The conclusion of the regular season in the NFL on Sunday night meant that teams could request permission to interview candidates currently employed by other teams for their head coach and/or general manager openings as soon as Monday morning. Unsurprisingly, one of the early names to surface for the current handful of coaching openings is from the Ravens.

The Chicago Bears requested permission to speak with Baltimore offensive coordinator Todd Monken, according to NFL Network. The Bears reportedly also sought permission to speak with Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, whose contract is set to expire soon.

Monken, 58, is in his second year with the Ravens and was the architect of the league’s most prolific offense this season, with Baltimore becoming the first team to pass for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 3,000 yards in the same season en route to leading the NFL in total yards. A year after reaching the AFC championship game, the Ravens finished 12-5 in the regular season, are the No. 3 seed in the conference and will host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round on Saturday night.

In-person interviews for head coach candidates currently under contract can’t take place until Jan. 20, though virtual interviews can begin sooner.

Coaches with the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, along with those from teams that did not make the playoffs, can take part in virtual interviews for head coaching jobs three days after the conclusion of their respective team’s regular season. Coaches from teams playing in next weekend’s wild-card round, however, are not permitted to interview for jobs at all until three days after their wild-card game.

When Ravens coach John Harbaugh was asked Monday morning during his weekly news conference if he had received any requests to speak with any of his assistant coaches, he was dismissive.

“If I had, I wouldn’t probably announce it,” he said. “Maybe, I don’t know, do they put that out? Like, [does] the NFL put that out or whatever?”

“So you can get it from the insiders when it happens, I guess.”

While it’s still a long way from happening, should Monken get hired by the Bears or another team, it would be the longtime assistant’s first head coaching job in the NFL. His only head coaching experience was with Southern Mississippi from 2013 to 2015.

Still, he figures to be a popular candidate.

Last year, quarterback Lamar Jackson had career highs in passing yards (3,678) and completion percentage (67.2) and went on to be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player for the second time. This season, he was even better, with 4,172 yards passing, a career-high and franchise record 41 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Jackson also became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 800 yards in the same season while leading an offense that led the league in yards per game (424.9), third in points per game (30.5) and first in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA).

Last year, Monken interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers. Though he will turn 59 in February — the average age of coaches entering this season was just under 48 years old — he could be an attractive candidate for a Bears team that went 5-12 and had the worst offense in the league with quarterback and 2024 No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams. In addition to the work he’s done with Jackson, among others over a long career, he grew up 30 miles outside Chicago in Wheaton, Illinois, comes from a coaching family and has a spirited personality.

He also insisted it’s not something he’s worried about right now.

“I don’t deal with it,” Monken said last month about the speculation surrounding suitors who could be potentially interested in his services. “I don’t deal with it because it’s got nothing to do with the here and the now, and nobody really knows anyways.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1.