The Chicago Bears are on the search for their new offensive coordinator after seeing Declan Doyle depart the organization last week to become the offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bears hoped Doyle would stick around for another season. But it was unlikely, given that he was starting to get interviews for other OC roles (Eagles and Ravens), which would allow him to call plays.
Chicago wasn’t going to be able to compete with that in the end. Now they will work to find the next rising coach to fill Doyle’s role, and apparently have a coach in mind that the Green Bay Packers have interviewed.
On Tuesday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that the Bears requested to interview Arizona Cardinals pass-game specialist Conner Senger for their offensive coordinator vacancy. Rapoport adds that Senger interviewed for the Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers QBs coach jobs.
Bears Already Eyeing Packers Coaching Candidate for OC Vacancy
The 30-year-old Senger is viewed as a rising coach around the league, and one would think that the Packers would try not to let him out the door, given that they’re trying to fill their QBs coach role after seeing Sean Mannion suddenly depart for an OC job.
However, Green Bay seemingly couldn’t seal the deal, allowing the Bears to interview Senger for an upgraded title that would put him in a better position to interview for a head coaching job next offseason.
Senger is the perfect high upside candidate to take over for Doyle. He spent the last three years in Arizona, holding the titles of offensive quality control coach, assistant quarterbacks coach, and, most recently, pass game coordinator.
Senger, just like Doyle, doesn’t have playcalling experience in the NFL. However, he did call plays at the East-West Shrine Bowl and coached the wide receivers.
When you look at the Cardinals’ passing game this season, it was a mixed bag, as Kyler Murray was banged up and Jacoby Brissett got the bulk of the starts. However, despite this conundrum, Arizona was ranked seventh in passing yards per game (232.6), 13th in completion percentage (65.8), and tied for seventh in passing TDs (29).
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how the Bears’ OC pursuit ultimately plays out. The fact that Chicago is in on Senger shows that they aren’t taking the easy way out, which would be to hire within the organization.
It's not guaranteed that Senger will stick around in Arizona after they just hired a new head coach, Mike LaFleur. And if Ben Johnson can steal Senger away from Matt LaFleur, that would be another win on the board for the Bears.