As the Bears plod through interviews with a list of 20 head-coaching candidates, little is clear other than this is probably going to take a while.
The search continued Wednesday as the Bears interviewed Steelers offensive coordinator and former Falcons coach Arthur Smith virtually and flew in longtime Packers and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on a private jet for an in-person interview, a source said.
That would push the number of interviews to 12, and the Bears still haven’t talked to obvious contenders like Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
If general manager Ryan Poles wants to check McCarthy’s references, he should call Cowboys four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Micah Parsons.
Parsons, who had played his entire career for McCarthy before the Cowboys fired him Monday, raved about his former coach and said he was crushed to see him go.
“It is devastating,” he said on his “The Edge” podcast. “Coach Mike is a great father, great coach — one of the winningest coaches. He’s always been good to us as a unit, coaches, players. Losing a great coach like Mike hurts.”
Nothing like that came from the Bears’ locker room after they fired Matt Eberflus.
McCarthy, 61, also is expected to interview with the Saints and could draw additional interest given his résumé. Over 13 seasons with the Packers and five with the Cowboys, he put together a 174-112-2 record and won Super Bowl XLV.
Meanwhile, two candidates the Bears already have interviewed spoke Wednesday about their experience in the hiring cycle. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn talked briefly and broadly about those opportunities, but steered the focus to their playoff game against the Commanders on Saturday.
The Lions are having their best season ever and ranked first in scoring and seventh in points allowed in the regular season — precisely why Johnson and Glenn are in demand.
Johnson, 38, has been one of the most coveted candidates for years and rebuffed all suitors, but has continued to make hypothetical plans.
“This go-around, I’ve been a lot more prepared for the types of questions that they’ve been asking,” Johnson said. “I’ve had offseasons and summers to think about a big-picture view of what a program would look like.”
Johnson is widely considered the favorite for the Bears job if he wants it. He also is a candidate for the Jaguars and Raiders, and it’s unknown whether the Cowboys will get in the game after dropping McCarthy.
Unlike the Bears, the Raiders have made it clear Johnson is their priority. That sparked controversy about minority owner Tom Brady working on Fox’s broadcast team because it could give him a chance to circumvent the rules and talk to Johnson in person. Teams can interview employed coaches only virtually until Monday, and if their teams are still in the playoffs, not until after their seasons end.
Johnson said he was unaware of the rules and has only met Brady once, and sure enough it was when he was broadcasting one of their games in November.
“I saw him on the field for a second,” Johnson said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever met him. That’s it.”
Glenn, 52, also interviewed with the Bears last weekend and has been pursued by other organizations. He’s more of a longshot for the Bears because he’s a defensive-minded coach, but pushed back on that perception.
“I’m a coach — I just happen to be on defense,” he said. “I understand the offense just as well as a number of people… I’m going to talk to the offense just as much as I’m going to talk to the defense.”
Johnson and Glenn likely revealed a version of what they told the Bears. They’ve got options, though, and it could get competitive, so it’d be far more interesting to hear what the Bears told them.
Contributing: Patrick Finley.