7:05pm: The Bears have officially announced the hire, according to Jahns (on Twitter).
6:48pm: The Bears have hired Adam Gase as their new offensive coordinator, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a three-year pact, according to Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times (on Twitter).
It has been a strange couple of weeks for Gase, who entered the offseason as one of the hottest head coaching candidates in the NFL. The former Broncos offensive coordinator interviewed in Denver after John Fox was ousted and also met with the Bears before they chose Fox for their own head coaching vacancy. Now, Gase reunites with Fox in his previous role in Chicago.
The 36-year-old Gase served as the Broncos’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons. Gase worked closely with Peyton Manning to help turn the Broncos into one of the league’s most feared offenses. Now, he travels to Chicago, a team that used to boast a top-end scoring attack. Last season, the Bears were dreadful on offense and it’ll be Gase’s job to get them back on track.
At this juncture, it’s not clear who Gase will work with at quarterback. Incumbent Jay Cutler is there, but after a rough 2014 it’s not clear if he’ll still be in the fold. For what it’s worth, Cutler texted Fox to welcome him to Chicago, so it appears that there is interest in continuing the union on the player’s end.
Gase also met with the 49ers about their head coaching vacancy and spoke with the Ravens and Jaguars about their offensive coordinator positions.