Chicago Bears Head Coach Who Have Been Fired

Chicago Bears Head Coach fired contains ten names, including John Fox, Marc Trestman, Matt Nagy, Mike Dikta, Abe Gibron, and Lovie Smith.

Matt Nagy was the last Bears coach who was fired. He was let go by the organization on January 10, 2022.

He started at the Bears in 2018, and it was an outstanding first year, where he registered a 12-4 season record. They were first in the NFC North and qualified for the postseason.

The 2019 and 2020 seasons ended with an 8-8 record. The 6-11 win-loss record of the 2021 campaign was the end of the road for him.

He is the third HC with over 50% win rate to be fired. Smith had 56.4% with 81-63, and Mike Ditka has the highest of 63.1% with a 106-62 regular season record.

Ditka, who remained with the team from 1982-92, was the only coach who helped win the franchise’s only Super Bowl in 1985. Only George Halas has a better winning percentage than Ditka for the Bears, i.e., 67.1%.

Halas is the only HC to have multiple stints with the team (1920-29, 1933-42, 1946-55, and 1958-67).

Since the inaugural season in 1920 with Halas as the HC, seventeen people have been named the Bears HC, and ten were terminated.

Did The Bears Fire Their Head Coach?

Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus is on the verge of getting fired after starting 2023 with a 0-4 record. A loss on October 5 will be his end.

If Matt’s team loses against the Washington Commanders at the FedEx Field, he will probably be the first HC to get fired from the NFL in 2023.

It will hand him another record that no one would want: the first Bears head coach to be terminated during the season.

The 53-year-old from Toledo, Ohio, joined the Bears after the firing of Matt Nagy on January 10, 2022. The HC duty at Chicago is his first run as an HC.

Including the 0-4 record of 2023, he is 3-14. The team last experienced a regular season victory on October 24, 2022, winning 33-14 against the New England Patriots.

Fast forward to 2023, week 4, the franchise is on a 14-match loss streak.

The four defeats of the ongoing campaign are:

  • vs. Packers (20-38)
  • vs. Buccaneers (17-27)
  • vs. Chiefs (10-41)
  • vs. Broncos (28-31)

The October 1 fixture against the Broncos was a complete chaos. After the third quarter, the Bears were leading with 28-14.

Justin Fields put on a brilliant display with four touchdowns. But everything went downhill in the final quarter as Denver returned with 17 points and won the game 31-28.

Matt’s 32-year coaching experience has not clicked even at Chicago, and the team is headed to a massive breakdown.

There is a high chance that we won’t see Eberflus as the Bears HC as of Friday, October 6.

Chicago Bears Special Teams Coach

Bears Special Teams coach Richard Hightower can become the interim head coach if Eberflus is fired after the Washington game on the 5th of October.

There has been speculation about Eberflus’ future with the Bears. The Thursday Night Football might be his last game as the Bears HC.

In that case, someone must fill in the empty space before a new coaching head is finalized. Hightower’s name has been at the top of the chart.

The 43-year-old from Houston, Texas, has been coaching since 2006. His first job was with the Houston Texans as a Coaching Assistant. He was made the Special Teams assistant in 2008.

Other teams he has served during his 18-year career are:

  • Minnesota Golden Gophers: Wide Receivers coach (2008)
  • Washington Redskins:
    • Assistant special teams (2010-11)
    • Assistant special teams / Defensive backs (2012-13)
  • Cleveland Browns: Offensive Quality Control coach (2014)
  • San Francisco 49er: Assistant special teams coach (2015)
  • Chicago Bears: Assistant special teams coach (2016)
  • San Francisco 49ers: Special teams coordinator (2017-21)

Since 2022, Richard has handled the Special Teams Coordinator role at the Bears camp. His experience and familiarity with the team and the management can put him in a good spot to gain some experience as the leading coach.

He can use the time to build his resume for future HC duty. If he pulls some miracle during his interim HC duty, he will receive wide acclaim from analysts, pundits, and the media.

Chicago Bears Past Coaches Who Have Been Fired

Bears past head coaches who have been fired include Jim Dooley, Abe Gibron, Neill Armstrong, Mike Dikta, Marc Trestman, and 5 others.

Jim Dooley is the first Bears head coach who got fired. The former Flanker for the Chicago Bears was fired on December 29, 1971.

Chicago brought him as a player in 1952. He was the 8th overall pick of that year’s draft.

As a player, he served the team from 1952 to 1961 and never played for another team. During his college days, he used to play for the Miami Hurricanes.

After retiring from pro football, he joined the Bears coaching unit as a wide receivers coach in 1963. He became the defensive coordinator in 1966, and after George Halas’s retirement in 1968, Dooley was promoted to the HC role.

