Who will replace Matt Nagy as Bears head coach? Here are more than a dozen candidates

A new era of Bears football is on the horizon, and who will be leading the way.

Chairman George McCaskey's wish list is anyone's guess, so here's a list of coaches to consider. These are not in order of priority.

Former head coaches

Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator, Tampa Bay

Bowles has generated buzz due to the success of the defense the last two years. The Bucs won the Super Bowl a year ago and are in the mix again.

Bowles previously led the Jets to four unremarkable seasons as head coach from 2015 to 2018. Their last winning season, a 10-6 finish in 2015, came with Bowles as coach.

Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator, New England

McDaniels has been on every head coaching wish list the past half decade and nobody has pried him from Bill Belichick's grip. His one stint as a head coach in Denver in 2009-10 ended with his firing. McDaniels briefly agreed to become the Colts head coach in 2018 before backing out before he signed the contract.

The job he has done this season with rookie quarterback Mac Jones might be his most impressive. Some organization is going to give him another shot at the top job.

Raheem Morris, defensive coordinator, L.A. Rams

Morris did an impressive job in Atlanta following Dan Quinn's firing. He went 4-7 as interim head coach after the team started 0-5 under Quinn. Before ascending, Morris was at various times the pass game coordinator, wide receivers coach and defensive coordinator from 2015-20.

Morris was 17-31 as head coach at Tampa from 2009-11.

He joined Sean McVay's staff in Los Angeles this year, replacing Brandon Staley. The Rams defense hasn't been great in 2021, but it's been great against the run and in the red zone.

Doug Pederson, former Philadelphia head coach

Pederson has made it no secret he wants another NFL head coaching gig after taking a year off in 2021. He basically published his plan for a website called the 33rd Team. Very few Super Bowl-winning coaches are ever on the market. He did it with a backup quarterback, no less.

Pederson, a good pal of Matt Nagy's, visited Halas Hall during training camp last summer. They worked together from 2009 to 2015 in Philadelphia and Kansas City. Nagy replaced Pederson as Chiefs offensive coordinator when Pederson took the Eagles job in 2016.

Dan Quinn, defensive coordinator, Dallas

Quinn's not a Super Bowl-winning coach like Pederson, but he's as close as they come. His Atlanta Falcons held a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI. He has a 43-42 record as the coach of the Falcons between 2015 and 2020.

If the Bears want an experienced head coach with a defensive focus, this is the guy. Quinn was Seattle's defensive coordinator in 2013 and 2014 when the Seahawks went to back-to-back Super Bowls.

Quinn reportedly declined to interview for the Jaguars opening two weeks ago.

Emerging coordinators

Eric Bieniemy, offensive coordinator, Kansas City

Nagy's replacement in Kansas City has been a hot coaching candidate for two years. He was the Chiefs' running backs coach from 2013 to 2017, including two seasons under Nagy in 2016 and 2017. He earned the promotion to offensive coordinator when Nagy left for Chicago.

On some level, hiring Bieniemy would feel like a carbon copy of the Nagy hire. Bieniemy guided the Chiefs offense to two Super Bowl appearances, winning one. The Bears should at least bring him in for an interview.

Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator, Buffalo

Daboll, 46, signed on with the Bills in 2018, a few months before the Bills drafted quarterback Josh Allen. He has overseen Allen's development from relative unknown coming out of Wyoming to NFL star. His offenses have been consistently among the best in the league. This year's unit ranks fifth in total yards and third in points per game.

A longtime Belichick assistant, Daboll coached on five Super Bowl-winning teams. He also won a national championship as an offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2017.

Nathaniel Hackett, offensive coordinator, Green Bay

Hackett has been a longtime offensive coordinator for multiple teams. Prior to joining Green Bay in 2019, he coordinated offenses in Jacksonville (2016-18) and Buffalo (2013-14). Green Bay has done nothing but win since head coach Matt LaFleur came along and brought Hackett with him. Between Green Bay and Jacksonville, Hackett's offenses have reached three conference championship games.

Matt Eberflus, defensive coordinator, Indianapolis

Eberflus has turned the Colts into one of the NFL's best defensive teams. He reportedly declined to interview for the Jaguars job until after the regular season ended. If the Bears want to go back to a defensive-minded coach, Eberflus will be a top option. The Colts were one of the NFL's best defenses in 2020, and though they're not elite in 2021, they remain a pesky defense.

Byron Leftwich, offensive coordinator, Tampa Bay

The Bears didn't hire Bruce Arians in 2013, going with Marc Trestman instead. The next-best thing might be hiring Arians' offensive coordinator. Leftwich, 41, can relate with today's NFL player probably better than anyone on this list. The 10-year NFL quarterback and former first-round pick was a backup to Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh under Arians in 2010 and 2011. His former coach hired him in 2017 as QB coach in Arizona and they later made the move to Tampa.

The Bucs rank first in total yards per game and second in points per game. They have the NFL's No. 1 passing attack.

Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator, Dallas

Moore is the 33-year-old coordinator for Mike McCarthy's offense, best known for leading Boise State to a 50-3 record as the starting quarterback a decade ago.

There are risks involved with such a young head coach. Sean McVay was 30 when the Rams hired him. The Cowboys rank second in yards per game, third in passing yards and first in points.

College ranks

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan

Harbaugh has found the right recipe for success in Ann Arbor. It seems unlikely now would be the time to jump ship. In four seasons in San Francisco, Harbaugh had a 44-19-1 regular season record, plus a trip to 2013 Super Bowl and two additional trips to the NFC Championship Game.

Rumors swirled last week Harbaugh could be interested in a jump to the NFL after finally beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten. The Bears should at least make a call to their former quarterback. He's one of the few college coaches with proven NFL success in his past.

Ryan Day, Ohio State

Rumors have also swirled about Day and the Bears, so much so that last month Day's agent refuted a story the Bears contacted him about Day. The 42-year-old coach has three years of experience coaching the Buckeyes, which included two seasons with Justin Fields at quarterback.

Plenty of coaches might have the ability to unlock the best in Fields, but Day is the only one who can say he's done it before. Day has two years of experience as an NFL quarterbacks coach.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson

Swinney maintains he's all in with Clemson, a program he has built from the ground up and won two national championships. But if ever there was a time to jump, it might be now. His team went 10-3 (a down year by recent standards), and Swinney lost both his offensive and defensive coordinators.

Swinney has one son on the team at Clemson and one in high school, so maybe he's not interested, but it's worth a call.