The Chicago Bears were the laughingstock of the NFL this regular season.
A year of pitiful offense (19.9 pts/game, 23d in the league) and complete and utter defensive ineptitude (377.1 yds/game, 30th in the league) culminated in the firings of both head coach Marc Trestman and general manager Phil Emery on the league's ill-fated Black Monday.
The franchise has done their best to pick up the pieces thus far this offseason, starting with the search for a new coach and GM while doing everything in their power to ignore the weight of incompetent quarterback Jay Cutler's disastrous contract extension - seven-years, $54 million guaranteed - given just this past offseason.
The Bears will reportedly begin their GM search by interviewing Lake Dawson, the Titans' vice president of player personnel Tuesday at Halas Hall, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune.
But word has come, from CBS Sports' NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, that there is ample mutual interest between the Bears and former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan.
Shanahan, who was fired as coach of the Redskins in late Dec. 2013, will wait until the team has settled on a GM, and then come in to meet with them, per La Canfora. His interest in the job is tied directly to the fact that, according to La Canfora, he "covets the opportunity" to work with Cutler - who he drafted in Denver - again.
The two remain close and believe that a reunion could lead to ultimate success.
Adding even more intrigue to the possible addition of Shanahan is the team's reported interest in Kansas City Chiefs director of player personnel, Chris Ballard, scheduled to meet with the team Wednesday and tabbed as a "front-runner" for the top spot, according to Dan Wiederer of the Tribune.
According to La Canfora, Ballard - who spent 11 years as an area scout for Chicago and one as the director of pro scouting and has since helped the Chiefs turn themselves from a 2-14 mess into a playoff team - is expected to back the hiring of Shanahan if he is indeed brought onboard.