Adam Schefter gets dunked on for linking worst Caleb Williams fit as next Bears coach

The Chicago Bears are just weeks away from looking for a new head coach – one they hope can lead a talented young roster headlined by Caleb Williams into the future. Matt Eberflus failed to do so, and one could argue should've been let go long before Williams was drafted.

Instead, Chicago general manager Ryan Poles allowed Eberflus to not only stay on board, but pick the first offensive coordinator Williams would work with at the professional level. That relationship only lasted a few weeks into the regular season, and Williams has struggled ever since.

The Bears were already connected to Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who should have his pick of the litter as it pertains to head-coaching gigs. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, a Hall-of-Fame caliber candidate could be interested in an NFL return, and it's not Bill Belichick.

"Former Seahawks Super-Bowl winning HC Pete Carroll has expressed interest in the Bears HC job and would like to return to the sideline next season," Schefter wrote. "Carroll is one of four head coaches to have led teams to both a national championship and the Super Bowl. The others are Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Jim Harbaugh."

Adam Schefter's Pete Carroll-Bears report received plenty of criticism

In some odd reporter-on-reporter crime, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio called the Schefter report a 'strategic leak' trying to stir up interest in Carroll. While there is always a strategy behind anonymous source leaks, claiming that's the case with Carroll/those with a mutual interest without any backing is a bold move by Florio.

As Florio points out, the Bears No. 1 priority has to be finding a head coach who can work with Williams. Considering Carroll is a defense-first coach whose Seattle teams thrived with the 'Legion of Boom' defense, perhaps he is not the right person for the job. Schefter quickly rebuttled on social media, wishing Florio a Merry Christmas along with some other, uh, not-so-kind words.

Frankly, we are not sure who to believe here. Schefter's report merely stated that Carroll would be interested in the Bears opening. However, that only matters if the Bears want to hire the former Seahawks Super Bowl-winning coach, which is unknown at this juncture. Here's what Florio had to say for himself:

"It’s hard to fault Carroll’s agent for trying to use the media to get the word out about Carroll. That’s the agent’s job. It’s not the media’s job, however, to engage in quid pro quo P.R. for coaching candidates," Florio wrote.

As Florio notes, strategic leaks happen all the time in this industry. Nothing Schefter said was technically wrong, though, nor did his report deserve the criticism it received.