When Chicago cleaned house on the offensive side of the ball recently, speculation was rampant that former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis would be one of the team’s top targets to replace fired offensive coordinator Ron Turner next season.

But the story has taken a different turn this morning, with the Bears reaching out to several collegiate offensive coordinators to potentially fill Turner’s post. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), Chicago is currently speaking with USC offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and University of Minnesota offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch about the position.

Both Bates and Fisch have experience working with quarterback Jay Cutler, with Bates serving as his offensive coordinator two seasons ago in Denver, and while it’s likely that only one of the two would come to Chicago, it is possible that the Bears could hire both in different roles.

Weis is apparently still in the running as well, and seems to be interested mainly because of the proximity to his home in South Bend, Indiana. He’s also reportedly talking with Kansas City about their opening at the same position, which makes sense given his relationship with general manager Scott Pioli and head coach Todd Haley.

Other posts you may enjoy:

1. Chicago coaching rumors take another twist
2. Chicago to add Weis at season’s end?
3. Weis resurfaces in Bills coaching search
4. Weis to the rescue in Kansas City
5. Weis done at Notre Dame; on his way to the NFL?