Bears Interview Josh McDaniels For Head Coach
By Chris Emma--
(670 The Score) After a morning meeting in Minneapolis with Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, the Bears' brass hopped on a plane to New England and met with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on Friday evening.
The Bears announced they had completed their interview with McDaniels, who has been in his current position since 2012. It marked their fourth interview completed and third in a 24-hour span. In addition to their meeting with Shurmur, Chicago interviewed Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards in Minneapolis on Thursday and Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in Chicago on Wednesday.
Bears general manager Ryan Pace has led the team's interviews, accompanied by team chairman George McCaskey and president Ted Phillips.
McDaniels, 41, also met with the Giants on Friday and is considered one of the top coaching candidates available. He has been an instrumental piece to the Patriots' success as part of their five Super Bowl championships since the turn of the century.
McDaniels has coordinated a Patriots offense that ranks second in points at 28.6 per game. In his role, he works closely with future Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. He rose through the coaching ranks with the Patriots, beginning in 2001 as a personnel assistant before eventually becoming offensive coordinator.
McDaniels served as head coach of the Broncos from 2009-'10, a tenure that produced a 13-19 record and was marred by a broken relationship with quarterback Jay Cutler, who was traded to Chicago months after McDaniels was hired.
After being dismissed from Denver, McDaniels landed with the Rams as their offensive coordinator for a season before returning to New England, where he has remained. McDaniels has been a candidate for other vacancies in the last years, but has waited for the right opportunity.
McDaniels has an interesting position in evaluating the Bears' vacancy. His brother, Ben, has worked as an offensive assistant with the team for the last two seasons and could provide intel to the situation in Chicago.
The Bears are expected to meet with Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy in the coming days.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670 The Score 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.
