Colin Cowherd on the Chicago Bears Credit: The Herd on FS1
NFLBy Brendon Kleen on

The NFL is more fun when a historic franchise with a diehard fanbase like the Chicago Bears is relevant.

Maybe that’s why NFL media is so invested in Chicago not wasting the prime years of No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, even if that means going way outside the box in its head coaching search.

This week, in a radio appearance, NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio floated the idea of Chicago doing something quite rare as it looks to replace Matt Eberflus. So rare, in fact, that you have to go back to the turn of the century to find an example. That’s right, Florio wants the Bears to trade for their next head coach. And not just any head coach: three-time NFC champion Kyle Shanahan.

“I feel like Shanahan and the 49ers are getting close to the point where they would benefit mutually from a fresh start,” Florio said on The Rich Eisen Show. “If you can get Shanahan and join him at the hip with Caleb Williams, are you kidding me?”

Florio encouraged owners and executives to think bigger and consider these “Gruden-like” coach trades, referencing Jon Gruden’s move from Oakland to Tampa Bay in 2002. The Buccaneers sent draft picks to Oakland to secure the coach and ultimately win a Super Bowl.

Decades ago, the legendary Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick were also traded. The move has gone out of style in the NFL, but Florio apparently isn’t the only one who wants it back.

In an interview on 670 The Score in Chicago nearly a week after Eberflus was fired for late-game mismanagement in a Thanksgiving loss to Detroit, Florio reported that one coach requested his name be included on Florio’s hypothetical list alongside Shanahan and others. Setting aside how crazy it is for a sitting coach to do that, even off the record, it adds fuel to the fire of Florio’s reporting.

“It just proves to me that there’s merit to this idea, that a well-timed call could strike gold,” Florio said.

From there, NFL media ran with the idea.

Kevin Fishbain, who covers the Chicago Bears for The Athletic, covered the concept in his story on the Bears beginning their search.

“With Williams entering Year 2, there’s a great opportunity here,” Fishbain wrote. “They should take a big swing and go somewhere they’ve never gone.”

Chicago is known for being risk-averse and often cheap as one of a dwindling group of teams still owned by its founding family, the McCaskeys. They may not want to pony up the draft picks to trade for a coach, let alone pay a top coach what they are worth.

But on FS1 later Wednesday, Colin Cowherd pushed Chicago again.

“Shanahan to the Bears (is a perfect fit),” Cowherd said. “My only question is, are the McCaskeys smart enough to offer it?”

This is how narratives form. Perhaps Chicago already has a candidate it wants, like coveted Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. But when national media and local media combine to sell fans on a vision, the organization starts to hear it.

The Chicago Bears can choose to ignore this whole news cycle and handle the hiring process like normal, but the root cause of it is pressure to win with Williams. If Chicago hires a first-timer or a lesser-known candidate, they run the risk of deepening the hole they are in with the most talented quarterback to play there in years — maybe ever. And fans will remember that a trade was in play, even if only through reporting from Florio.

About Brendon Kleen

Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.

View all posts by Brendon Kleen