Miami Dolphins DC: Weaver just finished his first season in Miami coordinating a defense that ranked 10th in scoring and fourth in total defense. His pedigree as an NFL coach is rooted along the defensive line, where the Bears finished tied for ninth with 40 sacks this season. The 52-year-old coach and seven-year NFL defensive end spent the 2022-23 season in Baltimore as the defensive line coach and assistant head coach to John Harbaugh.
Requested interviews
Matt Campbell, Iowa State HC: The two-time AP Big 12 Coach of the Year set a program record for wins in 2024 with 11. Campbell has been at Iowa State since 2016 and is credited for developing Jets running back Breece Hall and 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy into NFL starters while compiling a 64-51 record. Campbell has never coached in the NFL.
Joe Brady, Buffalo Bills OC: Perhaps the biggest endorsement Brady received was when Bills quarterback Josh Allen jokingly warned teams to stay away from his offensive coordinator. The Bills earned the AFC's No. 2 seed in 2024 with the No. 2 scoring offense and a top-nine rushing and passing attack. Brady and Williams have a relationship that dates to when Williams was a 12-year-old camper at William & Mary, where Brady was the linebackers coach. When Brady was a coach at LSU, Williams was leaning toward attending the university, but he switched to Oklahoma when Brady left for the NFL.
Brian Flores, Vikings DC: The Bears have seen Flores' aggressive defenses up close the past two seasons. Among the biggest names in this cycle, Flores brings head coaching experience over three seasons in Miami, where he compiled a 24-25 record and a defense that ranked fourth in EPA. There will be questions about his ability to develop a young quarterback after his icy relationship with Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.
Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders OC: Kingsbury was hired by USC in 2023 to help Williams prepare for life in the NFL. The former Cardinals head coach developed Kyler Murray into the league's Rookie of the Year in 2019 and is on track to see Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels win the same award after he set rookie records for completion percentage (69) and quarterback rushing yards (891) for an offense ranked No. 5 in scoring (28.5 points per game).
Mike McCarthy, former Cowboys HC: McCarthy has led teams to the playoffs in 12 of his 18 seasons as an NFL head coach with an 11-11 postseason record and eight division titles. He was instrumental in developing Aaron Rodgers from the beginning of his career in 2006 and helped Dak Prescott set career highs in completions and touchdowns while becoming an MVP candidate in 2023.
There are reasonable questions about McCarthy's game management, especially in the postseason, and the Cowboys were the most penalized team in the NFL (8.2 total penalties, 6.8 accepted per game) during his five seasons in Dallas.
Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens OC: Monken, 52, has extensive experience on the offensive side of the ball. He coached Stetson Bennett at Georgia during back-to-back national championships and has elevated Lamar Jackson as a passer. That has been instrumental in his MVP season in 2023 and record-breaking 2024 campaign, when he became the first QB in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 800 in the same season.
Arthur Smith, Pittsburgh Steelers OC: Smith has head coaching experience with the Falcons and exceeded expectations with Pittsburgh's offense for the majority of the 2024 season with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields as his quarterbacks. The Steelers did tailspin in the last month of the season, losing their last five, including a wild-card game to the Ravens. Pittsburgh didn't top 17 points in any of those losses.
Adam Stenavich, Green Bay Packers OC: Stenavich has been with Green Bay since 2019, when he joined Matt LaFleur's staff as an offensive line coach. While LaFleur calls plays for Green Bay, Stenavich's biggest impact has been on the Packers' run game, which ranked fifth in yards and touchdowns in 2024.
The Bears went a similar route under Matt Eberflus when they hired Luke Getsy as their offensive coordinator (2022-23) after he spent time under LaFleur as Green Bay's quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Getsy's first time calling plays was in Chicago, and the Bears passing offense never ranked higher than 27th in his two seasons as OC.
