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List of Chicago Bears head coaches

Mike Ditka was the head coach of the Bears from 1982 to 1992 and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.[1]

This is a complete list of Chicago Bears head coaches. There have been 17 head coaches for the Chicago Bears, including coaches for the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and Chicago Staleys (1921). The Bears franchise was founded as the Decatur Staleys, a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. The team moved to Chicago in 1921, and changed its name to the Bears in 1922, the same year the American Professional Football Association (APFA) changed its name to the National Football League (NFL).

The Chicago Bears have played more than 1,000 games. Of those games, five different coaches have won NFL championships with the team: George Halas in 1921, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1946 and 1963; Ralph Jones in 1932; Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos in 1943; and Mike Ditka in 1985.[2] George Halas is the only coach to have more than one tenure and is the all-time leader in games coached and games won, while Ralph Jones leads all coaches in winning percentage with .706.[3] Abe Gibron is statistically the worst coach of the Bears in terms of winning percentage, with a .268 average.[4]

Of the 18 Bears coaches, three have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: George Halas, Paddy Driscoll, and Mike Ditka.[5] Several former players have been head coach for the Bears, including George Halas, Hunk Anderson, Luke Johnsos, Paddy Driscoll, Jim Dooley, Abe Gibron and Mike Ditka.

After Ditka was fired following the 1992 season, the Bears went through six head coaches starting with Dave Wannstedt, who coached until 1998. Dick Jauron took over in 1999 until he was fired in 2003. Lovie Smith was hired on January 14, 2004.[6] Smith was fired on December 31, 2012, after the Bears missed the playoffs with a 10–6 record after starting the season 7–1.[7] On January 16, 2013, Marc Trestman was hired to be the new head coach to take Smith's place.[8] Trestman was fired on December 29, 2014, with a 13–19 record over two seasons.[9] On January 16, 2015, John Fox was hired as the new head coach of the team.[10] He compiled a 14–34 record over three seasons before being fired on January 1, 2018.[11] A week later, Matt Nagy became the new head coach.[12] Nagy was fired after the 2021 season. Matt Eberflus was named the new head coach on January 27, 2022.

George Halas, founder of the Bears, shown here during his brief career with the New York Yankees in 1919[13]
  1. ^ "Mike Ditka's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  2. ^ "Chicago Bears Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  3. ^ "Ralph Jones' Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  4. ^ "Abe Gibron's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  5. ^ "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
  6. ^ "Bears hire Smith to be head coach". Yahoo Sports. 2004-01-16. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  7. ^ Pompei, Dan (December 31, 2012). "Lovie Smith out after nine seasons as Bears coach". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  8. ^ Biggs, Brad (16 January 2013). "Trestman chosen to be bears new head coach". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Chicago Bears fire Marc Trestman". National Football League. NFL Enterprises LLC. December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  10. ^ "Bears hire John Fox as new head coach". Chicago Tribune. 16 January 2015.
  11. ^ Patra, Kevin (January 1, 2018). "Chicago Bears fire coach John Fox after 5-11 season". National Football League. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Biggs, Brad (January 8, 2018). "Bears hire Matt Nagy as franchise's 16th head coach". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "George Halas' Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-20.