Chicago Bears eyeing Jim Harbaugh for potential head coaching vacancy

For the Chicago Bears, the final month of the regular season is not only about determining whether or not Justin Fields is the answer at the quarterback position but also whether or not Matt Eberflus will be returning for a third season as the team’s head coach.

It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that the Bears would be moving on from Eberflus after the team’s 0-4 start to the season but after going 4-4 in the last 8 games, speculation has increased that the team may elect to bring the head coach back for another season.

However, the latest development would seem to suggest that the Bears may be preparing their search for a new head coach. The Athletic’s Diana Russini was a guest on “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd, and while speaking about the University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, Russini reported that the team has already had an internal discussion regarding a potential hire of Harbaugh.

The timing of Russini’s report is interesting. Last week, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported that he has heard that Bears’ team president Kevin Warren wants to be more involved in the team’s football operations while having his handpicked guys in place. Despite the previous contentious relationship between Warren and Harbaugh when Warren was the Big 10 commissioner, Harbaugh is someone that he has worked closely with in the past.

The timing finally is aligned for Harbaugh to be the head coach of the Bears. Despite years of speculation that Harbaugh would take the Bears’ head coaching job if available, the timing was never right between his extensions with the University of Michigan or the Bears already having a coach in place.

That could change in January if the Bears fire Eberflus amidst speculation that Harbaugh may be eyeing a return to the NFL.