The Bears have interviewed Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase for their head-coaching position.
Quinn, 44, is in his second season as Seahawks defensive coordinator. In his first year in 2013, Seattle won the Super Bowl and became the first NFL team since the 1985 Bears to lead the NFL in points allowed, yards allowed and takeaways.
Quinn previously worked as a defensive line coach with the 49ers (2003-04), Dolphins (2005-06), Jets (2007-08) and Seahawks (2009-10). He then served as defensive coordinator at the University of Florida in 2011-12 before returning to the Seahawks.
Gase, 36, is in his sixth season with the Broncos, second as offensive coordinator. In his two seasons working with quarterback Peyton Manning, the Broncos set an NFL record with 606 points in 2013 and scored 486 points in 2014, the third most in franchise history.
Gase previously was as an offensive assistant with the Lions (2005-07) and 49ers (2008) before joining the Broncos, where he served as receivers coach (2009-10) and quarterbacks coach (2011-12) before being named offensive coordinator in 2013.
Quinn and Gase were both allowed to interview with the Bears this week because their teams had playoff byes. They cannot meet with the Bears again until their teams are eliminated.
The Bears are looking to replace Marc Trestman, who was fired after a team with Super Bowl aspirations stumbled to a 5-11 record in 2014. Last Monday team president and CEO Ted Phillips said that he's seeking a new coach that will pay close attention to detail, make strong decisions and create an identity for the Bears in all three phases.
"That's going to be very important; being able to create a vision and articulate that vision to the team and to our fan base of what we're all about," Phillips said. "We want to see a team that is tough in all three phases so that when teams come into Soldier Field or play the Bears, they're fearing coming in to play us. That's what we need."
The Bears are also in the process of hiring a general manager to replace Phil Emery, who was fired along with Trestman last Monday after three seasons with the team.
