List of Chicago Bears head coaches
Encyclopedia
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, including coaches for the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and Chicago Staleys (1921), of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). The Bears franchise was founded as the Decatur
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
Staleys, a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. The team moved to Chicago in 1921, and changed their name to the Bears in 1922, the same year the American Professional Football Association (APFA) changed its name to the National Football League.
The Chicago Bears have played over one thousand games. In those games, five different coaches have won NFL championships with the team: George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
in , 1933
NFL Championship Game, 1933
The 1933 National Football League Championship game was held on December 17, 1933 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The attendance was estimated at 26,000. This was the first scheduled championship game since the NFL's founding in 1920...
, 1940, 1941
NFL Championship Game, 1941
The 1941 National Football League Championship game was the 9th annual championship game and was held December 21, 1941 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was played two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The attendance was 13,341, the smallest ever to see an NFL title game...
, 1946
NFL Championship Game, 1946
The 1946 National Football League Championship Game was played at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 15, 1946. The final score was Chicago Bears 24, New York Giants 14. It was the 14th annual NFL championship game...
, and 1963, Ralph Jones
Ralph Jones
Ralph Robert Jones was an American football and basketball coach in the United States. He served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1930 to 1932.-Indiana:...
in 1932, Hunk Anderson
Heartley Anderson
-External links:* *...
and Luke Johnsos
Luke Johnsos
Luke Andrew Johnsos, Sr. was an American football player, assistant coach, and head coach for the National Football League's Chicago Bears franchise. He started with the Bears in 1929 at the age of 23 as an All-Pro end. He played eight NFL seasons in Chicago finishing his playing career in 1936...
in 1943
NFL Championship Game, 1943
The 1943 NFL Championship Game was the 11th annual title game of the National Football League . The game was held at Wrigley Field in Chicago on December 26, 1943, and drew attendance of 34,320....
, and Mike Ditka
Mike Ditka
Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head...
in 1985
Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
. George Halas is the only coach to have more than one tenure and is the all-time leader in games coached and wins, while Ralph Jones leads all coaches in winning percentage with .706. Abe Gibron
Abe Gibron
Abraham Gibron was an American football coach and player. He is best remembered for his tenure as head coach of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Bears...
is statistically the worst coach the Bears have had in terms of winning percentage, with .268.
Of the 16 Bears coaches, three have been elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
: George Halas, Paddy Driscoll
Paddy Driscoll
John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll was a professional American football quarterback. Driscoll was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and is a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team...
, and Mike Ditka. Several former players have been head coach for the Bears, including George Halas, Hunk Anderson
Heartley Anderson
-External links:* *...
, Luke Johnsos, Paddy Driscoll, Jim Dooley
Jim Dooley
James William Dooley was a former American football player and coach. He is best remembered for his tenure in both capacities with the National Football League's Chicago Bears....
, Abe Gibron
Abe Gibron
Abraham Gibron was an American football coach and player. He is best remembered for his tenure as head coach of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Bears...
, and Mike Ditka. The current coach is Lovie Smith
Lovie Smith
Lovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006....
, who was hired on January 14, 2004.
Statistics correct as of the end of the 2010 NFL season
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
.
Key
| # | Number of coaches |
| GC | Games Coached |
| W | Wins |
| L | Loses |
| T | Ties |
| Win% | Winning percentage Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win... |
| – | Returning from previous year(s) of coaching |
| * | Spent entire professional head coaching career with Bears |
| † | Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees... |
Coaches
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | T | Win% | GC | W | L | ||||
| "color:#df6108">Decatur Staleys | |||||||||||
| 1 | Fritz Wasem | 1919 | |||||||||
| 2 | Red Brannon | 1919 | |||||||||
| 3 | James Cook | 1919 | |||||||||
| "color:#df6108">Decatur/Chicago Bears | |||||||||||
| 4 | George Halas George Halas George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears... † |
1920–1929 1929 Chicago Bears season -Season Overview:The 1929 Chicago Bears season was their 10th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 4-9-1 record during head coach George Halas's final season. The showing earned them a ninth place finish in the team standings their worst record to date with... |
134 | 84 | 31 | 17 | .744 | No postseason | NFL Championship | ||
| 5 | Ralph Jones Ralph Jones Ralph Robert Jones was an American football and basketball coach in the United States. He served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1930 to 1932.-Indiana:... * |
1930 1930 Chicago Bears season -Season Overview:The 1930 Chicago Bears season was their 11th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 9-4-1 record under first year head coach Ralph Jones. Jones, a former player, led the team to recover from its ninth place finish to a respectable third place... –1932 1932 Chicago Bears season -Season Overview:The 1932 Chicago Bears season was their 13th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7-1-6 record under third year head coach Ralph Jones. The season started strangely with three consecutive 0-0 ties. After a 0-2 loss to the Packers, the Bears... |
41 | 24 | 10 | 7 | .706 | NFL Championship (1932 NFL Playoff Game, 1932 The 1932 NFL Playoff Game was the first ever playoff game held by the National Football League , the major professional American football sports league in the United States. Due to extremely cold weather, the game was played indoors on December 18, 1932 at Chicago Stadium in Chicago... ) |
|||
| — | George Halas George Halas George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears... † |
1933 1933 Chicago Bears season The 1933 Chicago Bears season was their 14th regular season and 2nd postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 10-2-1 record in the first year of George Halas's second tenure. The Bears started the season on fire, winning their first six games while allowing only 33... –1942 1942 Chicago Bears season The 1942 Chicago Bears season was their 23rd regular season and 7th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 11-0 record under head coach George Halas and temporary co-coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos... |
110 | 84 | 22 | 4 | .799 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 3 NFL Championships (1933 NFL Championship Game, 1933 The 1933 National Football League Championship game was held on December 17, 1933 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The attendance was estimated at 26,000. This was the first scheduled championship game since the NFL's founding in 1920... , 1940–41 NFL Championship Game, 1941 The 1941 National Football League Championship game was the 9th annual championship game and was held December 21, 1941 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was played two weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The attendance was 13,341, the smallest ever to see an NFL title game... ) |
| 6 | Hunk Anderson Heartley Anderson -External links:* *... * |
1942 1942 Chicago Bears season The 1942 Chicago Bears season was their 23rd regular season and 7th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 11-0 record under head coach George Halas and temporary co-coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos... –1945 1945 Chicago Bears season The 1945 Chicago Bears season was their 26th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a dismal 3-7 record under temporary co-coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos... |
36 | 23 | 11 | 2 | .676 | 2 | 1 | 1 | NFL Championship (1943 NFL Championship Game, 1943 The 1943 NFL Championship Game was the 11th annual title game of the National Football League . The game was held at Wrigley Field in Chicago on December 26, 1943, and drew attendance of 34,320.... ) |
| 7 | Luke Johnsos Luke Johnsos Luke Andrew Johnsos, Sr. was an American football player, assistant coach, and head coach for the National Football League's Chicago Bears franchise. He started with the Bears in 1929 at the age of 23 as an All-Pro end. He played eight NFL seasons in Chicago finishing his playing career in 1936... * |
