Reports: Bears To Interview Dawson, Ballard For GM

By Dan Durkin-

(CBS) With two crucial job openings at Halas Hall, Bears' brass vowed to approach the process with urgency. A week into the process, more details are surfacing about some of the candidates the Bears are considering for both head coach and general manager.

During their press conference last Monday, chairman George McCaskey and team president Ted Phillips said that the conventional timeline was to hire a general manager first.

This weekend, the Bears confirmed interviews with head coaching candidates Dan Quinn (Seattle's defensive coordinator) and Adam Gase (Denver's offensive coordinator). Considering both coaches are involved with teams that may be part of deep playoff runs, it was essential for the team to get these interviews taken care of, as those candidates may not be available again for another few weeks.

Now, information is now starting to surface about whom the Bears are zeroing in on for their general manager role.

The Bears will interview Titans vice president of player personnel Lake Dawson on Tuesday and Chiefs director of pro personnel Chris Ballard on Wednesday, per a report from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

A former Notre Dame wide receiver, Dawson was originally drafted by the Chiefs and also spent time with the Colts during his six-year NFL career. Over the past 14 seasons, Dawson has been an NFL executive. Dawson got his start as a pro personnel assistant with the Seahawks in 2001, then worked his way up to being the assistant director of pro personnel.

In 2007, Dawson joined the Titans as their director of pro personnel and was promoted to his current role in 2011. For the past four seasons, Dawson has overseen both the pro and college scouting departments.

A former Wisconsin quarterback and wide receiver, Ballard got his start as an assistant coach at Texas A&M Kingsville. In seven seasons, Ballard worked with the wide receivers, secondary and eventually served as defensive coordinator.

In 2001, Ballard got his NFL start as an area scout (Southwest region) with the Bears, a role he held for 11 seasons. In 2012, he was promoted to director of pro scouting.

Over the past two seasons, Ballard has overseen the Chiefs' college and pro scouting departments. Ballard helped turn the Chiefs around from 2-14 to a playoff team last season. Ballard turned down an opportunity to interview for the general manager role in Tampa Bay last season.

Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin.