With Justin Fields entering his second season, there’s no more important question for new Bears head coach Matt Eberflus than deciding who will be his offensive coordinator.
Just ask former Bears players. On Twitter Thursday, former cornerback Jerry Azumah wrote: “Please please please for the love of sweet baby football Jesus bring in the right offensive coordinator for the Beloved!” Former cornerback Charles Tillman chimed in too, saying his own prayer for a high-level offensive coordinator.
Bears fans tired of watching boring football — they’ve finished in the top quarter of the NFL in points once in the last 15 years — will be watching Eberflus’ offensive coordinator hire closely. Here are names to watch:
- Eagles passing game coordinator Kevin Patullo —Patullo worked alongside Eberflus for three years before following another Nick Sirianni to the Eagles last year. He was the Colts’ pass-game specialist in 2020.
- Chiefs passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Mike Kafka — The St. Rita and Northwestern alum is ready to be a play-caller; there might be no better place for it to happen than Halas Hall, where he’d work under former Chiefs exec Ryan Poles, the Bears’ new general manager. His offense might be too similar to Matt Nagy’s.
- Texans passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach “Pep” Hamilton — The well-respected and well-traveled Hamilton — he was the Bears’ quarterbacks coach from 2007-09 — served as Andrew Luck’s offensive coordinator at Stanford and with the Colts. He was rookie Justin Herbert’s quarterbacks coach in 2020 and did wonders with another first-year quarterback, Davis Mills, this season.
- Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo — The two have called plays for a combined six NFL teams. But if the Bears wanted the status quo, they wouldn’t be where they are now.
- Jim Caldwell — The Bears liked Caldwell, the former Colts and Lions head coach, enough to make him one of three finalists for their head coaching job. It seems unlikely that Eberflus would stake his offense on him — but Is there any chance the Bears try to keep him around in some capacity?
