When the Chicago Bears pledged to do anything and everything to find their next head coach after firing Matt Eberflus 51 weeks ago, that included even the most unimaginable scenarios.

Like placing a call to the Pittsburgh Steelers to see if they could have permission to chat with Mike Tomlin and determine if their longtime coach might be interested in a fresh start elsewhere. If so, who knows, maybe a trade could be brokered.

No way, the Steelers replied, and Tomlin, after the Steelers were bounced from the playoffs, made it clear he wasn’t interested in leaving what he has built in Pittsburgh.

“Save your time,” Tomlin told Pittsburgh reporters.

The next week, the Bears landed on Ben Johnson, launching into a new era that has started more successfully than just about anyone could have

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