The Chicago Bears interviewed New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their head coaching vacancy before hiring former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
It worked out well for Chicago, as McDaniels subsequently spurned the Indianapolis Colts after committing to be their next head coach in order to return to his current position in New England.
McDaniels’ decision shocked the Colts, who already announced his hiring and brought aboard assistants for his staff. But the Bears might not be quite as stunned, as Adam L. Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times indicated Wednesday that Chicago had some doubts about McDaniels following his interview with the organization Jan. 5.
“McDaniels surprised the Bears in a way, but the team still left with apprehensions about McDaniels’ willingness to leave the Patriots,” Jahns wrote.
Chicago approached its coaching search differently than Indianapolis in that Bears general manager Ryan Pace, chairman George McCaskey and CEO Ted Phillips all were part of the process, whereas Colts owner Jim Irsay didn’t meet with McDaniels until his second interview during the week off before Super Bowl LII.
“The Bears were certain of the uncertainty surrounding McDaniels,” Jahns wrote. “They also understood hiring McDaniels likely would involve waiting, therefore creating more uncertainty, especially for staffing.”
The Bears might have chosen Nagy, anyway, even if all things were equal. Clearly, there was some sense that McDaniels might pull a U-turn, though, so hats off to Chicago for picking the right guy and avoiding the dumpster fire that’s now taking place in Indianapolis.
