Perhaps Pete Carroll’s age feels like a legitimate deterrent to some. He is, after all, a septuagenarian, turning 74 in September 2025. Do the Chicago Bears really want to roll those dice and unite with a gray-haired coach whose NFL career likely won’t reach the end of this decade?
Shouldn’t they be aiming to go younger, filling their head coaching vacancy with a similarly vibrant but much younger leader who might be able to stick around for a long time?
And what about Carroll’s defensive-minded background? Is that what the Bears need at this critical stage of their history, when the development of quarterback Caleb Williams is so crucial to the organization’s future?
Plus, isn’t it possible Carroll’s desire for clout inside Halas Hall — particularly as it pertains to building the roster — might challenge the power structure President/CEO Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles have in place, disrupting their vision for how the franchise’s turnaround should occur?
Sure, there are easy ways to reject Carroll as a viable candidate to become the 19th head coach in Bears history, and Warren and Poles should have plenty of alternative choices.
But with reports surfacing over the past week that Carroll is interested in learning more about the job and that the Bears have mutual intrigue, the organization owes it to itself to remain open-minded.
Make a call. Lean in. Listen closely. Let it all sink in.
‘He’s a believer’
Isn’t Carroll exactly the kind of candidate Warren described at the start of this month when he offered a list of traits the Bears will value as they seek their next coach?
Tough and demanding: Check.
Can create a culture of accountability: Check.
Bright and creative? Decisive? Check, check and check.
After Thursday night’s game at Soldier Field, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith weighed in with his endorsement. Smith played for Carroll for five seasons in Seattle and revived his career during that time.
“Coach Carroll, man, is a special human being,” Smith said. “He’s a believer. He’s a guy who is always going to be upbeat. He’s always going to fight. And he has one way about him. That’s what I love about him.”
That one way is energized. Positive. Charismatic.
For 14 seasons in Seattle, Carroll established a reputation as a master motivator and an authentic leader with a natural ability to connect with players. One league source with experience under Carroll called him “an absolute legend in building belief.”
“Pete can make you feel like you’re 7 feet tall,” the source said. “And there’s no substitute for that kind of energy, for that kind of belief.”
Breaking news: An influx of belief is needed at Halas Hall.
Let’s be real. Are these wayward Bears — last place, 4-12, staggering through a 10-game losing streak — in any position to be picky about anything or anybody right now?
Is a franchise that has finished in the bottom half of the NFC North in 12 of the last 16 seasons worthy of steering away from a coach whose regular-season winning percentage in Seattle was .606?
Can a team that hasn’t enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons since the late 1980s and has only three playoff victories since the turn of the century turn up its nose at a coach who knows what it’s like to hoist a Lombardi Trophy during a confetti shower?
Reaching out
Over his 14 seasons in Seattle, Carroll’s teams went to the postseason 10 times and won 10 playoff games. And while we’re on that magic number, the Seahawks averaged 10 victories per season under his watch, a benchmark the Bears have reached only six times since 1992.
At the very least, that feels worthy of a lengthy introductory conversation.
Tell us, Pete, what is it about this position that excites you most? What are your plans for bringing out the best in Williams? What kind of coaching staff would you assemble? Why, in your mind, do you think your time ran out in Seattle?
That conversation has the potential to be incredibly illuminating, with insight from a proven NFL head coach who spent more than a decade leading a franchise that has been a model of stability over the past 25 years.
As the Bears began setting a direction for their coaching search earlier this month, Warren emphasized the need to establish and maintain high expectations.
“The other thing I have found during my years in the (NFL),” he said, “is that good players want to become great and great players want to become legendary.
“And the only way you make a good player great or a great player legendary is to create that environment of accountability and set standards that are extreme and demanding. We will find that person to be able to lead our franchise.”
Ben thinking
Sure, Carroll’s Seahawks faltered some during his final three seasons, compiling a 25-26 record plus one blowout playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.
But Carroll won at least seven games in every season he coached. That was the low-water mark. And, man, Chicago, what wouldn’t you give for leadership that at least knows how to operate a parachute?
None of this is to say the Bears should be single-minded when it comes to reaching out to Carroll or potentially pursuing a union. Within league circles, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson remains a much hotter name, a young and brilliant strategist who has helped elevate quarterback Jared Goff’s career to a new level while positioning the Lions to make a run at the Super Bowl.
An aggressive pursuit of Johnson undoubtedly should be on the Bears’ immediate to-do list after the season ends next weekend. Johnson probably should remain their top target until they find a reason to come off of that. The powers that be at Halas Hall also might want to cast lines to Mike Vrabel, Brian Flores and Kliff Kingsbury, to Aaron Glenn, Kellen Moore, Joe Brady and Todd Monken.
The quest to create a clear direction never has been more crucial for the Bears. And if it turns out that Carroll deserves more serious consideration, the Bears should embrace and enjoy that vetting process.
They should sense for themselves what Carroll’s unique combination of ambition and optimism feels like. They should immerse themselves in his presence and assess how his natural charisma would play both inside the locker room and in Chicago.
They should ask hard questions about how Carroll would create a demanding environment and establish the kind of top-to-bottom accountability that fluctuated under Matt Eberflus.
They must get a better understanding for what Carroll values most in an offensive coordinator and play caller after cycling through four of them in Seattle — from Jeremy Bates to Darrell Bevell to Brian Schottenheimer to Shane Waldron. Yes, that Shane Waldron.
They should feel out how much say Carroll wants and needs in personnel moves. And they should peer into the fuel gauge and determine what they believe Carroll has left in his tank.
Upon his dismissal last winter in Seattle, Carroll made it clear he wasn’t running out of gas.
“I’m freakin’ jacked,” he said. “I’m fired up. I’m not tired. I’m not worn down,”
Carroll wants to coach again. He’s intrigued by the possibility of doing so in Chicago. His candidacy feels legitimate.
The logical next move is to advance the process.
