Biggs says it may be hard to get good coaches to come here now. Wow. Just wow. I think he is spot on.
Here is something no one is talking about yet and the Bears aren’t going to admit when this season comes to a merciful end on Dec. 31 at Minnesota: Whatever opening or openings the Bears have for employment at Halas Hall aren’t going to be nearly as appealing as they’d like you to believe. They’re going to pass it off as a premier destination in the NFL — but it sure isn’t right now.
Yes, the Bears will have more appeal than the Browns, who have the worst job for a football coach this side of the University of Tennessee. Maybe it’s not surprising Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has deep ties to the Volunteers program? There are going to be a bunch of openings following the end of the season, and one veteran agent who represents coaches forecasted a minimum of seven when I chatted with him last week. It’s not difficult at all to envision the Bears being in the market for their third head coach in a five-year span. In fact, it is practically expected. And the point here is a handful of other jobs are going to look a lot more appealing than the Bears’ gig at Halas Hall. That could force the Bears to get in line for their preferred candidate or candidates and who knows how that would go.
Yes, there might be candidates that really like quarterback Mitch Trubisky. It’s going to be hard for anyone to fall in love with him based off game tape from this season. There will be a couple candidates that are OK with Trubisky and see potential upside in this year’s second overall pick. Then, there will be candidates that aren’t real interested in Trubisky or are more enamored with another job where they could have the freedom to go out and get their own guy with potential for a flurry of veterans to be available as well as some intriguing draft prospects.
Going beyond the quarterback position, the Bears have a serious lack of playmakers. It’s an ongoing issue and it’s why they are destined for a fourth consecutive losing season. They declined the fifth-year option for cornerback Kyle Fuller entering this season and it would be a stunner if they don’t decline the fifth-year option for wide receiver Kevin White this coming offseason. Failing to hit on first-round draft picks is just one example of why the roster remains critically flawed. Failing to keep the roster healthy is another serious issue and it would be foolish and unfair to pin that on the head coach alone.
Sure, the Bears will try to sell the idea that there’s rich history within the franchise and that’s certainly true. But there’s one lonesome Lombardi Trophy in the lobby at Halas Hall and the great tradition they talk about is really rooted in the 1940’s as legendary linebacker Dick Butkus references in the video they play at Soldier Field in the minutes leading up to kickoff at each home game. Up-and-coming coaches aren’t concerned about tradition, they’re laser-focused on their chances to succeed with what can often be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Once upon a time, the Bears were an attractive landing spot because they were viewed as a patient organization and with patience comes job security. That will no longer be the case if they make moves after this season. Chairman of the board George McCaskey fired Lovie Smith after a 10-6 season in 2012. Marc Trestman lasted two seasons. John Fox is in Year 3.
How do you work around being an unattractive landing spot?It’s not easy but the 49ers seemed to have pulled it off this past offseason when they lured Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan away from the NFC champions. Shanahan is the club’s fourth coach in four years and the only way they talked him in to coming was money. The 49ers signed Shanahan to a six-year contract. That’s two more years than the typical deal, particularly for a first-time head coach. That’s two more years than the Bears gave Fox. The six-year deal for Shanahan matches the six-year contract the club gave new general manager John Lynch. Those are guaranteed deals meaning there is a ton of money invested in the men. You know what else Shanahan got? He received control over the 53-man roster. That means Shanahan can select who stays and who goes and that can be an important chip for a coach when he needs to make it clear to the locker room he has the most juice in the building. It’s difficult to envision Bears general manager Ryan Pace ceding control of the 53-man roster to a new head coach if Pace is out and about looking for a new head coach in the first week of January.
That was the bleakest "10 thoughts" I've read in a long time.
Good thing you can't read minds when JABF gets into a "Bears funk"! I think we pulled him out of it this time, but it took some unnatural acts (my specialty).
That was the bleakest "10 thoughts" I've read in a long time.
Good thing you can't read minds when JABF gets into a "Bears funk"! I think we pulled him out of it this time, but it took some unnatural acts (my specialty).
I am coming down from the ledge now as we speak. Gonna put in a BIG order for rods this afternoon. Is it okay to just have the invoice sent to Ted Phillips at HH?
Good thing you can't read minds when JABF gets into a "Bears funk"! I think we pulled him out of it this time, but it took some unnatural acts (my specialty).
