When the Chicago Bears began out on their search to find the next head coach of the franchise, they casted a wide net. The head coaching interview tracker had the organization talking to around 20 candidates at one time, showing that the front office wanted to explore all options on the table.
For a while, fans felt left in the dark throughout the process with Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren not tipping their hand whatsoever as to where they were leaning with the direction of the hire. While getting an offensive guy to give Caleb Williams the best chance to succeed in the NFL seemed to be the obvious move, plenty of defensive minds got a crack at Chicago’s coaching vacancy as well.
There was a brief moment where the Poles didn’t rule out the idea of trading for a head coach before they made their eventual hire. The three names that were mentioned included Kevin O’Connell, Kyle Shanahan and Mike Tomlin. Chicago supposedly called Pittsburgh with interest in Tomlin’s services, but it appears that the conversation didn’t get too far.
The Chicago Bears never had a true shot at Mike Tomlin
Steelers owner Art Rooney ll stated that Tomlin was never really available for any team that had interest. Even though Pittsburgh hasn’t cleared a playoff hurdle over the past few seasons, the long-time head coach is their man for the foreseeable future. In a column from Steelers Depot, Rooney’s comments were rather brief on the matter.
“It didn’t really go very far,” Rooney said of the trade talks during a 1-on-1 interview with KDKA’s Bob Pompeani. “We weren’t interested in really pursuing it. And so it was a pretty short conversation.”
With Tomlin’s pedigree and resume, it’s not surprising that the Steelers didn’t have much interest in letting him walk. He has set the standard in Pittsburgh and by bringing a Super Bowl to the city, he is forever enshrined in Steelers history.
It likely helps the organization knowing that no matter who they would bring in to replace Tomlin, he wouldn’t live up to the principles that he has installed in that building. If Tomlin chooses to leave Pittsburgh himself that’s one thing, but the idea of the franchise sending him packing just never seemed logical.
The Chicago Bears did alright with their hire in the end
The Bears got their guy all along in this head coaching search. In what was deemed as the biggest hire in franchise history, Ben Johnson landed the gig without much of a fight from the other leading candidates at the end of they day. It will be up to Johnson to try and get the most out of Williams, and his offensive background gives him a pretty good chance at doing so.
Johnson had plenty of messages that he delivered in his opening press conference as the Bears’ new head coach last Wednesday. One of those was that he plans to run a different offense in Chicago compared to what he directed as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. He understands that it’s important to build up the playbook around Williams and the pieces around them, rather than forcing them into a scheme.
Despite the Bears missing out on Tomlin, Johnson appears to be the guy that they wanted all along. When push came to shove, Poles and company made sure they did whatever it took to bring in the offensive guru as the 19th head coach in franchise history.
The Chicago Bears could look to pursue a star wide receiver that fits Ben Johnson’s scheme
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