Bears' coaching search rolls on with more interviews as pursuit of Lions OC Ben Johnson heats up
As the Bears plod through interviews with a list of 20 head-coaching candidates, little is clear, other than that this is probably going to take awhile.
Their search continued Wednesday as they interviewed Steelers offensive coordinator and former Falcons coach Arthur Smith virtually and flew in longtime Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on a private jet for an in-person interview, a source said.
That pushed the number of interviews to 12. The Bears still haven’t talked to two obvious contenders: Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Commanders offen-sive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
If general manager Ryan Poles needs a reference check on McCarthy, he should call Cowboys four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Micah Parsons, who has played under McCarthy his entire NFL career. Parsons raved about his former coach — who split with the Cowboys on Monday after failed contract talks — and said he was crushed to see him go.
“It is devastating,” Parsons said on his “The Edge” podcast. “Coach Mike is a great father, great coach — one of the winningest coaches. He’s always been good to us as a unit, coaches, players. Losing a great coach like Mike hurts.”
Nothing like that came from the Bears’ locker room after Matt Eberflus was fired in late November.
McCarthy, 61, also is expected to interview with the Saints and could draw interest from other teams with vacancies, given his résumé. Over 13 seasons with the Packers and five with the Cowboys, he was 174-112-2 in the regular season and won a Super Bowl with the Packers after the 2010 season.
Meanwhile, two candidates who already interviewed virtually with the Bears spoke Wednesday about their experience in the hiring cycle. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn briefly and broadly discussed their opportunities but steered the focus to the Lions’ playoff game at home Saturday against the Commanders.
The Lions are having their best season in team history and ranked first in the NFL in scoring and seventh in points allowed during the regular season — precisely why Johnson and Glenn are in demand.
Johnson, 38, has been one of the most coveted head-coaching candidates for years but so far has rebuffed all suitors.
“This go-around, I’ve been a lot more prepared for the types of questions that they’ve been asking,” he said. “I’ve had offseasons and summers to think about a big-picture view of what a program would look like.”
Johnson is widely considered the favorite for the Bears’ job if he wants it. He’s also a candidate for the Jaguars and Raiders. (It’s unknown whether the Cowboys will get in the game after parting ways with McCarthy.)
Unlike the Bears, the Raiders have made it clear that Johnson is their priority. That sparked controversy about Raiders minority owner Tom Brady working on Fox’s broadcast team because it could give him a chance to circumvent the rules and talk to Johnson in person. Teams can interview currently employed coaches only virtually until Monday — unless their teams are still in the playoffs, in which case the wait continues until their season is over.
Johnson said he was unaware of the rules and has only met Brady once, during a game broadcast in November.
“I saw him on the field for a second,” Johnson said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever met him. That’s it.”
Glenn, 52, interviewed with the Bears last weekend and has been pursued by other teams. Although he’s more of a long shot for the Bears because he’s a defensive-minded coach, he pushed back on that perception.
“I’m a coach. I just happen to be on defense,” he said. “I understand the offense just as well as a number of people. . . . I’m going to talk to the offense just as much as I’m going to talk to the defense.”
Johnson and Glenn’s comments are likely close to what they told the Bears. But they have options, so it would be far more interesting to know what the Bears told them.
Contributing: Patrick Finley.