The Chicago Bears have an open head-coaching position. And there's a certain type of coach the storied franchise plans to hire.
Multiple sources tell CBS Sports the Bears want to land a "leader of men" type of head coach. Their background on offense or defense won't matter as much as their leadership abilities with a group of pro athletes in one of the largest media markets in America.
"They need to resemble the attributes of what Chicago stands for," said one source, adding the coach will need to be battle-tested and mentally strong to be seriously considered for the job.
On Friday, the Bears fired Matt Eberflus after nearly three seasons as head coach. Eberflus went 14-32 in his Chicago tenure, which ended with six straight losses capped by a calamitous ending on Thanksgiving Day against the Detroit Lions.
It is unclear whether the Bears will use a search firm to assist in the next hire. The process will be led by general manager Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren in what will be their first head-coach hire in Chicago.
Sources also reiterated that Poles is expected to remain the Bears GM into the 2025 season.
The Bears believe they will have the most attractive job in this coaching cycle. The team has its franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams, a host of offensive talent, more than $80 million in expected salary cap space for next year, the history of the franchise, the allure of the city of Chicago and a new stadium project that's on the way.
Chicago is one of three open jobs along with the Jets and Saints. The Jaguars and Cowboys have been expected by league sources to open by the end of the season. And there could be as many as eight vacancies in the offseason.
The leader-of-men model has become more popular in recent years. Part of that is due to a dearth of hot-shot offensive coordinator talent. But there has also been the sustained success of Mike Tomlin and more recent success of Dan Campbell.
Last year, that type of coach was en vogue. Raheem Morris, Dan Quinn, Jerod Mayo and Jim Harbaugh all landed jobs in the cycle.
Some coaching candidates who would immediately fit the bill include former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
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 contention for 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.
It's unclear who will make the final call on the next head coach of the Bears. Owner George McCaskey will surely be involved, and decisions like this are part of the reason he hired Warren to be team president. Warren got his start in the NFL with the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams, and the Notre Dame Law School graduate served as Vikings COO and the Big Ten commissioner before being hired as the fifth president in Bears history.
Poles was hired just two days before Eberflus, so this will be his first true search for a head coach.
There were whispers around the league about Poles' safety amid the six-game losing streak, but there is no indication he will face the same fate as Eberflus. And a source pointed to what appears to be intentional wording in Warren's statement this week that Poles will remain.
"I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning," Warren said in the statement announcing Eberflus' firing. "We understand how imperative the head-coaching role is for building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization. Our fans have stood by us and persevered through every challenge, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future."
The Bears named Thomas Brown as interim head coach Friday. Three weeks ago, Brown was the passing game coordinator for the Bears before the team fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. The offense immediately improved under Brown, with quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph working even more closely with Williams and wide receivers coach Chris Beatty being instrumental in coordinating the passing game each week.
Brown, 38, has been considered a head-coaching candidate for more than a year. The Bears will run a search for a head coach regardless of the final five games of the season, but Brown has an opportunity to be seriously considered for the permanent job depending upon how the season finishes.
"The team will rally around Thomas," one source said. "When he talks about keys to victory, you can feel his juice. Guys are going to come in next week and punch their ticket to go to work. I guarantee that."
Despite a 5-3 finish to last season and 4-2 start to this year, the Bears struggled to close out games under Eberflus. Chicago lost to Washington on a Hail Mary, then to the Packers on a blocked field goal, then to the Vikings in overtime and then to the Lions on Thanksgiving.
"You wanted to do what's right and give him a chance and turn it around because we were playing better," said another source. "We just couldn't finish a game."
In the closing seconds of Thursday's loss to Detroit, the Bears had the ball just outside field-goal range with 32 seconds left to play. Brown called in the next play to Williams that was designed to get some yards anywhere on the field, then the Bears could call their final timeout and attempt the game-tying field goal.
With 13 seconds left, Eberflus motioned on the sideline for Williams to hurry. Three seconds later, he did it again. With 9 seconds left, Williams signaled to Rome Odunze to run a different route for what would be the final play of the game, apparently not believing or understanding the team had a final timeout to use. A second later, Eberflus again pleaded toward Williams to get the ball snapped.
One source said Eberflus "could have taken it off Caleb's plate" by calling a timeout as the clock wound down without a snap. Eberflus did not get into the details of the play in his two media sessions after the game.
In a statement to CBS Sports on Saturday, Eberflus gave thanks to the Bears organization and credited the players and coaches for their fight.
"I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the players for all of their effort, dedication and resilience," Eberflus said. "In every situation -- practice, games and especially in the face of adversity -- you stayed together and gave great effort for your team and each other."
