If the Chicago Bears want to break Caleb Williams, here’s the QB-hating head coach who’ll get it done

With his Minnesota Vikings eliminated from the postseason, Brian Flores is climbing up the coaching charts. Should the Chicago Bears get in on the Flores sweepstakes?
Chicago Bears head coach candidate Brian Flores and his former QB Tua Tagovailoa share a moment.
Chicago Bears head coach candidate Brian Flores and his former QB Tua Tagovailoa share a moment. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
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“If you woke up every morning and I told you, you sucked at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here, you haven’t earned this right. Then you have someone else come in and say, ‘Dude, you’re the best fit for this, you are accurate, you’re the best whatever, you are this, you are that.’ How would it make you feel listening to one or the other?”

So said Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa when asked about his tumultuous, tempestuous, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad relationship with former Fins head coach, Brian Flores.

Flores didn’t deny he wasn’t super-sweet to his quarterback during their two seasons together in Miami, but he did claim it wouldn’t happen again.

“I've done a lot of reflecting on the situation…[and] I think there's things that I could do better for sure. But I would say over the long haul, I've had a lot of great relationships over my 21-year career here in the league. Players, coaches, personnel, equipment, people in the kitchen. I mean, really across the board, I'm going to continue to do that, but I'm also always looking to get better and involved.”

For the last season, Flores hasn’t been near a quarterback room, as he’s spent quality time coordinating a Minnesota defense that helped lead the Vikings to a surprising 14-3 regular season record.

His admittedly impressive work with Minny’s D has made him one of the hotter names of the NFL’s 2025 head coach hiring cycle, so it’s little surprise that the Chicago Bears—who, head-coach-wise, are interviewing pretty much anybody who’s had anything to do with an NFL team, ever—are bringing in Flores for a chit-chat.

The question is, why?

The Caleb Conundrum

The focus of Chicago's 2025 season should be on the development of soon-to-be-second-year quarterback, Caleb Williams. (Generally speaking, the focus on any professional sports season should be winning it all. But let's be honest here: The Bears are years away from realistic thoughts of a 'chip.) That being the case, logic dictates that whichever coach the Bears hire should be the most quarterback-friendly dude on the market.

Or at least somebody who will never, ever tell their QB1 that they suck.

Despite that we have tangible evidence Flores has straight-up insulted his field general, many consider him as one of the favorites to land the Bears’ gig, among them ESPN’s Dan Graziano:

“The Bears' list of candidates is massive, and Flores still hasn't been allowed to interview with Chicago because Minnesota made the playoffs. But this is the name that comes up the most when I ask people around the NFL to make a prediction.”

Graziano adds, “One more relevant note here: Flores and Bears GM Ryan Poles both went to Boston College, so there's a connection there.”

Bears Twitter is far from psyched:

Will Caleb Pull Some Strings?

Whether or not Caleb Williams is a franchise quarterback—which is still TBD—he must be treated like one, and should thus have a say in the head coaching hire. Hell, it might not be a bad idea to let him sit in on the interviews; after all, the room will be full-to-overflowing, so what’s one more body?

If Williams does indeed get the opportunity to grill Flores—and if the two of them connect—then sure, put the 43-year-old in the mix. But if there are any negative vibes whatsoever, Bears GM Ryan Poles and his ginormous search committee should let this ostensible leader of men keep leading the men in Minnesota.


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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.