The 55-year-old Bowles finalized his contract with the Buccaneers on Wednesday afternoon, as ESPN first reported. It came after the Bears lost defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to the Broncos as their new head coach, leaving an opening for Bowles to lead the NFL's top-ranked defense in Chicago.
Bowles has a longstanding relationship with Bears coach Matt Nagy, though he had already agreed to rejoin Arians -- under whom he previously served as defensive coordinator in Arizona -- and stayed true to that commitment despite interest from Chicago. The bond between Nagy and Bowles pre-dates their coaching career, with Nagy's father once coaching Bowles at Elizabeth High School in New Jersey.
"I have so much respect for him," Nagy said of Bowles in October. "What he does defensively, but on top of that, too, I think he’s such a great human being. He does things the right way. He treats people the right way. I like how he does things."
With Bowles now out of the picture, the Bears will have to turn their attention to the other candidates. Bears defensive backs coach Ed Donatell could be the top choice for Nagy as defensive coordinator. A 26-year NFL assistant, Donatell has worked as the defensive backs coach with Fangio since 2011, with four years each in San Francisco and Chicago. He has worked three stints as a defensive coordinator -- four years with the Packers (2000-'03), three with the Falcons (2004-'06) and one at the University of Washington (2008).
Donatell, 61, has been lauded by his players -- including All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller and safety Eddie Jackson -- for his work in preparing and presenting information. The Bears led the NFL with 27 interceptions this past season, with 21 coming from Donatell's defensive backs.
"Ed Donatell does an amazing job on the back end there with communicating to those guys," Nagy said in November. "He’s very honest with those guys, and he puts an accountability to them so when they’re out there practicing, he wants them practicing hard. He’s been doing this for a long time, now, been a defensive coordinator, and those guys know that. They just understand what he’s looking for."
The Bears could consider other in-house candidates for the job, such as outside linebackers coach Brandon Staley and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers. Among outside options are former Browns defensive coordinator and interim coach Gregg Williams, who was relieved of his duties Wednesday, and former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph.
Fangio, 60, earned his first head coaching job after leading a turnaround with the Bears defense, which was first in the league in allowing just 17.7 points per game in 2018. When he took over in 2015, Fangio inherited a group that that was coming off a season in which it was 31st in scoring defense, allowing 27.6 points per game.