Head Coach Candidates The Chicago Bears Need To Avoid

It isn't a secret by this point. The Chicago Bears will likely be hunting for a new head coach next month. If not sooner. Matt Nagy had four years. He didn't get the job done. Time to give somebody else a chance. Who could that be? There is no shortage of possibilities. Several names have already been connected to the organization in one way or another. So perhaps it might be best to take a different approach here. What about candidates the Bears should avoid? Coaches that might seem like viable candidates on the surface but have reasons in their backgrounds that should give the organization pause about handing over control of Justin Fields to them. Guys that might serve better as assistants due to questions about their leadership or their ability to hire the right people for a staff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eagrHqhovKQ&ab_channel=TheRichEisenShow

Chicago Bears head coach candidates they should avoid

Joe Woods (Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator) There is no question the best thing about the Browns right now is their defense, ranking 4th in the NFL. Woods is the man running that show and deserves credit for it. So why avoid him as a candidate? The truth is one can make a case that Woods' unit is underachieving given the array of talent they have. While 4th overall, they're actually 14th in points allowed. None of his defenses have ranked higher than 13th in that regard. Often the mark of a good coach is somebody who makes his players perform at their best. It hasn't always felt that way with Woods. He's had some outstanding arrays of talent over the course of his career in places like Minnesota, Denver, and now Cleveland. Too often they seemed to come up short. Especially in big games. The inconsistency is a problem. Todd Downing (Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator) The man made a name for himself as a quarterbacks coach in the 2010s for the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders, guiding Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr to some of their best seasons. However, that magic touch seems to leave him once he takes over an entire offense. In his lone season as a coordinator in Oakland, Downing finished 23rd in scoring with Carr posting a modest 86.3 passer rating. Now running the show in Tennessee, it's even worse. Ryan Tannehill threw 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. This year under his new OC, he has 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. A clear regression. Further evidence the coach might not be equipped to handle a job beyond running a single position group despite the Titans continuing to win. Not somebody the Chicago Bears want in charge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXHHExNm-m0&ab_channel=NewOrleansSaints

Dennis Allen (New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator)

When the man took over the Saints defense, it was one of the worst in NFL history. Over the course of the next few years, he turned it into a top 10 unit. Since then it has consistently been one of the best in the NFL. This incredible turnaround has a lot of people wondering why Allen hasn't already been scooped by another team for their head coaching position. The answer isn't hard to find. His first stint went about as bad as you could imagine. Allen was hired as head coach of the Raiders in 2012. Over the next three years, he compiled a record of 8-28. The team never showed any signs of getting better. If anything, they somehow got worse. That speaks to a lack of organizational control and leadership. Has he learned anything since then? Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator) This is going to probably shock a healthy section of Chicago Bears fans. Bowles is unquestionably one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. He just won the Super Bowl last season after dominating Patrick Mahomes. He had some success in his first stint as a head coach with the New York Jets. Why shouldn't a team give him another shot? It certainly feels like he has more than earned it. The answer is simple. He is Lovie Smith 2.0. Now that would be a compliment in most situations but not this one. Why? Bowles had the same problem Smith did during his Bears tenure. He could never get the offense fixed. In four seasons as head coach in New York, he had three different offensive coordinators. Everybody knows how that approach went with Smith in Chicago. It didn't go well. That isn't what Fields needs either.

Kevin O'Connell (Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator)

With the success of guys like Matt Lafleur and Brandon Staley, it seems like teams are starting to eye up the Sean McVay tree for head coach candidates. That is a big reason why O'Connell is on a lot of lists. The Rams offense is 4th in scoring and 7th in total yards. Cooper Kupp is flirting with being the first 2,000-yard wide receiver in history. So why wouldn't this guy be a prime candidate? A couple of reasons. The first is the Matt Nagy concern. While he is the offensive coordinator, he doesn't call plays. So it's difficult to know how much influence he actually has on its success. Then there is the fact O'Connell is 36-years old. Quite young for a head coach. Especially since he's only been in the NFL since 2015. It feels like he might be somebody that isn't ready for the head job yet.