Sanjay Lal removes himself from consideration for Bears job

The Chicago Bears are beginning to round out the coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball this week, but one coach who interviewed for a position won’t be joining them.

Former Seattle Seahawks passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal has removed himself from consideration for a job with the Bears, according to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler. Lal was one of a few former Seattle coaches who interviewed for a position earlier this week, but he will now look for a job elsewhere.

Update: Lal has withdrawn his name from Bears consideration, per source. Will be looking into other opportunities. https://t.co/sVTGd2GMoo

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 26, 2024

Lal has held many NFL jobs throughout his coaching career, beginning in the mid-2000s with the Raiders. He’s primarily worked as a wide receivers coach and took on the role of passing game coordinator over the last two seasons with the Seahawks. Lal may have been interviewing for a similar job with the Bears, and it’s possible a higher position is available to him on another team. For example, the Carolina Panthers hired Dave Canales to be their head coach on Thursday, who used to work with Lal, and there could be a fit there.

Regardless, the Bears will need to look elsewhere for help as they build their staff. They hired Shane Waldron as their offensive coordinator earlier in the week and are bringing in former Seahawks assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph as the quarterback coach.