The Matt Nagy era has come to an end, and the Chicago Bears are searching for a head coach once again.
Despite the franchise becoming a punchline in recent years, the Bears present an attractive opportunity. While Justin Fields is unproven, he’s a 22-year-old quarterback with impressive physical talent.
And considering how hungry Chicago fans are for a winning Bears team, the next successful head coach could be a rockstar in the Windy City.
You can bet on the Bears next head coach at DraftKings Sportsbook in Illinois. Below, we have odds for you as well as some analysis of the top candidates.
Next Bears head coach odds
Here are the lines at DraftKings as of Tuesday morning:
- Jim Caldwell: +300
- Matt Eberflus: +340
- Dan Quinn: +450
- Brian Flores: +450
- Dennis Allen: +500
- Brian Daboll: +600
- Leslie Frazier: +1,000
- Jim Harbaugh: +1,200
- Doug Pederson: +1,200
- Josh McDaniels: +1,300
- Eric Bieniemy: +1,400
- Nathaniel Hackett: +1,500
- Byron Leftwich: +1,500
- Kellen Moore: +1,500
It’s also worth noting that the Bears don’t currently have a general manager. They are interviewing for that position as well, and the hire is likely to come before the head coach.
Chicago’s general manager choice would figure to influence these odds to some extent. If there’s an obvious connection with one of the coaching candidates, it could influence the odds a lot.
BetMGM, which is not yet live in Illinois, was the first legal US sportsbook to post odds on the next Bears head coach. This was two weeks, and Daboll was the favorite. Much has changed since then.
Caldwell, Eberflus and Quinn have been called back for second interviews. Surprisingly, the Daboll buzz has died down despite the Bills’ offense having an incredible showing in the playoffs.
Flores was a top candidate when the search began, and he is still considered a serious contender to land the gig. He just got fired by the Dolphins, but with that said, he has head coaching experience and overperformed with a subpar roster.
The knock on Flores is that he can be difficult to work with, though few question his ability as a coach. The Bears also might want someone with head coaching experience, as some think Nagy simply wasn’t ready for a head coaching job yet.
Is Nagy hurting Bieniemy’s chances?
Bieniemy is currently the Chiefs offensive coordinator, the same post Nagy held before becoming the Bears head coach.
And we all saw how that turned out. Nagy wasn’t a complete disaster, but his offense was. He tried and failed to replicate the Chiefs’ offensive success in Chicago.
By all accounts, Bieniemy is an excellent and qualified candidate. But him being so low on this list might simply be the result of the Bears not wanting to hire another Chiefs offensive coordinator.
Historically, Chicago has tried to correct from previous mistakes when hiring a new coach. Recently, the Bears have toggled between offensive and defensive hires.
Before Nagy, there was the defensive-minded and experienced John Fox. Before Fox, there was supposed offensive guru Marc Trestman. Prior to Trestman, there was Lovie Smith, famous for his Cover 2 defense but lacking in offensive creativity.
You get the idea. Based on that trend, it would seem that the Bears would lean toward a defensive disciplinarian. Flores certainly fits that mold.
At the same time, Fields is the most important player on the roster right now. So it would make sense to hire someone who can get the most out of the young quarterback.
While Bears fans would rather be rooting for their team in the playoffs right now, they have some attractive head coaching candidates to choose from. Hopefully we won’t be writing a story like this in a few years from now, because it will mean the Bears found their guy.
