Recently deposed NFL head coach John Fox won't be unemployed for long, according to a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report early Thursday.
Fox, who was fired by the Denver Broncos after another successful regular season punctuated by a painful postseason loss, interviewed with the Chicago Bears on Wednesday only two days after splitting with the Broncos, and has now reached an agreement to become the team's next head coach, per Cole.
While Fox was, at the very least, the sixth candidate to interview for the job, he was the most seasoned and brings the longest track record of NFL success.
If Cole is correct and Fox is brought on board to be the next head coach in Chicago, he may bring with him a couple of coordinators with lengthy histories of NFL success of their own.
The notoriously defensive-minded Fox will look to bring in Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator, according to Adam Jahns of The Chicago Sun-Times.
"According to a source familiar with the Bears' coaching search, former Texans, Redskins and Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan could be coming with Fox. Other media outlets also have reported about Fox's connection to Shanahan," writes Jahns.
Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune is also hearing that Shanahan is a strong candidate to join Fox.
Shanahan was with the Browns this past season, but resigned after the year amid reports of dysfunction, front office meddling and general disagreement on personnel. As the Texans OC in 2008 and 2009, Shanahan's offenses finished third and fourth in the league.
Shanahan's hiring could be a boon to quarterback Jay Cutler, as Cutler was drafted by Mike Shanahan, Kyle's father, when he was head coach of the Broncos and the two employ many of the same offensive principles.
As for the defensive side of the ball - a staple of Bears football and a fundamental aspect of the organizations personality for decades that faltered to an extreme extent this past season - former Oakland Raiders head coach, Dennis Allen, could be a prime candidate to join Fox in Chicago.
"If Fox becomes the Bears' next coach as expected, don't be surprised if another Saints' connection, Dennis Allen, becomes a top candidate to be his defensive coordinator. Allen was Fox's defensive coordinator in Denver during the "Tebow Season" of 2011," writes Mike Klis of the Denver Post.
Allen shares a history in the league with Pace as well, as he was an assistant with the Saints from 2006-2010 while Pace was there.
