Post by JABF on Dec 28, 2017 22:09:47 GMT -6
I thought this was really a good read about Fangio's comments today. I think the Chicago sports media likes Fangio's no-bull way of dealing with them.
LINK
Vic Fangio's uncertain future leaves questions about repaired Bears defense
Vic Fangio’s last news conference of the season reached its last question Thursday when a media member mentioned how guys with gray hair don’t seem to get head coaching opportunities anymore.
“Especially if they’re not coaching offense,” Fangio quipped, his own strands of gray spilling out from his Bears cap.
If that was Fangio’s parting shot here in Chicago, it was perfect. The veteran defensive coordinator knows how to strike. It was acerbic commentary from a perennial groomsman, delivered with impeccable timing as the Bears prepare for a coaching change involving John Fox.
Fangio’s future also is uncertain. His contract expires after the season, and the only way for the Bears to ensure he stays is to make him the next head coach.
However, management’s determination to shift quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s development into overdrive increases the premium on offensive expertise in the next coach. That, in turn, leaves questions about the direction of the defense Fangio has coordinated and improved over the last three seasons.
Fangio, 59, will have no shortage of suitors for his services as a coordinator after he inherited a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL in 2014 and guided it to eighth entering Sunday’s finale against the Vikings. But his aspirations to be a head coach are no secret, even if he doesn’t trumpet them unless asked.
The case for Bears general manager Ryan Pace to promote Fangio centers on his history of NFL success. What’s the safer bet: a young offensive coach who may or may not be the next Adam Gase or Sean McVay, or the proven defensive strategist who has coordinated stout defenses on multiple teams, knows the Bears’ personnel and built a top-10 defense through 15 games without a single Pro Bowl player?
But it’s not that simple. Pace values energy and charisma, what he refers to as “high burn,” especially as it applies to a head coach’s responsibilities. Fangio, with his no-nonsense demeanor, never will be mistaken for the Energizer Bunny, a perception that has worked against his head coaching prospects and shadowed his on-field results.
Of more significance, though, Pace’s priority is Trubisky. Could Fangio deliver an offensive coordinator who could make Trubisky a star without eventually leaving the Bears for a head coaching job, as Gase did in 2016?
Those questions are on the pile the Bears must answer in the coming days. Meanwhile, it’s fitting for Fangio that they finish their last-place season against the NFC North champion Vikings and coach Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer was 57 in 2014 when the Vikings gave him the head coaching opportunity that had eluded him despite years of success as a defensive coordinator. They have won two division titles in his four seasons.
“Mike … was qualified and capable, and Minnesota recognized that and didn’t worry about where he came from or what his playoff success had been,” Fangio said, the subtext overflowing.
“They just knew they were getting a good football coach. Ultimately, that’s what you want in your head coach — a leader and a good football coach. Mike has been that for a long time.”
If Fangio doesn’t break through the ceiling in Chicago, he likely will leave behind a defense whose reputation no longer is tattered. In two seasons under coach Marc Trestman and coordinator Mel Tucker before Fangio’s arrival, the Bears set single-season franchise records for the most and second-most yards allowed.
“It was the worst group of defensive players from a talent standpoint that I ever had come upon (my) first year into it,” Fangio said.
From there, it has been built with only modest investments.
Free agents Pernell McPhee, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan and Prince Amukamara weren’t bank-breaking, top-of-the-market signings. In the last three drafts, the Bears selected only two defensive players in the first or second rounds: Leonard Floyd and Eddie Goldman.
“We’ve had to trudge our way through it, and these guys have improved,” Fangio said. “I think we’ve done a good job of working collectively to try to be the best we can be. It has been a very good working relationship. There never has been any friction or grinding between players and coaches, and that helps.”
That sentiment was reciprocated inside the locker room Thursday. Hicks, a defensive co-captain, bristled at the possibility of change.
“I'm hoping that he's back,” the defensive tackle said. “I have to tell you, it's no easy thing to install an entirely different defense. And then when you like the guy and you like the way he puts things together during the week, I want him back.
“I'd like to play under Vic for the rest of my career.”
