Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown, assistant GM earn seperate interviews

1st & North: Bears enter offseason searching for a head coach

The Chicago Bears begin the offseason with some confidence, having beat the Green Bay Packers on a last second field goal on Sunday. Now, the search begins for their new head coach.

Two parts of the 2024 Chicago Bears will interview for different jobs.

Assistant general manager Ian Cunningham and interim head coach Thomas Brown have gotten interviews, one to lead an NFL front office and the other to lead an NFL offense.

Here's who Brown and Cunningham are talking to.

Thomas Brown gets interview for OC opening

The Bears will interview Brown for their head coach opening. That much is known.

However, if the Bears' head coaching search takes them in another direction, then Brown will still have a coaching opportunity on the table.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Brown will interview with the Seattle Seahawks for their vacant offensive coordinator position under head coach Mike Macdonald. This would get Brown back in the NFC West, where he coached with the Los Angeles Rams as a running backs coach and assistant head coach during the Rams' Super Bowl run.

The Seahawks recently fired their offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb after just one season and got a look at Brown last December when Seattle visited Chicago.

In the 2024 season, Brown was elevated twice: first from passing game coordinator to interim offensive coordinator and second from interim OC to interim head coach.

"He was put in a really tough situation," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said Tuesday. "Was given a lot of responsibility as the season went along, and I thought he handled it with poise, with command."

He called offensive plays as both interim offensive coordinator and interim head coach. However, he was calling plays from former Bears' offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's playbook and not his own.

On Monday, Brown was asked what his offense would look like.

"From a standpoint of using personnel, the right way is to me how you build it," Brown said. "Philosophically, I have some thoughts on that, which I'll share in my interview. It's got to be built around the personnel you have, how to put the guys in the right spot to have success, how to distribute the ball to the playmaker the right way."

AFC team requests to talk to Ian Cunningham

Much like last season, Bears' assistant general manager Ian Cunningham is looking to be a hot commodity for general manager openings across the NFL.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Titans requested to interview Cunningham for their open general manager position.

Cunningham was a finalist in Tennessee two years ago. Breer noted he has a pre-existing relationship with Titans' president of football operations Chad Brinker.

Cunningham interviewed for multiple general manager openings last season before opting to remain in Chicago. If he leaves the Bears this offseason, the Bears would garner a compensatory draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Poles said Tuesday that Cunningham will be excluded from any Bears head coach interviews to make sure he gets a chance to focus on any general manager interviews of his own.

"It's really important to allow Ian to go through his own interview process if that pops up," Poles said. "If it doesn't, he will be in that group as well as we move forward."

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