NFL: Each team’s greatest head coach in franchise history

Chicago Bears: George Halas (1920-29, 1933-42, 1946-55, 1958-67)

There have been some great head coaches for the Chicago Bears, but oddly enough they have only one Super Bowl win in their storied history. That came in 1985 when Mike Ditka led them to a convincing 46-10 rout over the New England Patriots. That was the greatest season in team history, but Ditka doesn’t earn the title of best coach for the Bears.

That title instead belongs to George Halas, who was nicknamed “Papa Bear.” At 25-years of age, Halas took over as the coach if the Bears while also playing at the same time. Not only that, but Halas was part of the team that founded the Bears back in 1920. He took over ownership in 1921.

Halas continued to play for Chicago until 1929 and from there, he served as the owner and coach. He remained on the sidelines all the way until 1967 and coached a total of 497 games. While it’s true the Bears have only one Super Bowl, Halas was winning titles before that era, as he had six titles during his career.

Overall, he was 318-148-31 in the regular season and 6-3 in the postseason. That puts him second all time in league history for most wins by a coach. He was such a prominent figure in Bears’ history that his No. 7 is retired. The team also honors him by wearing his initials, ‘GSH’ on their sleeve. The league also honors Halas as they named the NFC Conference trophy after him.