REPORT: Bears Interviewing Cardinals Coach for OC Spot

ARIZONA -- The Chicago Bears could be hiring an Arizona Cardinals coach for their offensive coordinator position.

After hiring Ben Johnson as their head coach, the Bears are reportedly requesting to speak with Cardinals quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, per Jonathan Jones:

"The Bears have requested to interview Cardinals QBs coach Israel Woolfork for their offensive coordinator position, sources tell NFL on CBS. Woolfork has worked with Kyler Murray the last two seasons and was with the Browns before that."

The Bears have requested to interview Cardinals QBs coach Israel Woolfork for their offensive coordinator position, sources tell @NFLonCBS. Woolfork has worked with Kyler Murray the last two seasons and was with the Browns before that. pic.twitter.com/eOzelztRKu
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 25, 2025

Current Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing interviewed with Chicago for their head coach vacancy before Johnson hired.

More on Woolfork, who just completed his second season in Arizona, from the team's official site:

"Under Woolfork, Arizona QB Kyler Murray returned from a serious knee injury suffered in 2022 and started the final eight games of last season, throwing for 1,799 yards and 10 TDs while rushing for 244 yards and 3 TDs. With Murray under center, the Cardinals had the 9th ranked offense in the NFL (362.8 ypg) and averaged 22.4 points per game.

"In the 2024 offseason, Woolfork was selected to serve as the quarterbacks coach for the American team at the Senior Bowl. He was also selected to participate in the NFL's Coach Accelerator program in May of 2024 at the NFL's spring meeting in Nashville. The program was created to help promote greater diversity across the league.

"Woolfork came to the Cardinals last year from Cleveland where he assisted Browns quarterbacks in 2022 under current Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He spent the 2022 season with Cleveland as the recipient of the team's Bill Willis Coaching Fellowship."

In his final press conference of the season, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray highlighted Woolfork as a key piece to Arizona solving their offense moving into the 2025 offseason.

“I think it's a conversation between me, (Offensive Coordinator) Drew (Petzing), ‘Izzy’ (QB Coach Israel Woolfork) and those conversations already kind of have started in a sense. I see things all year and I relay how I feel," Murray said.

"I relay concepts, things that I think that we can incorporate, things that I see during games that I like. They do the same. They watch football all the time, obviously. It's going to be good to go into the offseason and have conversations and be able to grow.”

Woolfork was consistently referenced as a key figure for Murray through the last few years - Arizona's franchise quarterback offered this when asked how Woolfork helps him navigate the season:

“A lot. I think I'm the guy that expects the most out of myself. I can sometimes be maybe too hard on myself, and I think that he's kind of got the temperament of a guy that I need in a sense. He can calm me down. He sees the big picture and he also is going to tell me what's real: the way I'm playing the position, if I need to do this or if I'm doing it at a good job and we weren't successful, he’ll be real with me. He’s been good for me.”

Other Bears OC interviews have been Broncos tight ends coach Declan Doyle, Titans quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree and former Stanford coach David Shaw according to Bears on SI.