The Chicago Bears will have a new head coach in 2025. And like the team that fired Matt Eberflus on Black Friday, we’re getting an early start on the search with this series that will profile potential head coaches for the franchise that resides at Halas Hall.
Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Unless it’s professional sports, in which case, most of the smoke comes from intentionally lit small garbage can fires in the offices of agents and front office executives.
There’s been plenty of smoke around Mike Vrabel’s name and the Chicago Bears in recent weeks, but keep those little fires in mind when consuming those reports.
That’s not to say Vrabel isn’t a candidate or won’t be interviewed. It would probably be negligent not to at least speak with him. I’m just saying that sometimes, the thickest smoke ends up being a false alarm in these processes.
As for how I feel about Mike Vrabel being the next head coach of the Chicago Bears, I like it as much as I like the Bears’ inability to score in the first half of football games this season. I’ve been pretty straightforward; I do not want the “Leader of Men” or defensive play-caller archetypes in this search. I think this team needs an offensive mind who can install an offense and stay here.
But I rarely get what I want when it comes to the Chicago Bears, so we’re going to do some homework on all of the potential candidates.
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)Previous Bears Head Coach Search Profiles
Ben Johnson Joe BradyMike Vrabel’s Coaching History
Coaching & Personnel Consultant, Cleveland Browns (2024-Present) Head Coach, Tennessee Titans (2018-2023) Defensive Coordinator, Houston Texans (2017) Linebackers Coach, Houston Texans (2014-16) Defensive Line Coach, Ohio State (2012-13) Linebackers Coach, Ohio State (2011)Mike Vrabel’s Coaching Origins and Influences
Mike Vrabel has spent his rebound season revisiting his roots in Ohio, working as a coaching and personnel consultant for the Cleveland Browns. Vrabel is from Northeast Ohio, played at Ohio State, returned to Ohio State to begin his coaching career after his playing days, and found a landing spot on Kevin Stefanski’s staff after he was fired by the Tennessee Titans last offseason.
Vrabel began his coaching career—following a playing career that included three Super Bowl championships in New England—in 2011 when his close friend Luke Fickell became the interim head coach at Ohio State and asked him to be his linebackers coach. When Urban Meyer took over as the Buckeyes’ head coach in 2012, Vrabel became the defensive line coach.
Vrabel’s next stop was in Houston, where he worked for Bill O’Brien as a linebackers coach and eventually a defensive coordinator. His time in Houston earned him multiple interviews. Before taking the Titans head coaching job, Vrabel interviewed with the Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions.
During his six seasons in Tennessee, Vrabel posted a 54-45 record and led the Titans to three playoff appearances. After being hired as the head coach in 2018, Vrabel instantly impacted the Titans, leading them to a 9-7 record and narrowly missing the playoffs. In 2019, Tennessee earned a wild card berth and made its first AFC Championship appearance in 17 seasons, thanks to 406 scrimmage yards from Derrick Henry in victories against the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens.
The Titans would lose to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game, but Vrabel’s efforts in 2019 earned him AP Coach of the Year honors.
Tennessee won the AFC South division title the next two seasons with 11-5 and 12-5 records, but it was one-and-done in the playoffs, losing to the Ravens and Bengals in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Following a 7-10 season in 2022 and a 6-11 season in 2023, Tennessee decided to part ways with Vrabel.
© Jamie Sabau-Imagn ImagesWhy did the Titans move on from Vrabel after a relatively successful six-season stint in Nashville?
According to a report by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Joe Rexrode, “The Titans wanted to make this season about evolving and modernizing their process behind the scenes.”
The Titans wanted to build a roster that relied more on analytics, which owner Amy Adams Strunk valued when she hired GM Ran Carthon the previous season. According to Russini and Rexrode, Tennessee considered moving on from Vrabel after the 2023 season in favor of a fresh start, which would have allowed Carthon to choose his head coach, but Strunk believed in Vrabel and decided to go the route of the arranged marriage between Vrabel and Carthon, even after Vrabel asked for control of the roster construction, a move he picked up from his former head coach Bill Belichick. Strunk shot that idea down.
After Vrabel was denied the opportunity to be essentially the chief football decision-maker, he made a comment to Strunk that caused friction between them.
“When Carthon was close to getting the job, Vrabel told Strunk he liked Carthon but didn’t feel he was ready to become an NFL general manager. Vrabel’s suggestion: The Titans hire Carthon as the assistant GM, a promotion from his position as No. 3 in the 49ers’ pecking order. Strunk did not take kindly to this suggestion, and team sources believe her and Vrabel’s relationship took a hit as a result of that conversation,” Russini and Rexrode wrote.
How does Mike Vrabel fit (or not) the Chicago Bears plans in 2025 and beyond?
In his limited role with the Browns this season, he’s received rave reviews from those inside the building. In a story at Cleveland Browns dot com, head coach Kevin Stefanski referred to Vrabel as an “energy multiplier.” Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry said the Browns were “certainly getting our money’s worth” with Vrabel on their staff. Safeties coach Ephraim Banda called him “energetic,” “very approachable,” and “super intelligent.”
There’s no denying that Mike Vrabel can lead a locker room. By all accounts, his players have loved him at every stop, and he maximized the talent he had in Tennessee and went to the playoffs three times. If Chicago is hell-bent on hiring from that pool of head coaching candidates—and I think it’s the wrong decision—Vrabel is likely the best of the bunch. So, is there a fit? Yes. If that’s what they desire, there’s a fit.
Vrabel could come in, whip that locker room into shape, call a good defense, and make the McCaskeys feel good about their “reputation” and “storied history.” If that remains the goal at Halas Hall, then Vrabel should be at the top of the list of candidates.
However, the way things ended in Tennessee should be considered. Vrabel wanted roster control, something Strunk scoffed at and something we’ve never seen happen at Halas Hall. Would the McCaskeys allow Vrabel to come in and have a Belichick-type authority? What would that mean for Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren? Would Vrabel even demand that after his previous attempt to do so in Tennessee led to the souring of his relationship with ownership and his eventual dismissal? Those are all valid questions in this conversation.
Aug 10, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) tries to avoid Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) in the first quarter of a preseason game at Highmark Stadium. Mand tory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY SportsOne Big Question
Can Mike Vrabel hire an elite offensive coordinator?
This is the first question, but I believe some follow-ups will be more important than the initial answer. Hiring an elite offensive coordinator off the bat is one thing. Vrabel has contacts, and two of his previous offensive coordinators (Matt LaFleur and Arthur Smith) landed head coaching gigs after working under him as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
Vrabel is batting .500 on that front, with LaFleur and Smith landing head coaching jobs with the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons. He also employed Tim Kelly and Todd Downing as offensive coordinators in Tennessee. While both have landed assistant jobs elsewhere since departing Tennessee, neither are coordinators and aren’t close to being considered head coaching candidates.
The more important question will be how many elite offensive coordinators Vrabel can hire. If he nails the hire, as he did twice in Tennessee, those coordinators will soon depart to become head coaches elsewhere, and we’ll be back to asking the original question again.
Which is why I’m not a fan of the defensive-minded head coach path. Finding, hiring, and retaining elite offensive minds is nearly impossible, and I’m not interested in the constant turnover on the offensive side of the ball.
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