A disgusted Bill Belichick reportedly didn’t get phone calls from any of the three teams with head-coaching vacancies, including the Chicago Bears. Jim Harbaugh wanted to coach the Bears a year ago but, according to reports, never had a shot, either. One insider has connected the dots to the team’s president and chief executive officer, Kevin Warren.
“What I always heard about Kevin Warren and I think I’ve heard consistently throughout his career, he is a guy who when he goes in, he makes sure he gathers up as much power as he can,” said Yahoo’s Charles Robinson on Wednesday’s edition of Inside Coverage. “And he tries to hold that power and he tries to wield that power. And I wonder if that’s what’s happening right now with the Chicago Bears.”
Warren will see a lot of familiar faces when the Bears (4-9) visit the Vikings (11-2) in the first of two games on Monday Night Football (8 p.m. ET, ABC). While, he began his NFL front-office career with the St. Louis Rams in 1997 and held a leadership role with the Lions (2001-03), he was in Minnesota the longest (2005-19). Prior to leading the Bears, he also was Big Ten commissioner from 2020-23.
After Chicago fired Matt Eberflus Nov. 29, Warren served as the spokesperson next to general manager Ryan Poles, creating a bit of an awkward dynamic.
“That dynamic is a little scary,” Robinson continued. “It doesn’t preclude the Bears from pursuing a guy like Mike Vrabel … What’s also interesting is, I don’t know how that dynamic in the Bears front office and then with Kevin Warren is going to play out. I think you have to wonder, if you’re Kevin Warren and you’re sitting there saying, ‘I want to be at the forefront of this organization. I want to be at the power-center of this organization. I don’t know if I want a coach who’s going to come in and not be OK with me being the lead person over the general manager, over the head coach, the person that you have to operate through rather than operating directly with ownership.’”
Many in league circles believe something similar played out a year ago in Atlanta, where Belichick interviewed for head coach but the Falcons ultimately chose a different path. Highly placed ProFootballPost.com sources have pegged Vrabel as the front-runner for Raiders head coach should Las Vegas move on from Antonio Pierce. Vrabel cares more about roster composition than power, and Chicago clearly has a cupboard full of talent.
What’s plagued Vrabel, Pierce, Eberflus and other coaches with defensive pedigrees has less to do with division of power and more to do with the conundrum of hiring offensive coordinators. And, obviously, the Chicago search is much different than others in Bears history because they aren’t just selecting a culture architect in their next head coach; they’re also choosing the next offensive coaching staff for No. 1 overall selection Caleb Williams. If a defensive coach hires a successful offensive coordinator, that individual isn’t likely to stay. If a defensive coach hires an unsuccessful offensive coordinator, that individual also isn’t likely to stay.
And while keeping continuity with current interim head coach Thomas Brown is an option, a candidate with an offensive background seems to better fit Chicago, and a first-year head coach like Ben Johnson from Detroit or Joe Brady from Buffalo figures to be a better mesh with the power structure in Chicago.
One thing is certain: The Bears will not follow the path San Francisco took in 2017 when it hired Kyle Shanahan and paired him with John Lynch.
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