Two NFL teams currently have interim head coaches, and there is a strong feeling in league circles that at least two more franchises will be on the market for a new head coach by the end of the season.
It would be shocking if the Bears did not make a move, and while that franchise has never fired a coach in-season, the new rules of engagement for hiring coaches could change that.
Many of the assistants on Bears coach Matt Nagy’s staff have already been looking for potential jobs on the college markets, and most of them are operating as if they will be seeking employment elsewhere next season, league and team sources said.
It appeared to be a caretaker coaching hiring to many in the NFL at the time, and while the Texans have shown some fight and spirit at times, sources said internally the team’s brass is also weighing whether it needs to get back into the coaching market in the short term.
It’s possible the club opts to stand pat, given that it will not be in position to push for the playoffs in all likelihood regardless next season, and how far they are away from being among the AFC’s elite.
One AFC South rival, Jacksonville, has already fired its head coach after less than a season at the helm, with Urban Meyer unable to make it through December on the job.