Two Early Leaders Emerging In Chicago Bears Head Coach Race

The Chicago Bears are still in the process of completing their first round of interviews with both head coach and GM candidates. So it is too early to declare any outright winners. Especially when George McCaskey and his unpredictable nature are involved. That said, there is now enough information out there where somebody can do a little dot-connecting. Things lining up that would indicate which direction the Bears might be leaning. Based on the information available, two names have emerged as ones to watch. The first is Brian Daboll. The Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator first started rising in NFL circles when he transformed Josh Allen into a Pro Bowler last season. Now the young quarterback is playing like a top 5 superstar and the Bills just completed a 47-17 demolition of the mighty New England Patriots in the wild card round of the playoffs. Daboll's stock is entering the stratosphere. Not only that but the Bears have been connected to him going back months.

Insider Benjamin Allbright said to watch him closely after Matt Nagy was fired.

It doesn't end there though. Daboll had his interview with the Bears on Sunday the 16th. According to Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, the coordinator did well. This offers a further indication that he is shaping up to be a finalist for the job once the second round of interviews begins.

Another name is also gaining steam for the job. Last week the Bears were the first team to interview former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. SM was informed the 40-year old made a good impression during his meeting. He seemed to exhibit many of the qualities they're looking for in a head coach. This was soon further confirmed by Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports who said they are "very smitten" with the young coach. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Chicago-Bears-are-very-smitten-with-Brian-Flores-Charles-Robinson-Brother-From-Another2022_01_17_22_23_46.mp4"][/video]

Not enough? Let's talk about Chicago Bears GM candidates

The team has cast an even wider net on that front than they have head coaches. Not surprising since word persists they'd prefer to have a general manager in place first before hiring the coach. That said McCaskey left the door open during his press conference last week. If the team found a coaching candidate they loved, then the search would be adjusted. What makes that important is the number of GM candidates that have connections to Daboll and Flores.

Flores:

• Monti Ossenfort - Former Patriots scout and college scouting director during Flores' time as an assistant in New England from 2008 to 2018.
• Reggie McKenzie - Former Raiders GM who joined the Dolphins in 2019 as a personnel executive. Worked alongside Flores for three seasons.
• Eliot Wolf - Former Packers and Browns personnel executive. Served with the Patriots front office for the past two seasons.

Daboll:

• Jeff Ireland - Was the GM in Miami from 2008 to 2013. Daboll served as Dolphins offensive coordinator in 2011.
• Ryan Poles - Scout-turned-director of college scouting for the Chiefs. He was with the organization when Daboll served as offensive coordinator in 2012.
• Joe Schoen - The Bills' assistant GM since 2017. Has worked with Brian Daboll directly for the past four seasons.

This would seem to indicate the Chicago Bears are exploring several pairing options for both coaching candidates. This isn't a brand new approach. Other teams have done something similar in the past. San Francisco sought to hire Kyle Shanahan before bringing in John Lynch as GM. Buffalo hired Sean McDermott before hiring GM Brandon Beane. Still, it would be a departure from protocol for this organization. A definite sign they really like one of those candidates.