The Chicago Bears head coaching position hasn’t been stable for over a decade, and that has resulted in a lot of dysfunction. Lovie Smith wasn’t perfect, but he at least knew his job and did it well. Since then, the organization has had a miserable time trying to find a worthy successor. Marc Trestman? John Fox? Matt Nagy? Matt Eberflus? All flops. None of them lasted beyond their first contract. Now GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren will try to stop the bleeding once and for all.
Predictable names have already surfaced as candidates for the job. Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown is the interim coach and has five games to prove his case. Ben Johnson of Detroit is the hottest name. Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel should be in the mix, as should Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who has ties to Caleb Williams. However, another unexpected name has some early traction. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports revealed it.
“Another name worth keeping an eye on is Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. The Bears drafted Freeman in 2009, and he has since gone on to lead the Fighting Irish to a College Football Playoff position this season with an 11-1 record. Freeman, 38, is from the Midwest, and sources have indicated he will draw NFL interest in the coming weeks as he’s midway through a six-year contract in South Bend.”
Jones wasn’t alone. Only a couple of hours later, Peter Schrager of FOX Sports NFL also mentioned Freeman as a viable candidate for the job.
They have not hired a head coach directly out of college since 1930, when they plucked Ralph Jones from Lake Forest Academy. Since then, it has been a strict pro-only approach. The closest they ever came was hiring Jack Pardee from the WFL in 1975 and Marc Trestman from the CFL in 2013. They did try to lure Nick Saban away from LSU in 2004, but his money demands were too high. Going with Freeman would upend their entire approach, stretching back 90 years.
Still, it shouldn’t be a surprise. Warren has had deep connections to the college world since his time as Big Ten commissioner. Freeman became head coach at Notre Dame, going 30-9 with a 2-1 record in bowl games. The Irish are 11-1 this season and seem destined for a College Football Playoff berth. Many people will not like his defensive background, but it’s worth mentioning that Notre Dame is 4th in the country in scoring this year. There is no question he would be a gamble, but it’s not hard to see why the Chicago Bears are interested.
