The search is on.
The Chicago Bears relieved head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace of their duties on Monday.
And the Bears have wasted no time lining up interviews for head coach and general manager candidates.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
If you're wondering who will be doing the interviewing with out a general manager in place, the team outlined their search committee. There are the two usual suspects, Bears chairman George McCaskey and CEO Ted Phillips. The Bears have also looped in Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian. They also tabbed vice president of player engagement Lamar 'Soup' Campbell and senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion Tanesha Wade.
Here is who the Bears have reached out to so far.
Head Coach
Doug Pederson
NFL
Pederson was one of the first names reported. And like Matt Nagy, Pederson comes from the Andy Reid tree.
That Nagy comparison may be a knock on Pederson, though he led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots. When Pederson accepted the Eagles job, Nagy was promoted to fill Pederson's offensive coordinator role in Kansas City.
Pederson was fired after the 2020 season, and left Philadelphia with a 42-37-1 record.
Leslie Frazier
Frazier is currently the Bills' defensive coordinator though Bears fans will remember him as a member of the 1985 Bears and the Super Bowl XX team. Frazier was carried off the field in that Super Bowl and his career was cut short.
Frazier has been an assistant coach in the NFL since 1999. He served as the Minnesota Vikings head coach from 2011 to 2013.
During his tenure with the Bills since 2017, the Bills defense has been among the best in the league. In 2021, the Bills' defense ranked first in points allowed, passing yards allowed, passing touchdowns allowed and opposing quarterback rating.
Brian Flores
The Miami Dolphins' loss could be the Bears' gain. After the Dolphins shockingly parted ways with head coach Brian Flores, the Bears were quick to line up an interview. Flores led the Dolphins to back-to-back winning seasons. After losing seven games early in the 2021 season, the Dolphins than rattled off a seven-game win streak.
The biggest feather in Flores’ cap was turning around the Dolphins defense. That unit ranked dead last in points allowed in 2019, but improved to No. 6 in points allowed in 2020. But the unit regressed slightly in 2021, sliding to No. 16.
Brian Daboll
The Bears also reached out to the Bills to interview offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Daboll has been a hot name on the coaching rumor mill. He's helped develop Josh Allen into a top-tier quarterback and the Bills are going to the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Daboll has extensive NFL experience, serving as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. He also won five Super Bowls as a member of the New England Patriots coaching staff alongside Bill Belichick and a College Football Playoff National Championship with Alabama and Nick Saban.
And in 2020 he was named the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.
Byron Leftwich
The Bears requested an interview with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. At Tampa Bay, Leftwich has overseen an offense with an embarrassment of riches on the offensive side of the ball. But being able to bring all those stars together takes some skill.
He also has 44-year-old quarterback Tom Brady looking like a lock for the MVP again. Leftwich won Super Bowl LV with the Bucs as the offensive coordinator.
Todd Bowles
The Bears requested an interview with Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Like Leftwich, Bowles won Super Bowl LV with the Bucs as the defensive coordinator. Unlike Leftwich, Bowles has more extensive experience as an NFL coach, including serving as the New York Jets head coach from 2015 to 2018.
In 2014, while Bowles was the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, he won the AP and PFWA NFL Assistant Coach of the Year Award. His head coach record with the Jets wasn't great, 26-41.
Nathaniel Hackett
The Bears have reached out into enemy territory, requesting an interview with Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett has helmed the Packers offense since 2019, which has seen quarterback Aaron Rodgers put together a couple of MVP-caliber seasons.
Hackett clearly understands the NFC North and would be acutely familiar with the Bears' strengths and deficiencies.
Dan Quinn
The Bears have also requested an interview with Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Quinn rose to prominence as the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, overseeing a stout unit that helped win a Super Bowl.
In 2015, he was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as head coach and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance. Unfortunately, it's that infamous Super Bowl when the Falcons let the New England Patriots mount a furious comeback.
After being fired, Quinn has served as the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys and has orchestrated a resurgence from that unit headlined by rookie linebacker Micah Parsons and cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Matt Eberflus
The Bears submitted an interview request for Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Eberflus has spent the last four years with the Colts. Previously he was a Dallas Cowboys linebackers coach and Missouri defensive coordinator.
General Manager
Rick Smith
The Bears are interviewing former Houston Texans general manager Rick Smith, who was promoted to vice president of football operations and oversaw the drafting of Deshaun Watson. Insider Adam Hoge made a compelling argument for Smith to be the hire.
Morocco Brown
One of the very first names linked to the Bears' general manager role was Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown. Brown spent seven years as an assistant director of pro personnel for the Bears, so he knows the organization well. He's also been Colts GM Chris Ballard's right-hand man.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
The Bears reached out to the Browns to request an interview with VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Adofo-Mensah has been with the Browns since March of 2020 and previously spent seven years with the San Francisco 49ers.
Glenn Cook
The Bears also reached out to the Browns to request an interview with another member of their front office, VP of Players Personnel Glenn Cook. Cook has been with the Bears since 2016 and previously worked for the Green Bay Packers, so he knows the NFC North well.
Ed Dodds
The Bears have also reached out to Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds. Dodds has been in the Colts' organization since 2017 and was promoted to assistant GM in 2018.
Jeff Ireland
The Bears are looking to the New Orleans Saints for another general manager, this time assistant GM Jeff Ireland. The Bears hired Ryan Pace from New Orleans in 2015, and Ireland joined the Saints immediately afterward. Ireland has been credited with some big raft wins for the Saints including Alvin Kamar, Marshon Lattimore and Michael Thomas.
Ireland did serve as a general manager before with the Miami Dolphins.
Ran Carthon
The Bears have also requested an interview with 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon.
Carthon began his front office career as a pro scout with the Falcons in 2008. He then took a job with the Rams as their director of pro personnel in 2012. But the Rams fired just weeks before the 2017 draft, leading Carthon to take the same job with the 49ers one month later.
Champ Kelly
Kelly is the Bears Director of Pro Scouting and oversaw all pro player evaluations, the advance scouting process, free agency, and evaluated talent in all professional leagues including the Canadian Football League and Arena Football League.