Former Lions Coach Interviews

Jim Caldwell was hired by Bill Polian with the Colts and on Saturday he interviewed with the Bears with Polian involved again.

The first round of the playoffs could shake loose some of the logjam regarding the Bears GM and coaching position, or it could contribute further to the intrigue.

Buffalo's 47-17 blowout win over the New England Patriots spoke loudly on behalf of two head coaching candidates the Bears interview on Sunday, Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

It also put Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in the clear now to do interviews if the Bears or another team come calling. The Bears interviewed McDaniels in 2018 when they hired Matt Nagy.

Whether Bears hiring advisor Bill Polian would want to talk to McDaniels about the position is unknown but Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio cited "one source," he said told him "Polian and McDaniels aren't close friends. That could keep Polian from nudging the process toward McDaniels."

Polian, the longtime Colts GM, had been fired by Indianapolis long before McDaniels walked away from the Colts job after being hired in 2018.

The Bears did interview someone for the general manager job Saturday who is well acquainted with McDaniels, and it's possible this would make for a good pairing if hired. That was Monti Ossenfort, the Titans director of player personnel under GM Jon Robinson. 

Ossenfort has held that Tennessee job for two years but before that spent 17 years with the Patriots organization and was the team's director of college scouting for the last six years he was there. So he has experience on both ends of personnel.

According to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Ossenfort has plenty of sway in the Titans organization.

"Monti is the guy Jon Robinson listens to the most over the last year and a half," a source told Dunleavy. "He's going to have a good relationship with a head coach regardless of whether he knows him or not and regardless of what type of personality they are."

Ossenfort was a finalist in 2020 for the Cleveland GM job.

The Bears on Saturday also interviewed Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and former Lions and Colts coach Jim Caldwell for head coach.

Caldwell was hired by Polian after Tony Dungy retired as Colts coach. He posted records of 14-2 and 10-6 and then Peyton Manning suffered a neck injury in 2011 and the Colts hit a 2-14 wall. Both Caldwell and Polian were fired.

Caldwell went from the Colts to being offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens when they beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season and was there two years before being hired as Detroit Lions coach in 2014. He had a 26-22 record with the Colts and 36-28 record with Detroit but was fired in 2017 following a second straight 9-7 season as the Lions turned instead to Matt Patricia.

Four times in nine years as head coach or OC in the NFL Caldwell had top-10 passing attacks, but he was well known for poor rushing attacks. His Lions teams were last in rushing twice, 30th and 28th. The Colts were last in rushing in 2009 when he was 14-2. In those nine years as OC or head coach, his teams' rushing attacks finished 26th or worse 10 times.

The Raiders' playoff loss to Cincinnati could bring a resolution to the situation and rumors regarding Jim Harbaugh.  

The Athletic had reported Harbaugh as being open to a return to the NFL and speculated in the same article the teams could be the Raiders or Bears. He was the Bears' 1987 first-round draft pick and quarterbacked for them from 1987-93 while his NFL coaching career started as a Raiders assistant. 

The Raiders have to decide now whether to keep interim coach Rich Bisaccia or pursue another one, including possibly Harbaugh.

Pro Football Talk on Saturday credited a "source with knowledge of the situation" as saying Harbuagh is "...watching and waiting to see whether a team with a reasonable ownership and general manager situation is interested in giving him an opportunity to continue an NFL career ..."

Harbaugh's 49ers were beaten by his brother John's Ravens with Caldwell as OC in the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.

"At age 58, Harbaugh wants to get back to the Super Bowl and win it," PFF reported the source as saying.

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