2025 Chicago Bears Head Coach Search Storystream

The reports and rumors will be flying wild over the next several weeks, and with rules and guidelines in place before NFL teams can hire their new head coaches, we wanted to gather a story stream with everything we have regarding the Chicago Bears search. If there's something out there about a potential head coach, the odds are good that one of our team members has written up a candidate profile in the stream below.

The Bears aren't the only team looking for a new head coach, as the Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, and New Orleans Saints will also be in the market. Of those teams, the Jets are also looking for a new general manager. The Tennessee Titans have also fired their general manager. Add the Raiders to the list of teams with a fired GM.

We launched a new tracker for week two of the search here, but this story stream will remain live with all our articles about the Bears’ coaching search.

• Week 1 tracker of the reports and rumors below
• Commandeers offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury may pass on pursuing a head coach gig this cycle. (link)
• On Sunday afternoon, the Bears announced that they completed an interview with Ron Rivera.
• Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is back in the mix for the Bears as they want to interview him. (link)
• Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham has completed his interview with the Titans for their general manager position.
• Mike Vrabel has been hired by the Patriots.
• Brad Biggs wrote in his recent article that he believes the Bears have already spoken with Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell.
• Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn completed his interview with the Bears.
• The Patriots are already negotiating with Mike Vrabel to become their head coach. (link)
• The Ron Rivera interview on Sunday will be in person (per Brad Biggs), which would satisfy ¹⁄₂ of the Rooney Rule requirement to interview two minority candidates in person.
• On Saturday morning, Ben Johnson’s interview with the Bears concluded.
• The Bears plan to interview Ron Rivera this weekend. (link)
• Ben Johnson has finished his interview with the Patriots.
• Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys are still in discussions for him to return, but nothing is set, and he could see his contract expire on Tuesday, making him free to negotiate with any team. (link)
• Ben Johnson is meeting with the Patriots today, and they “are open to being blown away by” him. Mike Vrabel is the frontrunner, but “today feels like a pivotal day.” (link)
• Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham will meet with the Titans on Sunday about their vacant GM job. He was a finalist with them previously for the same gig. (link)
• Detroit’s Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn will meet with the Bears on Saturday.
• Chicago interviewed Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka tonight.
• The Bears announced their interview with head coach candidate Pete Carroll has concluded. (link)
• The Raiders have fired their general manager. (link)
• This is not coaching search-related, but it’s certainly Bears-related: “The Titans have requested permission to interview Bears AGM Ian Cunningham for their vacant GM position,” reports CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. “The NFL is reviewing the Titans GM job description, which could determine which secondary football executives will be allowed to interview for the role.” (More details here)
• The Bears have completed their interview with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
• Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown will interview with the Seattle Seahawks for their vacant offensive coordinator position. (link)
• On Wednesday night, the Bears completed an interview with Cardinals O.C. Drew Petzing.
• The Bears announced they have completed their interview with Mike Vrabel.
• The Bears are expected to interview Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. (link)
• Lions D.C. Aaron Glenn will meet with the Bears on Saturday.
• This initial wave of Chicago head coaching interviews will all be held virtually. (link)
• The Bears and Saints have requested head coach interviews with Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. (link)
• Lions O.C. Ben Johnson will meet virtually with the Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, and Patriots this week, with the Bears’ meeting scheduled for Saturday. (link)
• Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel are the Bears top candidates (link)
• The Bears will interview Arizona O.C. Drew Petzing tonight and Giants O.C. Mike Kafka tomorrow. (link)
• It was previously reported that the Bears will meet with Mike Vrabel today (1/8).
• The Cowboys denied the Bears’ request to interview head coach Mike McCarthy. (link)
• Bears will interview Pete Carrol on Thursday. (link)
• Many expect that Mike Vrabel is the leading candidate for the Patriots job.
• The Raiders just fired head coach Antonio Pierce.
• The Bears requested a head coach interview with Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. (link)
• Mike Vrabel will interview with the Bears on Wednesday.
• Detroit is allowing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn to conduct their virtual interviews from Thursday afternoon through Saturday. Johnson may only meet with the Bears and Patriots, although the Jags did put a request in. (link)
• The Bears have made a request to interview former Stanford head coach and current Broncos Senior Personnel Executive David Shaw for their vacant head coach gig. (link)
• They also have requested an interview with Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. (link)
• Chicago has asked to interview Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, who is in the final year of his contract. (link)
• The Bears have requested head coaching interviews with Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. (link)
• The Bears have requested to interview New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka for head coach. Kafka is a local guy who played his high school ball at St. Rita and attended Northwestern. (link)
• The Patriots will not make changes to their front office. (link)
• The Jets and Bears are interested in Denver Broncos DC Vance Joseph. (link)
• Ben Johnson will interview with the Bears and Patriots this week. (link)
• The Jags keeping GM Trent Baalke will hurt their chances of getting Ben Johnson. (link)
• The Bears have requested interviews with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
• Many predict that Mike Vrabel is the Patriots' top choice for head coach. However, it was reported that the Bears would interview him.
• Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown will get an interview at some point.

For a deep dive into General Manager Ryan Poles' transactions during his time in Chicago, Dan Durkin had an in-depth three-part series, which you can find in the links below.

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