The Chicago Bears interviewed former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for their head coaching job on Wednesday.

The Bears have confirmed interviewing 12 candidates, a list highlighted by Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, former Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who got the New England Patriots job.

Chicago has also interviewed former Stanford coach David Shaw, Bears interim coach Thomas Brown, former Carolina and Washington coach Ron Rivera, Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.

McCarthy met with the Bears two days after a split with Dallas after five years in what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones described as a mutual agreement. McCarthy’s contract expired on Jan. 8 following a 7-10 season. Dallas was 12-5 each of the three years before that, but still hasn’t been past the divisional round of the NFC playoffs since its last Super Bowl at the end of the 1995 season.

McCarthy was with the Packers for 13 seasons and had a 125-77-2 record from 2006-18. He was 10-8 in the playoffs and led Green Bay to a Super Bowl title 14 years ago.

Smith was hired by the Steelers a year ago after coaching Atlanta to a 21-30 record from 2021 to 2023. The Falcons were 7-10 in each of his three seasons before firing him.

The Steelers went from tying for 27th in scoring in 2023 to finishing 16th this past season, after signing Russell Wilson and acquiring Justin Fields from Chicago to play quarterback.

The Bears are looking to replace Matt Eberflus, who was fired on Nov. 29. Chicago finished last in the NFC North at 5-12 and lost 10 in a row before closing the season with a win at Green Bay.

BROWNS NAME OC >> Tommy Rees went from being a ball boy for the Browns to running their offense.

Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski hired Rees as his offensive coordinator, promoting him after firing Ken Dorsey following a season in which the Browns went 3-14 and averaged a league-low 15.2 points per game.

Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, spent last season as Cleveland’s tight ends coach.

Rees has deep football roots in Cleveland. As a teenager, he worked as a ball boy with the club when his dad, Bill, was the team’s director of player personnel.

COLTS SET FOR BERLIN >> The Indianapolis Colts will play in the first regular-season game in Berlin.

The NFL announced that the 2025 Berlin game will be played at Olympic Stadium. The Colts’ opponent and date of game will be announced later.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Munich in 2022 in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany.

The NFL played five American Bowl games at Olympic Stadium between 1990 and 1994, and it also was home to NFL Europe’s Berlin Thunder from 2003-07.