Instead, Hicks might have only one more game.
rcampbell@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rich_Campbell
Vic Fangio's uncertain future leaves questions about repaired Bears defense
Vic Fangio’s last news conference of the season reached its last question Thursday when a media member mentioned how guys with gray hair don’t seem to get head coaching opportunities anymore.
“Especially if they’re not coaching offense,” Fangio quipped, his own strands of gray spilling out from his Bears cap.
If that was Fangio’s parting shot here in Chicago, it was perfect. The veteran defensive coordinator knows how to strike. It was acerbic commentary from a perennial groomsman, delivered with impeccable timing as the Bears prepare for a coaching change involving John Fox.
Fangio’s future also is uncertain. His contract expires after the season, and the only way for the Bears to ensure he stays is to make him the next head coach.
However, management’s determination to shift quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s development into overdrive increases the premium on offensive expertise in the next coach. That, in turn, leaves questions about the direction of the defense Fangio has coordinated and improved over the last three seasons.
Fangio, 59, will have no shortage of suitors for his services as a coordinator after he inherited a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL in 2014 and guided it to eighth entering Sunday’s finale against the Vikings. But his aspirations to be a head coach are no secret, even if he doesn’t trumpet them unless asked.
The case for Bears general manager Ryan Pace to promote Fangio centers on his history of NFL success. What’s the safer bet: a young offensive coach who may or may not be the next Adam Gase or Sean McVay, or the proven defensive strategist who has coordinated stout defenses on multiple teams, knows the Bears’ personnel and built a top-10 defense through 15 games without a single Pro Bowl player?
But it’s not that simple. Pace values energy and charisma, what he refers to as “high burn,” especially as it applies to a head coach’s responsibilities. Fangio, with his no-nonsense demeanor, never will be mistaken for the Energizer Bunny, a perception that has worked against his head coaching prospects and shadowed his on-field results.
Of more significance, though, Pace’s priority is Trubisky. Could Fangio deliver an offensive coordinator who could make Trubisky a star without eventually leaving the Bears for a head coaching job, as Gase did in 2016?
Those questions are on the pile the Bears must answer in the coming days. Meanwhile, it’s fitting for Fangio that they finish their last-place season against the NFC North champion Vikings and coach Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer was 57 in 2014 when the Vikings gave him the head coaching opportunity that had eluded him despite years of success as a defensive coordinator. They have won two division titles in his four seasons.
“Mike … was qualified and capable, and Minnesota recognized that and didn’t worry about where he came from or what his playoff success had been,” Fangio said, the subtext overflowing.
“They just knew they were getting a good football coach. Ultimately, that’s what you want in your head coach — a leader and a good football coach. Mike has been that for a long time.”
If Fangio doesn’t break through the ceiling in Chicago, he likely will leave behind a defense whose reputation no longer is tattered. In two seasons under coach Marc Trestman and coordinator Mel Tucker before Fangio’s arrival, the Bears set single-season franchise records for the most and second-most yards allowed.
“It was the worst group of defensive players from a talent standpoint that I ever had come upon (my) first year into it,” Fangio said.
From there, it has been built with only modest investments.
Free agents Pernell McPhee, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan and Prince Amukamara weren’t bank-breaking, top-of-the-market signings. In the last three drafts, the Bears selected only two defensive players in the first or second rounds: Leonard Floyd and Eddie Goldman.
“We’ve had to trudge our way through it, and these guys have improved,” Fangio said. “I think we’ve done a good job of working collectively to try to be the best we can be. It has been a very good working relationship. There never has been any friction or grinding between players and coaches, and that helps.”
That sentiment was reciprocated inside the locker room Thursday. Hicks, a defensive co-captain, bristled at the possibility of change.
“I'm hoping that he's back,” the defensive tackle said. “I have to tell you, it's no easy thing to install an entirely different defense. And then when you like the guy and you like the way he puts things together during the week, I want him back.
“I'd like to play under Vic for the rest of my career.”
Instead, Hicks might have only one more game.
rcampbell@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rich_Campbell
