Former Eagles coach Doug Pederson interviewed with the Bears on Wednesday, making him the first candidate to have an official meeting about the job.
Pederson would replace friend and former co-worker Matt Nagy, who was fired Monday.
In Pederson’s only shot as a head coach, he went 42-37-1 with the Eagles from 2016 through ’20 and won Super Bowl LII with current Bears backup Nick Foles stepping in for injured starter Carson Wentz. Pederson went 9-7 with a playoff berth each of the next two seasons, beating the Bears in January 2019 in the Double Doink game, and was fired after going 4-11-1 in 2020.
Pederson, 53, spent last season out of the NFL but said in June he was eager to return as a head coach. Nagy hosted him as a training camp guest later that summer.
The Bears have submitted several requests for current assistant coaches and are expected to meet with recently fired Dolphins coach Brian Flores.