I am coming down from the ledge now as we speak. Gonna put in a BIG order for rods this afternoon. Is it okay to just have the invoice sent to Ted Phillips at HH?
Of course. Tell them to mark the items as "happy rods". It makes Teddy laugh. Teddy will pay for anything if he thinks it is funny. That is how he keeps signing the paychecks for Foxy
Yeah it's gonna be difficult getting the top dog OC out there which makes Toub look even better. We've learned a lot already and we'll learn even more once the hunt is on. Pace may actually have to look at college coaches as a realistic possibility.
Given the talent and injury issues I can't help but think the top dogs are gonna ask for roster control and Pace is gonna have to decide just how much control he's willing to give up. If none then we may also end up being last in line as a choice.
Yeah it's gonna be difficult getting the top dog OC out there which makes Toub look even better. We've learned a lot already and we'll learn even more once the hunt is on. Pace may actually have to look at college coaches as a realistic possibility.
Given the talent and injury issues I can't help but think the top dogs are gonna ask for roster control and Pace is gonna have to decide just how much control he's willing to give up. If none then we may also end up being last in line as a choice.
Regarding the roster control issue, I keep hoping Pace and the new coach can work as a close team. Neither of them should strong-arm the other on personnel. I believe that old saying that two heads are better than one. If both men have a mutual vision, and respect each other, then that is ideal.
Yeah it's gonna be difficult getting the top dog OC out there which makes Toub look even better. We've learned a lot already and we'll learn even more once the hunt is on. Pace may actually have to look at college coaches as a realistic possibility.
Given the talent and injury issues I can't help but think the top dogs are gonna ask for roster control and Pace is gonna have to decide just how much control he's willing to give up. If none then we may also end up being last in line as a choice.
Regarding the roster control issue, I keep hoping Pace and the new coach can work as a close team. Neither of them should strong-arm the other on personnel. I believe that old saying that two heads are better than one. If both men have a mutual vision, and respect each other, then that is ideal.
No doubt Dave but I'm just not gonna pretend that some HC/GM nirvana will come as neatly packaged as all that. I think the reality of it may be very different this time around although I'm equally sure that won't be what we hear.
There is indisputable evidence this team has struggled mightily in trying to upgrade talent via UFA. Far less than half of those signed have even contributed at a level much above rookie draftees and UDFA they were supposed to be an upgrade over if at all. Yet those players were automatically awarded roster spots and starts over others without having actually earned them. Why? Because they had guaranteed money deal that's why. That needs to stop.
If I'm a "top dog" HC prospect taking on this project why would I want to agree to any deal that gives me little or no control of my 53 man roster and the 22 players I deem best playing each week? How is that different than hiring a GM and then not allowing him to hire his own HC? Who does that? Oh wait.....we do don't we? Kinda nutsoid huh?
So while I may agree with you in concept in the real world of NFL egos, power struggles, and CYA games the kind of synergism you're describing is rare. It far more frequent that the opposite is true. Winning HCs eventually gain more and more control and if our next hire shows more savvy with player personnel than Pace has to date it's entirely possible we'll see a battle for control soon enough and it's one Pace may actually lose. He may not outlast his HC hire.
Not possible? SF had to give Kyle Shanahan a kings ransom and a six year deal to lure him to SF. What's your best guess on what a new HC with Shanahan's pedigree will cost the McCaskeys and not just in terms of money? Even if they can hire a top guy with a four year deal that's two years longer than Pace has left right now. Has Pace earned an extension? Not in my book he hasn't and I certainly would not give it before I saw at least one years results from this new GM/HC team.
Another losing season and all of a sudden Ryan Pace becomes the lame duck of the day. Imagine that as a specialty of the house at Wong's Cantonese..."Peking Lame Duck GM". Getting beat by a supposedly inferior team and by a PK who was his teams all time leading scorer he let go couldn't have set well in the owners box. If it did then they should all be carted off and embalmed because they're obviously all brain dead.
This may well be one of the trickiest hires this team has ever had to make and I agree with all of your concerns. I'm not 100% certain they're up to doing it well either. Not when six other teams may be competing for the best of the best and somehow we have either look better (tough to do) or outbid them. (even tougher to do with McCaskey $$$).
