Bears Complete Interviews With Brian Flores For HC, Jeff Ireland For GM

The Chicago Bears announced they interviewed Saints’ assistant GM Jeff Ireland for their general manager position and former Dolphins HC Brian Flores for their head coach position.

We have completed interviews with general manager candidate Jeff Ireland & head coach candidate Brian Flores.https://t.co/DoYPIKzp4M

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 14, 2022

Here’s where things stand in terms of the Bears’ head coach and GM searches:

Head Coach Interviews:

• Bills DC Leslie Frazier (Requested)
• Former Eagles HC Doug Pederson (Interviewed)
• Bills OC Brian Daboll (Requested)
• Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich (Requested)
• Buccaneers DC Todd Bowles (Requested)
• Packers OC Nathaniel Hackett (Requested)
• Colts DC Matt Eberflus (Requested)
• Cowboys DC Dan Quinn (Requested)
• Former Dolphins HC Brian Flores (Interviewed)

GM Interviews:

• Colts director of college scouting Morocco Brown (Requested)
• Browns VP of Player Personnel Glenn Cook (Interviewed)
• Browns VP of football operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Interviewed)
• Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds (Requested)
• Saints’ assistant GM Jeff Ireland (Interviewed)
• 49ers director of player personnel Ran Carthon (Requested)
• Former Texans GM Rick Smith
• Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen (Requested)
• Steelers VP Omar Khan (Requested)
• Patriots executive consultant Eliot Wolf (Requested)
• Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly (Interviewed)
• Chargers Director of Player Personnel JoJo Wooden (Requested)

Flores, 40, began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots back in 2004 as a scouting assistant. He held a number of positions including pro scout, special teams assistant, assistant offense/special teams, defensive assistant, safeties coach, and linebackers coach before serving as the de facto defensive coordinator in 2018. 

Miami hired Flores away to be their head coach in 2019. Since joining the Dolphins, Flores posted a record of 24-25 (49 percent) with no playoff appearances.

Ireland, 51, began his NFL career as a scout back in 1994. He later took a scouting position with the Chiefs before moving on and joining the Cowboys’scouting department in 2001.

Ireland was eventually promoted VP of college and pro scouting before he took the Dolphins general manager position. After a year as a draft consultant for the Seahawks, the Saints hired him as their assistant GM and college scouting director in 2015. They signed him to an extension in 2017.