1942 1942 Chicago Bears season The 1942 Chicago Bears season was their 23rd regular season and 7th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 11-0 record under head coach George Halas and temporary co-coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos... –1945 1945 Chicago Bears season The 1945 Chicago Bears season was their 26th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a dismal 3-7 record under temporary co-coaches Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos... |
36 | 23 | 11 | 2 | .676 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| — | George Halas George Halas George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears... † |
1946 1946 Chicago Bears season The 1946 Chicago Bears season was their 27th regular season and 9th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted an 8-2-1 record under head coach George Halas making his return from World War II en route to a Western Division title and an appearance in the NFL Championship... –1955 1955 Chicago Bears season The 1955 Chicago Bears season was their 36th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted 8-4 record for the second straight year under head coach George Halas placing them in second place for the second straight year in the NFL's Western Conference... |
119 | 75 | 42 | 2 | .641 | 2 | 1 | 1 | NFL Championship (1946 NFL Championship Game, 1946 The 1946 National Football League Championship Game was played at the Polo Grounds in New York City on December 15, 1946. The final score was Chicago Bears 24, New York Giants 14. It was the 14th annual NFL championship game... ) |
| 8 | Paddy Driscoll Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll was a professional American football quarterback. Driscoll was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965 and is a member of the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team... † |
1956 1956 Chicago Bears season The 1956 Chicago Bears season was their 37th regular season and 11th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted 9-2-1 record under first year head coach Paddy Driscoll placing them in first place of the Western Conference and in their first title game since 1946... –1957 1957 Chicago Bears season The 1957 Chicago Bears season was their 38th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club subpar 5-7 record under head coach Paddy Driscoll one year after making the championship game. The 47-7 loss in the 1956 title game coupled with a 5-7 season forced Halas to fire Driscoll... |
24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | .609 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| — | George Halas George Halas George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears... † |
1958 1958 Chicago Bears season The 1958 Chicago Bears season was their 39th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted an 8-4 record under the regins of George Halas who took over for Paddy Driscoll, who was fired after a championship game debacle and a subpar season the following year. Halas's... –1967 1967 Chicago Bears season The 1967 Chicago Bears season was their 48th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7-6-1 record, earning them a second place finish in the newly formed Central Division within the NFL's Western Conference. 1967 also marked the final season with George Halas,... |
134 | 75 | 53 | 6 | .588 | 1 | 1 | 0 | NFL Championship (1963) AP Coach of the Year (1963, 1965) Sporting News Coach of the Year (1963, 1965) UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1963, 1965) |
| 9 | Jim Dooley Jim Dooley James William Dooley was a former American football player and coach. He is best remembered for his tenure in both capacities with the National Football League's Chicago Bears.... * |
1968 1968 Chicago Bears season The 1968 Chicago Bears season was their 49th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7-7 record, earning them another second place finish in the Central Division within the NFL's Western Conference behind the Minnesota Vikings.-Offseason:On May 27, 1968, George... –1971 1971 Chicago Bears season The 1971 Chicago Bears season was their 52nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 6-8 record, another below .500 showing, eventually costing head coach Jim Dooley his job. This was their 1st season at Soldier Field.... |
56 | 20 | 36 | 0 | .357 | ||||
| 10 | Abe Gibron Abe Gibron Abraham Gibron was an American football coach and player. He is best remembered for his tenure as head coach of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Bears... * |
1972 1972 Chicago Bears season The 1972 Chicago Bears season was their 53rd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 4-9-1 record, another below .500 showing, in head coach Abe Gibron's first season.-Schedule:-Standings:... –1974 1974 Chicago Bears season The 1974 Chicago Bears season was their 55th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 4-10 record, another dismal season led to the termination of Abe Gibron as head coach.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:... |
42 | 11 | 30 | 1 | .268 | ||||
| 11 | Jack Pardee Jack Pardee -NFL:-External links:... |
