Former Bears Standout Emerges as the Latest Rumored Head Coaching Target

The 2024 season is obviously not over, as the Chicago Bears are still desperately trying to stop their eight-game losing skid. With three games left against the Lions, Seahawks, and Packers, Chicago needs to find a way to get in the winning column to not embarrass themselves further in already one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory.

Bears fans are already over this season and are looking ahead to the next. The biggest question on everyone's mind is who the next head coach is going to be. After Matt Eberflus' departure, Thomas Brown has taken over as the interim HC but it's clear that he is not going to stay long-term. Kliff Kingsbury, Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel, Joe Brady, and Brian Flores have been the most discussed candidates for the role.

One name that hasn't been mentioned enough is former Bears player and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. He was finally mentioned as the ideal Bears option by Dan Pompei of The Athletic. He argues that Rivera is the perfect combination of experience, accountability, and familiarity with the Bears.

"One one person has had a football role on both Bears Super Bowl teams. Ron Rivera was a linebacker on the 1985 champions. On the 2006 Bears that lost to the Indianapolis Colts, he was their defensive coordinator. Now he should be first in line to interview."

- Dan Pompei, The Athletic

Rivera has an extensive experience, both as a Bear, but also as a coach. He played for the Bears for nine seasons before joining the team as a defensive quality control coach as his first post-playing job. He returned to Chicago in 2004 as a defensive coordinator. He helped make the defense into a top-three unit two seasons in a row, leading them to a Super Bowl appearance in 2006.

Since then, he has been the head coach for the Panthers and the Commanders, leading the former to a Super Bowl and winning two Coach of the Year awards in the meantime. He has been unemployed since the end of the 2023 season. Whether he gets a chance to interview for the Bears position remains to be seen but he certainly has a better resume than a few of the names regularly mentioned among leading candidates.

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