For the first time in his 12-year NFL career, Keenan Allen is set to become a free agent. Since he was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2013, Allen received contract extensions before he could become a free agent, and then was traded to the Chicago Bears last offseason for the final year of his current deal.
Allen will get the opportunity to test out the open market, but he's keeping his scope narrow. Allen has said he is interested in signing with the Bears, Los Angeles Rams, or Chargers in free agency. Though Allen is open to re-signing with the Bears, his interest will reportedly depend on the which head coach the Bears end up hiring. Per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Allen wants a coach with experience.
The Bears have yet to conduct any interviews for their next head coach, but according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, could interview Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury this offseason. Kingsbury has experience after coaching the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to '22, and was previously on USC's football staff as a senior offensive analyst in 2023 when Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams played there.
There are several other candidates with prior head coaching experience that the Bears could interview. Fowler also wrote that Mike McCarthy could be interested in the Bears' gig if he leaves Dallas. McCarthy won a Super Bowl in 2011 and has a combined 18 years of head coaching experience with the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is available in this year's carousel, and former Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is reportedly interested in the Bears' opening, according to Adam Schefter.
One of the top names floating around the Bears' vacancy is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson is widely viewed as the top coaching candidate this hiring cycle, but does not hold prior experience as a head coach. If the Bears do hire Johnson, it would be intriguing to see if his experience as a coordinator would be enough for Allen to remain interested in re-signing with Chicago.
If Allen does depart for one of the Los Angeles teams, he would get to play under an experienced head coach in either Jim Harbaugh or Sean McVay. More importantly, Allen would get to remain close to his family, who still live in Southern California.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Keenan Allen Reveals Key Factor for Him to Want to Re-Sign With Bears.
