The Chicago Bears are not enjoying this season. Dysfunction and underachievement has a way of souring the year like that. But luckily, the season will end this Sunday with a road game against the Minnesota Vikings, and then Bears fans can begin to look forward and cultivate a little hope.
"[Head coach] Marc Trestman will be fired, according to the sources I spoke with," ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen said on Sunday NFL Countown.
General manager Phil Emery is "expected to go" as well, Mortensen reported.
So who will be their replacements?
"The Bears would like to land an established head coach if possible, sources said, after hiring a long line of first-time head coaches," Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports wrote.
La Canfora notes that the Bears have "explored [Jim] Harbaugh, a former Bears quarterback, through backchannels ... and are indeed interested in him."
Chicago will have to compete with the University of Michigan's six-year offer worth $48 million to land Harbaugh. If the team does miss out on its big fish, rumors are that they would also be interested in Mike Shanahan.
"If the organization decides that it's imperative to try to make things work with quarterback Cutler, and their options to do otherwise will be limited, then Mike Shanahan will quickly emerge," La Canfora wrote. "Shanahan has a very strong interest to work with Cutler again, sources said."
Of course, nothing will be official until Black Monday when the axes start falling on underachieving coaches.
