Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel, and Joe Brady remain probably the hottest names as the Chicago Bears coaching search looms closer. This isn’t much of a surprise. All three have tons of momentum for different reasons. Johnson and Brady are the most successful offensive coordinators this season. Vrabel is the most proven former head coach available. If the Bears were looking for proven options to help their team, those are good places to start. However, as we’ve learned many times over the years, it is often the name you’re not looking at who ends up with the job.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reached out to several people around the NFL. Many of them came away with the same conclusion. They expect Chicago to give serious consideration to Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury for the job.
“People I’ve talked to around the league fully expect the Bears to interview Kliff Kingsbury for the head coach job because of his combination of experience, quarterback cachet and previous work with Caleb Williams.”
While he is far from the most popular candidate, the fact remains he checks many of the boxes. Word has persisted that team brass want a head coach with an offensive background who can get the most out of Caleb Williams. Kingsbury has worked with prominent quarterbacks for years, including Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and now Jayden Daniels. The two were together for a season at USC and seem to have a good relationship. His offenses have generally been productive at both levels, though he’s earned a reputation in the NFL for losing steam as the season goes on. The other key is head coaching experience. Kingsbury held the top job at both Texas Tech and with the Arizona Cardinals. He knows the responsibility involved.
Sounds ideal, right? Well, there is one underlying concern. Kingsbury hasn’t done much winning. In his ten combined seasons as a head coach, he had a winning record twice. That doesn’t offer much hope he would be able to do much better in Chicago, which is a far bigger pressure cooker to coach in compared to Lubbock and Phoenix.
