The Chicago Bears aren’t focused on 2019 at the moment. Nor should they be. This team has a chance to reach the playoffs for the first time in eight years. They’re 8-3, lead the NFC North with a chance to shut the door on the Vikings and Packers over the next few weeks. There’s a ton left to do.
Even so, it’s hard not to look ahead from the perspective of a fan. This team looks like it’s set up for years to come. Their roster is young and talented. Most of the big names on it have been locked up to new deals for the next couple of years. The big questions have been mostly answered.
That said there may be another question set to pop up. One that nobody would’ve dreamed of at the start of this season but becomes a greater reality the more they win.
Chicago Bears could lose both coordinators next offseason
There is always a cost to success in the NFL. It goes for not only the players who may end up wanting more money but also with assistant coaches on the staff. Every team in the league wants to win and they often believe the best way to do that is by poaching coaches from winning teams to do so. The Bears are in the midst of one of their best turnarounds in franchise history and it’s elevating the profiles of their staff each week.
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Mark Helfrich is a former head coach from Oregon. So he already has a proven background on that side of the ball. Now that the Bears offense is producing points and yards like they haven’t in years, all thanks to some of the most creative scheming in the league, there’s every reason to think the offensive coordinator may quickly get back into the head coaching business. If not in the NFL then definitely in college.
One source informed me that a number of NCAA teams have interest in him, among them the University of Colorado.
Then there’s Vic Fangio.
What else is there to say? He’s coaching arguably the best defense in football. One that leads the league with 29 takeaways, ranks 2nd against the run and 10th against the pass. They are a swirling maelstrom of destruction for offenses. People always knew Fangio was a great coordinator, but this unit may be his masterpiece.
Given the plague of bad defenses around the NFL and Fangio’s obvious intelligence and ability to motivate players, there’s every reason to think teams will have interest in him. The one issue is that he turns 61 next year. Teams, in general, these days prefer their head coaches younger. That could make it difficult for him to land a job at this point. Then again, it only takes one.
Possible replacements if one or both end up leaving
Naturally, the next question to ask is who will replace the two men if and when they are yanked away from the Bears. It’s a difficult one to answer because it relies on so many variables. Still, here are a few names to at least monitor as the regular season wraps up this December.
As in-house options go, a name to watch on offense is Kevin Gilbride. The Bears tight ends coach has done a good job with Trey Burton this year. He’s also a former wide receivers coach. What makes him appealing is his youth (38) and him being the son of Kevin Gilbride Sr., a long-time successful offensive coordinator who won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.
Defensively? The easy answer is secondary coach Ed Donnatell. He’s vastly experienced and has been a defensive coordinator before. However, one name to keep an eye on is Brandon Staley. The young outside linebackers coach has done a good job since joining the Bears in 2017 and had success at the college level as a coordinator. He could be a dark horse.
Outside the organization?
It’s not hard to see one for the defense. New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles is in danger of being fired after this season. Were that to happen, he’d be the obvious choice. He’s got prior experience as a coordinator, runs a 3-4 system, and has been friends with Matt Nagy since they were kids.
An interesting name on offense would be Kliff Kingsbury. Who? For those unfamiliar, he’s the head coach at Texas Tech. Considered one of the brightest offensive minds in the game, he’s the one who recruited and developed Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Adding to this is the fact he has connections to GM Ryan Pace. Both were with the New Orleans Saints back in the early 2000s.
Something to monitor as the season approaches its stretch run.
