The Chicago Bears head coaching search has begun to heat up and the front office continues to look on both sides of the ball for their next leader. The entire fanbase has been pounding the table for an offensive mind to take the reigns, with some holding out hope for Mike Vrabel in the interview process. Unfortunately for that crowd, Vrabel was officially named the New England Patriots head coach on Sunday.
Even though Caleb Williams needs stability as he enters his second NFL seasons, there is reason to believe that an offensive minded head coach is not essential for a team like Chicago based on certain metrics.
The Chicago Bears might want to rethink hiring an offensive coach like Mike McCarthy
In a report from The Athletic, Mike Sando took a look at each offseason from this season and their EPA (expected points added). The results of who succeeded and who did not based on which head coaches called plays is rather interesting and the Bears might want to keep this in mind when looking at an offensive coach.
“Teams should also realize that hiring offensive coordinators as head coaches is not critical or even important for making sure your offense and our team contends at the highest level,” Sando writes.
The top four offenses based on EPA in 2024 were Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit and Tampa Bay. None of those four teams have their head coaches call plays (John Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Dan Campbell, Todd Bowles). As a matter of fact, Campbell is the only one in that group with an offensive coach background. Ben Johnson calls the shots under Campbell and has turned the Lions offense into one of the best in the entire league, so there’s no point in that changing anytime soon.
On the contrary, the bottom five offenses based on EPA this seasons includes a few head coaches that are also play callers. From spot 32 to 28, it’s the Browns, Raiders, Titans, Giants and Patriots that brought up the rear this past year. Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland), Brian Callahan (Tennessee) and Brian Daboll (New York) are all play callers in their respective offenses.
Antonio Pierce is a defensive minded coach who was shown the door after one season in Vegas, and Jarod Mayo not calling the shots for the Patriots ranked above all of these other rough offenses. Similar to Pierce, Mayo is no longer employed by the team he coached in 2024.
The Chicago Bears have plenty of defensive options available
Even though hiring an offensive coach is still very much in play for the Bears, their defensive choices remain available. With the exception of Vrabel, Chicago has their pick at the litter for any defensive mind that they want. The front office has done their extensive research on Anthony Weaver of the Miami Dolphins as a potential option to lead the franchise.
Another way the Bears will look defensively is inside of their division. Aaron Glenn and Brian Flores are two individuals who have stood out for certain teams in this interview cycle. Similar to Weaver, the Bears front office has done their homework on Flores and he has a couple of ties to the organization. Flores played college football with Ryan Poles at Boston College and has connections to Kevin Warren due to the Warren’s time that he spent with the Vikings.
The Bears will do what is best for their offense and Caleb Williams when it comes to hiring their next head coach. Whether it is a defensive or offensive hire, a plan will be in place for the 23-year-old to succeed as he enters his second season in the NFL.
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