Chicago Bears expected to interview former Lions coach Jim Caldwell

Former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is back out there as a candidate, and the Chicago Bears are expected to interview him for their job opening. 

Former Lions head coach Jim Caldwell has garnered mention as a candidate for a few job openings in this hiring cycle. The Jacksonville Jaguars have interviewed him for their head coaching opening, and he made a list of candidates for the Minnesota Vikings’ head coaching job just before it was officially available with Mike Zimmer’s dismissal.

After Brian Flores was surprisingly fired, Caldwell was even mentioned as a possible candidate for the Miami Dolphins.

Now, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Chicago Bears are expected to interview Caldwell for their head coaching job. The Bears of course fired Matt Nagy last Monday.

"A source close to Jim Caldwell says the former NFL head coach is expecting to be interviewed for the Chicago Bears head coaching job. Several NFL officials also say Caldwell – the former Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts head coach – is a presumed candidate for the Bears job."

Jim Caldwell has been mentioned as possible candidate for the Bears before

ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller had Caldwell on his short list of head coaching candidates for the Bears about a month ago. It makes a lot of sense, given Caldwell’s past work with quarterbacks (Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco, Matthew Stafford) and the critical importance of developing Justin Fields in Chicago.

Caldwell went 36-28 in four seasons as Lions head coach, with three winning records and two playoff appearances. Overall, he is 62-50 in seven seasons as an NFL head coach (2-4 in the playoffs), with a Super Bowl appearance following his first season as Indianapolis Colts’ head coach.

Former NFL executive Bill Polian has a leading role in the Bears’ search for a new general manager and head coach. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reminds us, while confirming the Bears will indeed interview Caldwell, Polian hired Caldwell to replace Tony Dungy in 2009 when he was leading the Colts’ front office. That may be a tie that leads to Caldwell being hired in Chicago, but it’s worth wondering if any other teams with openings will want to interview him.