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Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
The Chicago Bears have made another intriguing interview request in their search for their next head coach, seeking permission to speak with Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich about their job opening.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Bears put in a request to interview Stenavich for their head coaching job on January 13, becoming the first team to ask to speak with the former NFL offensive lineman. The Packers have not yet responded.
Stenavich was one of the first coaches Matt LaFleur hired when the latter accepted the position as the Packers’ head coach in 2019, joining the staff as an offensive line coach versed in the Kyle Shanahan zone-blocking scheme that LaFleur planned to emulate. He earned a promotion to run-game coordinator under Nathaniel Hackett in 2021, then took over as offensive coordinator in 2022 when Hackett became Denver’s head coach.
While the Packers struggled offensively in their 2024 wild-card loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Stevanich oversaw an offense that averaged the fifth-most rushing yards (146.8) 12th-most passing yards (223.9) and eighth-most points scored (27.1) per game during the 2024 regular season. His offensive line also gave up the second-fewest sacks (22).
The Bears must wait for the Packers to respond to their interview request before putting Stevanich on their schedule, but Green Bay’s elimination from the playoffs means that Chicago will have an opportunity to meet with Stevanich in person, if given permission.
Adam Stenavich’s OL Experience is an Asset to Bears
Stenavich might be one of the most intriguing names on the Bears’ candidate list even though some fans will cringe at the idea of Chicago hiring another Packers coach after a miserable two-year run with Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator from 2022 to 2023. The biggest appeal? Stevanich knows how to develop offensive linemen into starters.
One of Stenavich’s greatest success stories at this point in his career is Elgton Jenkins. Jenkins — a 2019 second-round pick — has become a two-time Pro Bowler and one of the Packers’ most reliable and versatile offensive linemen under Stenavich’s guidance. While Jenkins deserves the lion’s share of the credit for what he has achieved, Stenavich has played a critical role in his development into one of the league’s better guards.
Stenavich has also helped continue the Packers’ frustrating — for Bears fans — pattern of drafting Day 3 offensive linemen and making them competent starters. He helped unlock fourth-round pick Zach Tom and turned him into a versatile starter capable of playing multiple positions. He also molded seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker into a quality successor David Bakhtiari at left tackle, where he allowed three sacks in 2024.
Credit where credit is due to the Packers’ scouting staff, who helped find the offensive line prospects in the first place, but there’s no denying their respective developments have Stevanich’s fingerprints all over them. That’s certainly a notable achievement.
Is Adam Stevanich Interview a Fact-Finding Mission?
Stenavich is a quality NFL offensive coordinator who has earned at least a few looks for a head coaching position, but the Bears could have an ulterior motive for requesting an interview with him — one that could have everything to do with another candidate.
According to Pelissero, the Bears have scheduled an interview with NFL veteran Mike McCarthy for Wednesday, January 15, after he and the Dallas Cowboys could not reach an agreement on a new contract for the 2025 season. The Bears had already tried to talk with McCarthy once, but the Cowboys denied their request amid contract negotiations.
With McCarthy now a free agent, though, the Bears are free to speak with him in person about their head coaching vacancy. They may also feel that an interview with Stenavich — who spent two years on the Packers’ practice squad while McCarthy was head coach — could shed light on McCarthy’s ability to work with and develop a young quarterback.
After all, Stenavich’s two seasons with the Packers came in 2006 and 2007 when the franchise was in the process of transitioning from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and Rodgers — a 2005 first-round pick — was a youngster developing behind the scenes. While Stenavich might not have much insight into the relationship, the Bears may still have an interest in asking him about how McCarthy navigated such a dynamic.
