Bearswant to talk to DeFilippo, Wilks
General manager Ryan Pace claimed he didn’t make the final decision to fire John Fox until late Sunday night, but there’s little doubt the Bears have been doing their homework on future candidates for weeks.
The Bears were left “in a position to aggressively attack” a coaching search, Pace said, even if he claimed the team had yet to formally request candidates for interviews.
On Monday, though, it went into motion. Sources said the Bears requested to talk to Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo and Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Later Monday night, perhaps the two most in- demand offensive coordinators — the Patriots’ Josh McDaniels and the Vikings’ Pat Shurmur — were added to the Bears’ list, according to NFL. com.
They’ll likely fly to Philadelphia to meet with DeFilippo, who must conduct an interview by the end of Sunday because the Eagles have a playoff bye. They could do the same with McDaniels and Shurmur, whose playoff teams also have no games this weekend.
If the Bears don’t interview coaches during their bye, they can’t again until their teams lose.
Conversely, the Bears can’t talk to Wilks until after Sunday, when the Panthers play the Saints in awild- card game.
McDaniels, Shurmur and DeFilippo meet the Bears’ main goal of making a coaching change — to ensure that Mitch Trubisky gets the best offensive support possible. McDaniels has helped shape the Patriots’ offense and star Tom Brady. The Broncos’ head coach from 2009 to 2010, McDaniels could bristle at having to share power, however. Pace said he won’t give up control of the 53- man roster.
The Bears have been interested in Shurmur since he began turning around the Vikings’ offense despite injuries to starting quarterback Sam Bradford and starting running back Dalvin Cook this season. He was the Browns’ head coach from 2011 to 2012.
In two years with the Eagles, DeFilippo helped turn Carson Wentz into the presumptive leagueMVPuntil his knee injury last month. Wilks, 48, is finishing his first season running the Panthers’ defense.