1975 1975 Chicago Bears season The 1975 Chicago Bears season was their 56th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted another 4-10 record, in the first season under Jack Pardee.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings: -References:... –1977 1977 Chicago Bears season The 1977 Chicago Bears season was their 58th regular season and 13th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 9-5 record earning them a wild card spot against the Dallas Cowboys, who eventually beat the Bears en route to a Super Bowl victory.Walter Payton was the star... |
42 | 20 | 22 | 0 | .476 | 1 | 0 | 1 | UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1976) |
| 12 | Neill Armstrong Neill Armstrong Neill Ford Armstrong is a former American football player and coach whose career spanned more than 40 years at both the collegiate and professional levels.... * |
1978 1978 Chicago Bears season The 1978 Chicago Bears season was their 59th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7-9 record in the first year of Coach Neill Armstrong, yet another below .500 record in the 1970s.-Schedule:-Standings:... –1981 1981 Chicago Bears season The 1981 Chicago Bears season was their 62nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 6-10 record under fourth year coach Neill Armstrong, who was fired at the end of the season.-Schedule:-Standings:- External links :... |
64 | 30 | 34 | 0 | .469 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Mike Ditka Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka, Jr. is a former American football NFL player, television commentator, and coach. Ditka coached the Chicago Bears for 11 years and New Orleans Saints for three years. Ditka and Tom Flores are the only two people to win Super Bowls as a player, an assistant coach, and a head... |
1982 1982 Chicago Bears season The 1982 Chicago Bears season was their 63rd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 3-6 record under first year head coach Mike Ditka in a strike shortened season.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-References:*... –1992 1992 Chicago Bears season The 1992 Chicago Bears season was their 73rd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 5–11 record, and they did not qualify for the playoffs. Following the season, coach Mike Ditka was fired, and replaced by Dave Wannstedt. Ditka had been the coach of the Bears... |
168 | 106 | 62 | 0 | .631 | 12 | 6 | 6 | NFL Championship (1985 Super Bowl XX Super Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season... ) AP Coach of the Year (1985, 1988) Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (1988) Sporting News Coach of the Year (1985) UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1985, 1988) |
| 14 | Dave Wannstedt Dave Wannstedt Dave Wannstedt is current Assistant Head Coach/Inside Linebackers Coach for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League. He was most recently head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team, a position he held for six seasons. Wannstedt is also the former head coach of the Miami... |
1993 1993 Chicago Bears season The 1993 Chicago Bears season was their 74th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7–9 record under first year head coach Dave Wannstedt. Wannstedt took over for Mike Ditka who was fired after a 5–11 season a year earlier.... –1998 1998 Chicago Bears season The 1998 Chicago Bears season was their 79th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 4-12 record under head coach Dave Wannstedt. It was the club's second straight 4-12 finish, which ultimately cost Wannstedt his job.... |
96 | 40 | 56 | 0 | .417 | 2 | 1 | 1 | UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1994) |
| 15 | Dick Jauron Dick Jauron Richard Manuel Jauron is the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was the head coach for the Buffalo Bills from 2006 until November 2009. Jauron has previously held head coaching positions with the Chicago Bears and, on an interim basis, with the... |
1999 1999 Chicago Bears season The 1999 Chicago Bears season was their 80th regular season completed in the National Football League. On January 24, Dick Jauron was named head coach. The club posted a 6-10 record under first year head coach Dick Jauron who replaced Dave Wannstedt.... –2003 2003 Chicago Bears season -Scoring Summary:Q1 - SF - 7:51 - Jeff Chandler 22 yd FG Q1 - SF - 3:23 - 12 yd TD pass from Jeff Garcia to Garrison Hearst Q2 - CHI - 12:05 - 3 yd TD pass from Kordell Stewart to Desmond Clark... |
80 | 35 | 45 | 0 | .438 | 1 | 0 | 1 | AP Coach of the Year (2001) Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2001) Sporting News Coach of the Year (2001) |
| 16 | Lovie Smith Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith is the head coach of the Chicago Bears professional football team of the NFL. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the 2001 Saint Louis Rams and as the head coach for the Chicago Bears in 2006.... * |
2004 2004 Chicago Bears season -Scoring Summary:Q1 - CHI - 7:38 - Thomas Jones 2 yd TD run Q2 - DET - 0:16 - Jason Hanson 27 yd FG Q3 - DET - 12:17 - Bracy Walker 92 yd blocked FG return TD... –present |
123 | 70 | 53 | 0 | .569 | 6 | 3 | 3 | AP Coach of the Year (2005) Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (2005) |