Former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt talks with NBC Chicago Monday morning about the fallout of Matt Eberflus, and who could be next in line to coach the Chicago Bears.
There will be a lot of coaching vacancies in the NFL this winter, but Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren didn’t mince words when he came to hyping up the team’s job.
Warren, speaking alongside GM Ryan Poles on Monday, called the Bears’ head coaching job “the most coveted job in the NFL,” and said the team has plenty going for it as they seek out a new leader for the organization.
“We’re going to have plenty of salary cap space. We have a young, talented roster. We have strong draft capital in the upcoming draft and we have a young quarterback in Caleb Williams who has shown he is very special and in the right environment he can become even more special than he has already shown,” he said.
The Bears got a head-start on their coaching search after firing Matt Eberflus on Friday, following a heartbreaking 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.
In selling the job, Warren also emphasized that the McCaskey family will continue to invest in the team to propel it forward and to establish a winning culture in the city.
“We have full support of the McCaskey family, who has provided us with the resources not only during this search, but also once our new head coach is here to build an environment that will be a championship environment,” he said.
The Bears’ president finally added that the team’s efforts to build a new stadium would attract interest as a desirable destination in league circles.
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Warren and Poles plan to oversee the search for a new head coach, which won’t begin in earnest until the season ends on Jan. 6. After the regular season ends, the Bears will be able to interview coaching candidates around the NFL, with the team likely casting a wide net as they search for an Eberflus replacement.
Plenty of candidates have been floated in the days since Eberflus’ ouster, including Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, among others.
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Warren and Poles kept things relatively close to the vest when it came to describing the process of finding a new head coach, but said that they would seek out a candidate who had “high standards,” was “tough and demanding,” and one who would create an “environment of accountability” at Halas Hall.
For now, the team will focus on the remaining weeks of the season, starting with Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
