What to know about Chicago Bears’ top offensive coordinator candidates

In a week since firing offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the Bears have interviewed more than half a dozen candidates for their open offensive coordinator position.

Head coach Matt Eberflus needs to nail this hire. The Bears had one of the NFL’s worst passing attacks over the two seasons that Getsy ran the offense. That needs to improve if the Bears want to keep up with modern NFL offenses.

Many of the coaches they’ve sought out come from the Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan coaching trees – two trees that feature the wide-zone offense. The Bears have retained offensive line coach Chris Morgan, who has worked almost exclusively in this system. That seems notable.

Below is a look at each of the candidates who have interviewed or are planning to interview, per various media reports. This is what each of them would bring to the table.

Marcus Brady

Brady is a senior offensive assistant currently with the Eagles. He served as the Colts’ offensive coordinator under head coach Frank Reich in 2021-22 and was on the Colts’ staff since 2018, including two years as the quarterbacks coach. Brady and Eberflus worked together for four years in Indianapolis.

Brady’s 2021 Colts ranked No. 2 in the NFL in rushing, thanks largely to a breakout season from running back Jonathan Taylor. The passing attack ranked 26th. The 2022 offense struggled, however, and Reich fired Brady on Nov. 1, 2022. Just a week later, the Colts fired Reich, too.

Thomas Brown

Brown was the Panthers’ OC for the 2023 season under Reich. He previously worked for McVay in Los Angeles for three seasons, coaching running backs and tight ends. Before that, he coached at the college level. He served as Miami’s offensive coordinator from 2016-18, helping the Hurricanes to a 10-win season in 2017.

The Panthers’ offense in 2023 did pretty much nothing well. Rookie QB Bryce Young struggled. His go-to receiver was 33-year-old Adam Thielen.

Brown, a former running back, briefly played for the Cleveland Browns in 2009 and 2010 when Eberflus was the linebackers coach.

Liam Coen

Coen is in his second stint as offensive coordinator at Kentucky (after previously holding the job in 2021). He was the offensive coordinator for the Rams in 2022. Coen also worked for McVay and the Rams from 2018 to 2020, coaching QBs and receivers at various times. When Coen was the coordinator, McVay still called plays for the offense

Before that, he coached QBs and passing games at colleges such as Brown, Rhode Island, UMass and Maine. He hasn’t worked with Eberflus before.

Kliff Kingsbury

Kingsbury, the former Arizona Cardinals head coach, is a senior offensive analyst at USC. Kingsbury worked closely with potential No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams this past season. He spent the previous four seasons as the head coach of the Cardinals. Before that, he was the head coach at Texas Tech for six seasons, where he recruited and coached Patrick Mahomes. He was also the offensive coordinator behind Johnny Manziel’s Heisman Trophy season at Texas A&M in 2012.

With the Cardinals, he tried to bring his air raid-style offense to the NFL. It worked with modest success in 2020 and 2021, before things imploded in 2022. QB Kyler Murray frequently worked out of the shotgun with three- and four-receiver sets. That certainly would be something different from what the Bears have run under Eberflus. It might be a little far-fetched that Eberflus – a conservative, defensive coach – would be willing to get behind Kingsbury’s offense.

It’s entirely possible the Bears simply wanted to pick his brain about Williams.

Klint Kubiak

Kubiak, who is the son of Broncos Super Bowl-winning coach Gary Kubiak, has been an offensive coordinator once for the Vikings in 2021. That was after two seasons as QBs coach under Vikings coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. Kubiak went with Nathaniel Hackett to Denver for one season as QBs coach before taking a job as passing game coordinator with the 49ers this season.

The 49ers have one of the best offenses in football. It’s one of only two offenses that rank in the top five in rushing and passing (the other being the Lions’ offense). They’ve done it with a relatively inexperienced quarterback in Brock Purdy. Interestingly, Kubiak was a graduate assistant coach at Texas A&M when Kingsbury was the offensive coordinator. Kubiak is only 36 years old.

Greg Olson

Olson is a longtime NFL assistant coach who most recently was the QBs coach with the Seattle Seahawks. Olson has had several different stints as an NFL offensive coordinator. He began as an interim offensive coordinator with the Lions in 2005, then served in the role for the the Rams (2006-07), the Buccaneers (2009-11), the Raiders (2013-14), the Jaguars (2015-16) and the Raiders again (2018-21). Olson coached the Bears’ quarterbacks in 2003.

Few candidates will have that much experience as a coordinator. In his 13 full seasons as an NFL coordinator, only one of those 13 teams reached the postseason (the 2021 Raiders). Olson twice has been on McVay’s staff in Los Angeles (2017 and 2022).

Zac Robinson

Rams passing game coordinator/QB coach Robinson is a former NFL quarterback himself. Robinson has been with the Rams since 2019. He has coached quarterbacks and receivers at various times. He has been in his current role as passing game coordinator for two seasons.

The Rams’ passing game improved dramatically from 2022 to 2023, and the Rams went from a five-win team to the playoffs. But Robinson, who is 37, has never called plays before. The Saints also reportedly are interested in Robinson.

Greg Roman

Former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Roman worked in Baltimore from 2017 to 2022. From 2019 to 2022, he served as the offensive coordinator. He was the offensive coordinator when quarterback Lamar Jackson won the MVP award in 2019. The Ravens made the postseason in three of the four seasons during which Roman was the coordinator.

Roman also was a coordinator with the 49ers (2011-14) and the Bills (2015-16). He coached mobile quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco and Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo. If the Bears stick with Justin Fields, Roman could be a candidate who makes sense.

Shane Waldron

Waldron comes from the McVay coaching tree but also has three years of experience in an offensive coordinator role. His Seahawks offenses were generally pretty average over his three years. The 2022 Seahawks finished ninth in scoring and 11th in passing yards, both high marks during Waldron’s run. The Saints are reportedly also interested in Waldron.