As the Chicago Bears’ 2024 season winds down, attention quickly shifts to their pending head coach hire — and we’re beginning to have some clarity on that front.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, on Amazon Prime’s “Thursday Night Football Tonight,” offered some names the Bears will keep their eye on, including Kliff Kingsbury, who coached Chicago rookie quarterback Caleb Williams at USC last year.

Kingsbury now is the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator, and has enjoyed a successful 2024 season with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was drafted No. 2 overall, one spot behind Williams. Kingsbury also has NFL head-coaching experience, as he went 28–37–1 with one playoff appearance for the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022.

Breer also listed former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, former Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll and Bears interim coach Thomas Brown as potential candidates.

Breer did mention Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, a popular name in the rumor mill. Johnson, like Kingsbury, is a “quarterbacks guy,” which Breer said the Bears are seeking.

“I would expect that he would take an interview with Chicago,” Breer said of Johnson. “But his criteria remains the same: he wants alignment with the general manager and an ownership group that will identify and fix its mistakes.”