If the Bears called the Steelers about Mike Tomlin, who else did they call?

We made a bit of a fuss last month by suggesting that the Bears he should call the 49ers about a possible trade for coach Kyle Shanahan. Meanwhile, the Bears turned the dial on the phone call the steelers about a possible trade for coach Mike Tomlin.

Here’s the next question. Who else was called the Bears?

The deeper message of our Shanahan write-up was that the Bears should call any team that could be a year away from a coaching change. We specifically mentioned the 49ers and Shanahan, the Ravens and John Harbaugh, and the Dolphins and Mike McDaniel. (In response, a coach from the other team spoke up and asked why he wasn’t mentioned.)

In 2022, many faulted the GMs for calling each team to see if its starting quarterback was available in a trade. But the Chiefs decided to go all-in, given that they were frozen out of last year’s interior deal that sent Matthew Stafford to the Rams. It was smart to make sure they didn’t miss anyone while searching for a quarterback in 2022.

Bears should also be comprehensive. And if they were wasting their time calling the team whose coach publicly said “save your time”, why not call other teams?

Two weeks ago, Fox’s Jay Glazer reported that multiple teams were interested in trading for Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. While the Vikings certainly wouldn’t send him to a division rival, why not call him up?

Teams looking for coaches usually look at coordinators who have never been a coach, fired former head coaches or college coaches. Rarely do teams target coaches who are currently coaching other teams.

They should. Aside from giving the impression that every stone is indeed turning, it’s a path to getting a coach who’s proven he can get the job done well enough that his current team still won’t fire him.