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 18 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. Lovie Smith, who was the most recent coach, 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] In 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]

Statistics correct as of the end of the 2014 NFL season.

George Halas, founder of the Bears, shown here during his brief career with the New York Yankees in 1919^[11]

Key

#	Number of coaches
GC	Games Coached
W	Wins
L	Loses
T	Ties
Win%	Winning percentage
–	Returning from previous year(s) of coaching
00†	Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach
00‡	Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
00*	Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the Bears
00§	Spent head coaching career in both CFL and NFL

Coaches

Decatur Staleys
#[a]	Name	Term	Regular Season					Playoffs			Achievements
			GC	W	L	T	Win%[b]	W	L
(1)[a]	Fritz Wasem[c]	1919	Not Available[d]
(2)[a]	Red Brannon[c]	1919
(3)[a]	James Cook[c]	1919
Decatur Staleys/Chicago Staleys/Chicago Bears
#[a]	Name	Term	Regular Season					Playoffs			Achievements
			GC	W	L	T	Win%[b]	GC	W	L
1 (4)	George Halas[e] †	1920–1929 *	134	84	31	17	.744	No postseason[f]			NFL Championship (1921)
2 (5)	Ralph Jones *	1930–1932	41	24	10	7	.706	–	–	–	NFL Championship (1932)
—	George Halas[e]†	1933–1942 *	110	84	22	4	.799	6	4	2	3 NFL Championships (1933, 1940–41)
3 (6)	Hunk Anderson[g] *	1942–1945	36	23	11	2	.676	2	1	1	NFL Championship (1943)
4 (7)	Luke Johnsos[g] *	1942–1945	36	23	11	2	.676	2	1	1
—	George Halas[e] †	1946–1955 *	119	75	42	2	.641	2	1	1	NFL Championship (1946)
5 (8)	Paddy Driscoll ‡	1956–1957	24	14	9	1	.609	1	0	1
—	George Halas[e] †	1958–1967 *	134	75	53	6	.588	1	1	0	NFL Championship (1963) AP Coach of the Year (1963, 1965)[12] Sporting News Coach of the Year (1963, 1965)[13] UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1963, 1965)[14]
6 (9)	Jim Dooley *	1968–1971	56	20	36	0	.357	–	–	–
7 (10)	Abe Gibron *	1972–1974	42	11	30	1	.268	–	–	–
8 (11)	Jack Pardee	1975–1977	42	20	22	0	.476	1	0	1	UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1976)[15]
9 (12)	Neill Armstrong *	1978–1981	64	30	34	0	.469	1	0	1
10 (13)	Mike Ditka ‡	1982–1992	168	106	62	0	.631	12	6	6	NFL Championship (1985) AP Coach of the Year (1985, 1988)[16] Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (1988)[17] Sporting News Coach of the Year (1985)[18] UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1985, 1988)[19]
11 (14)	Dave Wannstedt	1993–1998	96	40	56	0	.417	2	1	1	UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1994)[20]
12 (15)	Dick Jauron	1999–2003	80	35	45	0	.438	1	0	1	AP Coach of the Year (2001) Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2001)[21] Sporting News Coach of the Year (2001)
13 (16)	Lovie Smith	2004–2012	144	81	63	0	.563	6	3	3	AP Coach of the Year (2005)[22] Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2005)[23]
14 (17)	Marc Trestman §	2013–2014	32	13	19	0	.406
15 (18)	John Fox	2015–

Current coaching staff

Chicago Bears staff
	Front Office Secretary of the Board of Directors – Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman – George McCaskey President/CEO – Ted Phillips General Manager – Ryan Pace Vice President of Football Administration/General Counsel – Cliff Stein Director of Pro Personnel – Vacant Assistant Director of Pro Personnel – Dwayne Joseph Director of College Scouting – Marty Barrett Director of Player Personnel – Josh Lucas Head Coaches Head Coach – John Fox Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Adam Gase Quarterbacks – Dowell Loggains Running Backs – Stan Drayton Wide Receivers – Mike Groh Tight Ends – Frank Smith Offensive Line – Dave Magazu Assistant Offensive Line – Ben Wilkerson Offensive Assistant – Bo Hardegree			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Vic Fangio Defensive Line – Jay Rodgers Inside Linebackers – Glenn Pires Outside Linebackers – Clint Hurtt Defensive Backs – Ed Donatell Assistant Defensive Backs – Sam Garnes Defensive Quality Control – Sean Desai Special Teams Coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Jeff Rodgers Assistant Special Teams – Derius Swinton II Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Jason George Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Jim Arthur Strength Assistant/Skill Development Coach – Joe Kim Conditioning Assistant – Phil Brauch → Coaching Staff → Management → More NFL staffs
AFC East BUF MIA NE NYJ North BAL CIN CLE PIT South HOU IND JAX TEN West DEN KC OAK SD NFC East DAL NYG PHI WAS North CHI DET GB MIN South ATL CAR NO TB West ARI STL SF SEA

Footnotes

• ^a Official Chicago Bears record books list Halas as the first head coach in franchise history and therefore current head coach Marc Trestman would be the 14th head coach in franchise history.
• ^b The winning percentage is calculated using the formula: 
• ^c Wasem, Brannon, and Cook became the coaches of the club when it was established by the A. E. Staley Company of Decatur, Illinois in 1919 as a company team.
• ^d No official records have been found for the 1919 season.
• ^e Halas' full coaching record with the Bears is 497 regular season games coached with a record of 318–148–31 and a W–L percentage of .682. He is also 6–3 in 9 Playoff games.
• ^f The NFL did not hold playoff games until 1932.
• ^g Anderson and Johnsos were co-Head Coaches from 1942 to 1945. They were appointed by Halas went he left to serve in the US Navy.

