The Chicago Bears have a new coach and GM. Here’s how the searches ended with Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles.

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Injured Bears quarterback Justin Fields takes the field before the Week 16 game against the Seahawks on Dec. 26, 2021, at Lumen Field in Seattle.

It was a busy week for Chicago Bears.

The Bears picked Matt Eberflus, the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator, as their new head coach on Thursday. Two days earlier, they announced the hiring of Ryan Poles, the Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel, as their new general manager.

Eberflus first interviewed with the Bears on Jan. 17 and had a second interview with Poles on Jan. 26. He was one of at least 10 candidates who interviewed for the coaching vacancy.

Poles, 36, has been with the Chiefs for 13 years, working his way up from player personnel assistant to college scouting administrator and coordinator, director of college scouting, assistant director of player personnel and executive director of player personnel this season. He was part of the Chiefs team that won Super Bowl LIV.

<mark class="hl_orange">Here’s a look at the other GM candidates the Bears interviewed:</mark>

<mark class="hl_orange">Here’s a look at the other coaching candidates the Bears interviewed:</mark>

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Here’s what else to know about the search process.

Bears hire Matt Eberflus as the franchise’s 17th head coach: ‘We will do everything in our power to bring a Super Bowl championship back to Chicago’

Citing his experience, passion, character and attention to detail, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles named Matt Eberflus the 17th head coach in franchise history Thursday evening.

Eberflus, 51, was the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator the last four seasons. He takes on his first head-coaching job after 13 years as an NFL coordinator and assistant coach and 17 years as a college assistant.

>>> Read the full story here

The Bears hire Ryan Poles as their new general manager. Next up: Finding the new head coach.

The Bears were connected with at least 15 GM candidates and had reported interviewing 13 of them through Monday.

Ryan Poles first interviewed with the Bears on Friday. It was clear by Monday night how deep the Bears’ interest was when a video of Chairman George McCaskey apparently picking up Poles at O’Hare International Airport surfaced on social media.

Poles becomes the seventh general manager in Bears history.

>>> Read the full story here

Column: An open letter to new Bears coach Matt Eberflus. Welcome! Now understand the colossal challenge you just accepted.

Dear Coach Eberflus,

Congratulations on your new gig. And welcome to Chicago. What an amazing opportunity! You’re going to love it here. (For a little while, anyway.)

This is your time now, your chance to take the steering wheel of a franchise that has a rich history in a football-crazed city with a fan base that’s both intensely passionate and overwhelmingly loyal. (To be honest, the unwavering devotion is almost warped, given these fans’ tortured existence over the last 30 years.)

>>> Read the full story here

‘Relentless.’ ‘A terrific teacher.’ The ‘it factor.’ Those who have coached with and played for Matt Eberflus rave about his coaching potential.

Questions surrounded Matt Eberflus both times he was hired as a defensive coordinator, and at each stop he more than satisfied the inquiries.

“Anybody who has been around Flus has known it’s a matter of time for him to become a head coach,” said retired Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee, who played for Eberflus from 2011 to 2017.

>>> Read the full story here

Column: It’s hard to keep a hiring search secret in Chicago — just ask the Bears fan who shot the video of new GM Ryan Poles at O’Hare. ‘(Bleep), that’s George McCaskey.’

Noah Pinzur had a piece of advice for Eric Bohn. Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame. It goes by fast.

Bohn and Pinzur never have met and probably never will. They’re just a couple of Chicago sports fans who religiously follow their teams in and out of season.

The strange tie that binds them is that both had accidental run-ins with future Chicago sports executives and felt the urgent need to let their fellow fans know about the imminent hiring.

>>> Read the full story here

The chauffeur — George McCaskey — was sent to O’Hare for ‘Canandaigua.’ A day later, the Bears GM search ended with the hiring of Ryan Poles.

The video surfaced a little before 11 p.m. Monday. Undercover, of course. And shared on social media by Eric Bohn, whose Twitter bio identifies him as “your trusted resource for Chicago’s Northside and the North Shore residential real estate market.”

In this case, he was moonlighting as an impromptu P.I. — with his cellphone ready.

Bohn’s covert video documentation showed what certainly appeared to be Bears Chairman George McCaskey strolling through O’Hare International Airport with a man who certainly appeared to be Ryan Poles, a finalist for the Bears general manager job.

>>> Read the full story here

The Bears have had 17 head coaches. Here’s a look at how past coaches fared — and when they left the franchise.

The Bears have had 17 head coaches in the franchise’s 100-plus-year history. Some of the previous 16 were significantly more successful than others, but either way, the Bears never have fired a coach midseason — nice work if you can get it.

>>> Read the full story here

From George Halas to Matt Nagy: What was said about each Bears coach when they were hired

The day a new Bears coach is introduced can be one of the most thrilling for fans.

As the search to find the next coach of the Bears begins, here’s a look back at when each of the team’s previous 16 coaches were introduced by team management.

>>> Read the full story here

What can Bears offer a new GM and coach? The pros and cons in 4 areas, including what the team has in QB Justin Fields.

As the five-person Bears search committee narrows its choices, it also will be selling what the franchise has to offer the next GM and coach. Six other teams are looking for a coach, and three others are trying to find a GM.

So what exactly is the appeal of the Bears jobs, and what is the downside to what the next GM and coach will inherit?

>>> Read the full story here

Column: The Bears’ meticulous search for a GM and head coach hasn’t put them behind the rest of the NFL. But time — and wins and losses — will be the judge of their process.

As the Bears continue their methodical process vetting candidates simultaneously for their general manager and head coach openings, action should pick up soon.

>>> Read the full story here

How has the search for a new coach and GM been so far? And what does Bill Polian’s involvement mean? 4 questions for the Bears.

The Chicago Bears have been busy since firing Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy on Jan. 10. The team is in the process of interviewing 15 general manager and 11 coaching candidates, and the lists could grow.

As the interview process continues, our Bears team weighs in on four timely topics.

>>> Read the full story here

‘Thorough, diligent and exhaustive’: Inside the Bears’ search for a new coach and GM — and why the ever-growing candidate list could be a concern

Within some league circles, there is a belief that the Bears don’t have a comprehensive understanding of how this process should work, even with Pro Football Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian helping to run the show.

But after such a lengthy stretch of futility, the most common reaction to George McCaskey’s news conference was a hard eye roll and a “we’ll see about that” response.

As the Bears march on, here are six other notes, nuggets and snippets of chatter from the first week-plus of the team’s searches.

>>> Read the full story here

A blowout playoff win followed by an interview with the Bears. For Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, this is the definition of ‘strike while the iron is hot.’

If the Bears were intent on doing comprehensive research for their simultaneous searches for a new head coach and general manager, perhaps their Saturday night homework should have ended with a peek into the interview rooms at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.

You don’t have to be a sophisticated football evaluator to understand what the Bills did Saturday night was extraordinary and rare. They possessed the ball eight times and assembled an eye-popping drive chart: touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, “victory formation.”

>>> Read the full story here

Op-ed: We’ve seen progress, but more can be done to make the NFL’s front offices more inclusive

Creating a new playbook. Specializing with intentionality. Identifying and lifting up the game-changers. Trusting the process.

That’s not just how winning teams are assembled in the NFL. That’s also how inclusive front offices are also built, writes Troy Vincent Sr., executive vice president of football operations for the NFL.

>>> Read the full story here

‘The roster needs work.’ How does the Bears coaching job stack up with the other NFL openings? A look at how attractive each team is.

How attractive is the Bears coaching job? Quarterback Justin Fields is considered a young player with upside. Ownership has supported its football operation, recently pouring a ton of money into a renovation of Halas Hall. The Bears are considered an attractive home and have some young talent on the roster.

The Tribune polled 19 league executives, coaches and veteran agents with knowledge of rosters and how teams operate, asking them to rank the seven openings, which assumes the Raiders job opens.

>>> Read the full story here

How will the Bears conduct their searches for a new GM and coach? And what do we know about the search committee?

While George McCaskey said he ultimately will make the decision on the next GM and coach, the Bears assembled a five-person search committee — McCaskey, Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, Phillips, vice president of player engagement LaMar “Soup” Campbell and senior vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion Tanesha Wade.

>>> Read the full story here

Why the NFL’s ‘socialistic enterprise’ means the Bears win at the bank — even when they lose on the field

When the Bears lowered the lid on another disappointing season, it was easy to view them as an NFL franchise in disarray. But when you look at things another way, the Bears are doing just fine.

Every home game was a sellout, or close to it. TV ratings remained high. And when Forbes released its annual list of estimated team values, the Bears had shot up 16% year-over-year, to $4.1 billion. Only six NFL teams are worth more.

That’s not even counting the new stadium the Bears appear ready to build in Arlington Heights.

>>> Read the full story here

George McCaskey promises a ‘thorough, diligent and exhaustive’ search for the next Bears GM and coach after firing Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy

During an hourlong video conference, George McCaskey said he consulted “a number of people” in NFL circles before making the decisions and finalizing his conclusion Sunday night. He said Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, 99, also was consulted as part of the team’s board of directors.

“Everybody wants to win one for her,” McCaskey said. “And we’re doing everything we can to make that happen. At one point in our conversations, I asked her for her assessment of our season, and she said, as only a mother can, ‘I’m very, very disappointed.’”

>>> Read the full story here

George McCaskey’s inability to recall when the Bears united with Bill Polian is peculiar. But Polian’s influence on the upcoming coach and GM searches is now paramount.

The revelation came subtly from Bears Chairman George McCaskey.

Bill Polian had been tabbed to jump into the driver’s seat for the upcoming coach and general manager searches. And, boy, were the most important leaders at Halas Hall pumped.

Yet McCaskey also seemed to be suffering from a bit of selective amnesia. He couldn’t remember exactly when Polian linked up with the team. “At some point during the season,” McCaskey said. “I can’t recall when.”

>>> Read the full story here

‘This is a results-driven league’: Bears players react to the firings of coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace

Running back David Montgomery acknowledged that he was emotional. Given the news that Bears coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace had been fired a day after the team finished its 6-11 season, Montgomery couldn’t wall off a combination of disappointment, sadness and sentimentality.

“It’s pretty emotional for me,” he said.

Pace was the GM who traded up in the 2019 draft to select Montgomery at No. 73 in the third round. Nagy was the energetic coach with whom Montgomery developed a close bond during their three seasons working together.

Even if the news wasn’t all that stunning to anyone inside or outside of Halas Hall, the finality still packed a punch.

>>> Read the full story here

How Matt Nagy’s 34-31 record stacks up with other Bears coaches

With a loss to the Vikings in the last game of the 2021 season, Bears coach Matt Nagy ended his fourth — and final — season with the team with a 34-31 record.

Here’s a look back at how Nagy’s coaching record compares, season-by-season and amongst 15 former Bears coaches.

>>> Read the full story here

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