He had an okayish first year as the HC, registering seven wins for equal losses. The previous 1967 season with Halas ended with 7-6-1.

But, the 1969 season ended in a colossal disaster with only one win and thirteen losses. The 1-13 win-loss record is the franchise’s worst season record ever.

He was lucky that the administration did not let him go that year.

The subsequent year ended with 6-8, as did 1971, his final season as an HC. In four years, he recorded 20-36 with a win rate of 35.7%.

His departure was inevitable after three losing seasons and the unforgettable 1969 campaign.

Here is a complete list of Chicago Bears HCs fired in the past:

Name Year Fired
Jim Dooley 1971
Abe Gibron 1974
Neill Armstrong 1982
Mike Dikta 1993
Dave Wannstedt 1998
Dick Jauron 2003
Lovie Smith 2012
Marc Trestman 2014
John Fox 2018
Matt Nagy 2022

Bears Potential New Coaching Candidates

Chicago Bears new head coach candidates are Bobby Slowik, Ben Johnson, Frank Smith, Brian Johnson, Dan Quinn, Eric Bieniemy, and Dave Canales.

Ken Dorsey, the Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator, and Jerod Mayo, the New England Patriots Linebackers coach, also make the list.

The home team of Soldier Field has been in the league for 103 years and was a formidable side when they began their football journey in 1920. They enjoyed a great success pre-1970.

The team won eight NFL Championships (1921, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, and 1963). Even after the AFL-NFL merger, they played decent football, because of which they won the 1985 Super Bowl Championship.

But, the phase after the Mike Ditka era has been nothing but remorseful. Starting with Ditka, every head coach has been fired due to lackluster results.

The last time the Bears won the NFC Conference Championship was in 2006. They eventually lost to the Indianapolis Colts in SB XLI.

After that, they made the playoffs in 2010, 2018, and 2020. They lost in the Conference Championship (2010) and Wild Card rounds (2018 and 2020).

The head coach’s duty is under much criticism, and the pressure of ‘another loss and you are out’ is above Elberflus’s head.

Some names who can be the best replacement for Matt Eberflus at the Bears are:

Brian Johnson

Johnson is the current Offensive Coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. He started with the Eagles in 2021 as the Quarterbacks coach.

The alma mater of the University of Utah started his coaching career in 2010 with the Utah Utes. He was the QB coach and was later promoted to take over the OC role in 2012.

He was also involved with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Houston Cougars, and Florida Gators.

Into his third year as an NFL coach, his name emerged as a future HC. It is mostly due to the development of QB Jalen Hurts.

As a QB coach, he worked closely with Hurts and helped him become a top signal caller in the league. The 2022 passing offense of the Eagles was 11th in completion rate (65.5%) and second in the yards per attempt (7.9).

It is only a matter of time before someone else grabs this talented coach if the Bears decide on another candidate.

Ben Johnson

Ben has worked with the Detroit Lions since 2019. His journey from an Offensive Quality Control coach to OC has been excellent.

He was promoted to the OC duty in 2022.

The 37-year-old coach was a GA at the Boston College Eagles in 2009. He got the TE coaching role in 2011.

His first taste of the NFL came in 2012 when the Miami Dolphins made him their Offensive Assistant. He also worked as their Assistant QB coach, TE coach, Assistant WR coach, and WR coach till 2018.

The Lions were roaring out loud in the second half of the 2022 season, finishing 8-2 after starting awfully at 1-6. The 2023 campaign has been good, with three wins and one loss. The most important win was the victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Johnson’s work with Jared Goff has made the QB a top-10 QB in the league. His 2023 stats are 1,029 yards for six TDs. He is projected to throw 4K+ yards with this style of offense.

Frank Smith

The Offensive Coordinator of the Miami Dolphins is another suitable candidate for the Bears job. Frank has been with the Dolphins since 2022. 

The 42-year-old started as a Graduate Assistant at his alma mater, Miami Redhawks, in 2004. A couple of years later, in 2006, he was hired by the Butler Bulldogs as an Offensive Line coach.

His first NFL experience came in 2010 when the New Orleans Saints recruited him as the Assistant Offensive Line Coach. He also worked as the Tight Ends coach for the Las Vegas Raiders (2018-20), Run game coordinator, and OL coach for the Los Angeles Chargers (2021).

One thing that sets him apart among the top three candidates is his prior involvement with the Bears. He was their TE coach from 2015 to 2017 when he worked under Matt Nagy.

Likewise, his plus point is his ability to use the athletes’ potential and help them develop. It worked with Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins offense.

Justin Fields needs good mentoring to bring out his full potential, and if Frank joins them, we might see the QB playing a whole new level of football.

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