References

1. ↑ "Mike Ditka's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-18. 
2. ↑ "Chicago Bears Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. 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 (Tony W. Hunter; Tribune Company). 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. ↑ "George Halas' Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 2008-03-20. 
12. ↑ "Bears' Smith wins AP Coach award". Associated Press. ESPN. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
13. ↑ "Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year". SuperBowl. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
14. ↑ Halas, George. Halas by Halas: The Autobiography of George Halas. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-025549-0. 
15. ↑ "Jack Pardee". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
16. ↑ "89 – Mike Ditka". chicagobears.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
17. ↑ Dickey, Glenn. "Ditka's delirium:". Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
18. ↑ "MIKE DITKA". Nationwide Speakers Bureau, Inc. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
19. ↑ Taylor, Roy. "Mike Ditka, Chicago Bear '61–'66; '82–'92". Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
20. ↑ "Dave Wannstedt". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
21. ↑ "Dick Jauron". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
22. ↑ "Lovie Smith". chicagoBears.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
23. ↑ "Lovie Smith". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 

External links

• "Chicago Bears History". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2008. 
• "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 18, 2008. 
• "Decatur Staleys Coaching Records and History". DatabaseFootball.com. Retrieved March 18, 2008. 
• "Chicago Staleys Coaching Records and History". DatabaseFootball.com. Retrieved March 18, 2008. 
• "Chicago Bears Coaching Records and History". DatabaseFootball.com. Retrieved March 18, 2008. 

Chicago Bears Formerly the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Staleys Founded in 1919 Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois Franchise History Coaches Radio broadcasters Current season Records Seasons Records and statistics Franchise records All-time record versus NFL Bears results on Primetime Football Sunday Night Monday Night Thursday Night Holiday Football Thanksgiving Christmas Team awards and honors Individual league award winners Players Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Stadiums Staley Field Wrigley Field Soldier Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field II Lore Fog Bowl 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game "The Sneakers Game" Monsters of the Midway T formation 46 Defense 15–1 Super Bowl XX NFL on Thanksgiving Day Bears 73, Redskins 0 Instant Replay Game Staley Swindle Cardiac Kids George S. Halas Trophy Brian Piccolo Award 75th Anniversary League Team NFL All-Time Team 2006 Cardinals comeback Culture Brian's Song (1971)/(2001) "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Da Super Fans Chuck Swirsky Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A.E. Staley Jack Brickhouse Papa Bear Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Chicago Honey Bears Dan Morrell Jim Cornelison Rivalries Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings Retired numbers 3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89 Key personnel Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Ted Phillips General Manager: Ryan Pace Head Coach: John Fox NFL championships (9) 1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 Super Bowl appearances (2) 1985 (XX) 2006 (XLI) Other honors NFL championship appearances (10) – 1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 NFC championship game appearances (5) – 1984 1985 1988 2006 2010 Division titles: NFL Western (8) – 1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 NFC Central (7) – 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 NFC North (3) – 2005 2006 2010 Current league affiliations League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division Former league affiliations League: Independent (1919) Conference: National Conference (1950–1952); Western Conference (1953–1969) Division: NFL Western Division (1933–1949); Central Division (1967–1969); NFC Central Division (1970–2001) Local broadcast affiliates Fox Chicago WBBM Newsradio 780   Seasons (96) 1920s–1930s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940s–1950s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s–1970s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s–1990s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s–2010s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Book:Chicago Bears :Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears

Decatur Staleys / Chicago Bears head coaches George Halas (1920–1929) Ralph Jones (1930–1932) George Halas (1933–1942) Heartley Anderson & Luke Johnsos (1942–1945) George Halas (1946–1955) Paddy Driscoll (1956–1957) George Halas (1958–1967) Jim Dooley (1968–1971) Abe Gibron (1972–1974) Jack Pardee (1975–1977) Neill Armstrong (1978–1981) Mike Ditka (1982–1992) Dave Wannstedt (1993–1998) Dick Jauron (1999–2003) Lovie Smith (2004–2012) Marc Trestman (2013–2014) John Fox (2015– )

Current head coaches of the National Football League American Football Conference AFC East AFC North AFC South AFC West Rex Ryan (Buffalo Bills) Joe Philbin (Miami Dolphins) Bill Belichick (New England Patriots) Todd Bowles (New York Jets) John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens) Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals) Mike Pettine (Cleveland Browns) Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers) Bill O'Brien (Houston Texans) Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis Colts) Gus Bradley (Jacksonville Jaguars) Ken Whisenhunt (Tennessee Titans) Gary Kubiak (Denver Broncos) Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs) Jack Del Rio (Oakland Raiders) Mike McCoy (San Diego Chargers) National Football Conference NFC East NFC North NFC South NFC West Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys) Tom Coughlin (New York Giants) Chip Kelly (Philadelphia Eagles) Jay Gruden (Washington Redskins) John Fox (Chicago Bears) Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions) Mike McCarthy (Green Bay Packers) Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings) Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons) Ron Rivera (Carolina Panthers) Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints) Lovie Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) Bruce Arians (Arizona Cardinals) Jeff Fisher (St. Louis Rams) Jim Tomsula (San Francisco 49ers) Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks)