Bear Digest

Ranking Bears coaches most likely to move on after NFL firing spree

Every assistant wants to move up in the pecking order and the nine openings for head coaches with nine new staffs could provide chances for Bears assistants to advance.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle could be one of the Bears assistants who moves on with so many NFL positions sure to be open.
Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle could be one of the Bears assistants who moves on with so many NFL positions sure to be open. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

When the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin parted ways, it brought the total of openings for head coaches in the NFL to nine, one more than a quarter of the league.

Many placed shame on the owners for being overly pointed toward winning to the point where they don't give coaches a chance, but in Tomlin's case he hadn't won a playoff game since 2016. He kept getting playoff chances in a division where the two Ohio teams  annually struggle to block and tackle. He has had had a virtual a pass to the playoffs but no wins.

The real sign owners are a bit too quick to dismiss coaches was John Harbaugh in Baltimore, but every one of the remaining teams who are looking for coaches should be doing it.

Raheem Morris had already proven his inability to be a head coach in Tampa Bay and the Falcons made a silly decision two years ago to resurrect him with numerous other qualified candidates available.

The NFC North and even the division champion Bears are not  insulated from the effects of turnover. With nine new coaching staffs forming later this month and in February, some Bears assistants will get chances to improve their lot in NFL life by moving up to be a coordinator.

They may even get a head coach interview with so many available. The nine openings doesn't even include other teams who have already fired coordinators and kept head coaches, like the Chargers, who fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Here are the main ones ranked in order.

1. Declan Doyle

As a very young guy perceived as rising, and with experience as a coordinator who doesn't call plays, his next step is calling them somewhere. His experience under a successful offensive-side head coach and under Sean Payton with New Orleans and Denver would make it almost inconceivable that no team contacts him for a job as coordinator who calls plays. The thing working on the Bears' side here is most teams now want head coaches who are from the offensive side, and a head coach like that isn't going to turn over play calls to someone else. He would be more of a fit for a coordinator with a defensive-side head coach. This could still happen somewhere in the nine openings.

“I think all of us that have been in this league for a while, that was us at one point in time," said Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who worked with Doyle in New Orleans. "We were the young guy that was hungry and driven and striving to continue to get better and thought we knew everything, but we really didn't.

"I see Declan as one of those guys every day, you see him grinding away, studying the tape, doing all the things that you have to do to grow as a coach in our league. So, it's cool for me because I got to see him when he first got into our league."

2. Eric Bieniemy

The fact Bieniemy had to go back to college, at USC, and then had to get back into the NFL as a running backs coach again was ridiculous. He was in a very bad situation in Washington when he became offensive coordinator, lacking a legitimate NFL starting quarterback, and wound up out of the league. He yells at players but at heart he's a good guy and has helped Bears running backs immensely. He'd do the same as an offensive coordinator who has called plays in Washington and been a coordinator in Kansas City under Andy Reid.

3. Al Harris

He has coached secondaries since he was under Reid and former Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton in Kansas City in 2013, then under Mike Nolan, Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer. Now he's under Dennis Allen. That's a lot of defensive knowledge to draw from, and Harris would likely not only be ready for this, but possibly even for head coaching interviews. He's already held the title of defensive passing game coordinator and also assistant head coach. His players all swear by his coaching techniques and his ability to relate to players is obvious. Look at how sub DBs performed over expectation this season when the Bears had injuries to Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson. He turned waiver wire types like Nahshon Wright and Nick McCloud into viable options, then fitted in C.J. Gardner-Johnson after he'd been considered locker room nitro. This is someone who can relate to players the way Mike Tomlin always could.

4. Antwaan Randle El

Many of the same things that can be said of Harris also apply to Randle El. He relates well with players, helps their technique and is assistant head coach. He hasn't been around coaching as long as Harris as and this could hold him back a bit yet. But look at the Lions wide receivers and other than Amon Ra St. Brown, the rest have been non-descript overachievers or in the case of Jameson Williams, a gifted type who has been injured a lot. And Randle El helped all of them play key roles in the offense. He's helped Luther Burden, Rome Odunze and Jahdae Walker figure it all out despite a lack of experience. Randle El would be someone who could fit in with a defensive side head coach but would better fit one from the offensive side who will let him be a coordinator without play-calling responsibility, because doesn't have that on his resume yet.

5. J.T. Barrett

Barrett is their QB coach and the next step for him might be a passing game coordinator position or combination QB and passing game coordinator. He coached QBs under Johnson with the Lions for two years and was in Detroit three seasons.

6. Robbie Picazo

He would be moving up to coach quarterbacks somewhere else, as he currently is an assistant who helps both with quarterbacks and wide receivers. He has three years of NFL experience, nine in college and played the position.

7. Press Taylor

Their passing game coordinator could find himself sought after as an offensive coordinator candidate because of his experience, but after he was let go in Jacksonville it could take a while before he's back on the up escalator. He has coached in the NFL since 2013, handled quarterbacks in Philadelphia and was OC for the Jaguars when Trevor Lawrence was trying to advance before Liam Coen came to Jacksonville. If there is an opening in Cincinnati, he could always join his brother's team.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.