Report: Bears looked into trading for Mike Tomlin

The Chicago Bears called the Pittsburgh Steelers about Mike Tomlin’s availability

We know the Chicago Bears have interviewed former head coaches, requested plenty of current coordinators, and even looked into current collegiate coaches.

Now we can say the Bears are also looking at trading for head coaches.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Chicago Bears called the Pittsburgh Steelers to check on the availability of their head coach, Mike Tomlin.

You can read Schefter’s accompanying article if you click on the tweet. Schefter mentioned that another team had reached out to the Steelers as well, and the Steelers rejected both inquiries.

Tomlin had previously said he wasn’t interested in being traded. These requests never even reached Tomlin, the team shut them down before Tomlin was even approached. Tomlin also has a no-trade clause according to Schefter, so he remains in full control of his future as long as he’s under contract with Pittsburgh.

The Bears search continues to be comprehensive. Will the Bears reach out to other teams with coaches under contract? Did they reach out to the Minnesota Vikings about Kevin O’Connell? Will they reach out to the LA Rams about Sean McVay?

We will start seeing significant movement in the coaching searches next week when coordinators can start meeting in person. All coordinators who have had their seasons conclude can meet in person starting the week of the 20th. Coordinators who are in the conference championship games are eligible to meet in person with teams the week of the 27th.

From the Bears’ perspective, of the eight remaining teams, the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and Detroit Lions have coordinators that the Bears are interested in. The Bears have also reportedly been interested in the Commanders’ Kliff Kingsbury, but it’s been reported that Kingsbury won’t be taking interviews this cycle.