The Chicago Bears have a new GM in Ryan Pace and he is now focused on finding a head coach and names like Dan Quinn, Adam Gase, Mike Shanahan and Todd Bowles have emerged as candidates and this comes as the general manager may consider a trade with Jay Cutler, as teams like the Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders or NY Jets could be interested in acquiring the quarterback.
The Bears fired head coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery after the season and after interviewing a number of candidates, the team hired Pace away from the Saints. Cutler was benched towards the end of the season for Jimmy Clausen and that sparked reports that he could be traded in the offseason, something Pace will now have to take a look at. According to ESPN.com, Pace is focused on finding a head coach before making any decisions on Cutler and he has already interviewed Bowles, who is defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals.
Bowles is a top name on the coaching market, while Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase are also targets. The Jets reportedly are the favorites for Quinn and the Bears have also spoken with former Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. Shanahan previously worked with Cutler in Denver and helped him to some of his best seasons as a quarterback. The Bears could look at Kyle Shanahan as offensive coordinator if Shanahan is hired as head coach. Shanahan has also been in contact with the 49ers and Bills about their head coach openings. Ernie Accorsi is currently consulting the Bears in their coaching search and ESPN Chicago reports that the coaching choice is Pace's decision.
The Bears have already met with some coaching candidates, including Dan Quinn and Adam Gase and they could look at bringing them back for second interviews. Pace came in after the team spoke with them and both the Broncos and Seahawks are still alive in the playoffs, which means they can't be hired until their teams lose. Gase is an offensive minded coach, while Quinn is one of the hottest names on the market after turning the Seahawks into a Super Bowl defense.
For as bad as Cutler was this season, he did have one of the best statistical performances of his career apart from the interceptions, as he set highs with 3812 yards and 28 touchdowns in 15 games. Cutler has played in all 16 games just three times in his career and that has not yet happened with the Bears. Cutler had 18 interceptions this season and led the league in turnovers and now Pace has to take a look and see whether keeping Cutler long term is worth it for the Bears, as he has a massive contract that just started in 2014.
The Bears went 5-11 last season and finished the year on a losing streak and they only went 1-5 against their division and 4-8 overall against the NFC. The team was unbalanced on offense despite having Matt Forte at running back and the defense gave up a ton of yards in two years under Trestman. The team ranked 30th in passing yards allowed per game and 27th in rushing yards per game and those are two areas where Pace will have to focus going into 2015.