As the Bears start their search for John Fox's replacement, their first stop was in-house.
General manager Ryan Pace interviewed Vic Fangio for the vacant head coach spot Wednesday, the team announced:
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Fangio has served as the Bears' defensive coordinator for the last three years. He served in the same role with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-14 and also has had stints with the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints in various capacities.
Fangio, 59, has never been a head coach anywhere he's gone but he has the respect of the Bears players and is highly thought of as a defensive mind around the league.
The Bears defense ranked 10th in the NFL in yards allowed in 2017 and 9th in points allowed per game (20.0). And that was with injuries devastating the linebacking group throughout the season.
The year before Fangio took over, the Bears ranked 30th in yards allowed and 31st in points allowed.