Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2017 22:27:30 GMT -6
Bears Q&A: Will the Bears make the playoffs next season (assuming there's a coaching change)?
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Brad BiggsBrad BiggsContact ReporterChicago Tribune
The Tribune’s Brad Biggs answers your Bears questions weekly.
Has there ever been an instance (other than Buddy Ryan) where an incoming coaching staff hired members of the previous staff? — @mklcolvin
Sure. That happens regularly. John Fox kept Clint Hurtt as his outside linebackers coach before Hurtt departed after last season to become the defensive line coach in Seattle. Fox also retained wide receivers coach Mike Groh from the previous staff. Former coach Marc Trestman retained Jon Hoke from the previous staff as his defensive backs coach. Lovie Smith retained Vance Bedford as the defensive backs coach from the previous staff. Those are just a couple examples from Halas Hall when looking at the last few coaching staffs. If the Bears make a coaching change next week, it wouldn’t be a surprise if one or two of the assistants on Fox’s staff wind up sticking around.
Assuming the Bears make a head coaching change, is it realistic to expect them to go 8-8 or better next season or even make the playoffs with this good core of young talent? — @chuckietwoglove
Realistic? I wouldn’t say it is unrealistic but I’d remind you that people were figuring the same thing when John Fox replaced Marc Trestman, right? One of the storylines was that Fox had a history of quick turnarounds and he’d have the Bears back in the mix sooner rather than later. The Bears have finished last in the NFC North for four straight years and before you talk about making the playoffs, I think you have to talk about competing to win the NFC North. That’s the biggest issue here. The Bears can’t seem to get past Aaron Rodgers and the Vikings have one of the best defenses in the entire league. Add in the fact the Bears havn’t been able to beat the Lions recently, they’ve lost nine of the last 10 meetings, and you’ve still got some heavy lifting to do. The Bears had a very difficult schedule this season and lost some close games. You’re right, they have some good young talent and it starts with quarterback Mitch Trubisky. If he can take a major step forward next season, the Bears could be substantially better. Are they going to go from door mats to division winners like the Rams? That’s what everyone is hoping for. We’ll see what shakes out.
Given the events last year with Kyle Fuller, should the Bears re-sign him to long term contract? — @scotbear11
Cornerback is going to be one of the Bears’ greatest needs this season because Fuller and Prince Amukamara are both destined to become unrestricted free agents. Marcus Cooper has struggled to get on the field and has no guaranteed money remaining in his deal and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan will be a restricted free agent. So, the Bears are going to need to set priorities and if there is a coaching change, that’s something that will happen after the new group is in place and has a chance to review the action this season. Keep in mind that unrestricted free agency is a two-way street so even if the Bears want to re-sign Fuller, he’s got to want to return and they’ve got to likely match the market price. We don’t know what that’s going to be just yet.
The Bears have picks in rounds 1, 2, 4 (x2), 5, 6, 7* (which they may lose because of the Dontrelle Inman trade). In your opinion, is that what they end up with or do they swing trades to pile up more late-round picks? — @stevemco
I expect to get approximately 473 inquiries between now and late April about whether the Bears should stay put, move up or move down in the draft. For starters, I’m pretty sure Inman has played enough for the seventh-round draft pick to go to the Chargers as part of that deal. Could general manager Ryan Pace look to add some more depth to the draft with a trade down or two? Sure, that could happen. But the Bears will have to set their board, determine what holes they really need to fill and base decisions on what they believe will be available when their picks are up. If they are driven to get a pass rusher high in the draft and don’t think they can get one by trading down, then that would be an unlikely move. If the draft order was established based on the standings right now, the Bears would have the ninth pick in the first round. Let’s wait until we get much, much closer to the draft to really dive in on this.
Without diminishing the Bears many needs, do you think the Bears will draft a kicker this year. Are there any kickers worth drafting? The Bears sure messed up that situation unnecessarily. — @zevyr
I don’t believe the Bears will draft a kicker. There are far too many kickers available without drafting one. The Bears didn’t draft Robbie Gould. They’ve got far greater roster issues.
What is the status of Cam Meredith? Is he expected to factor into the team's plans next year? — @thepallister
I saw Meredith walking out of the locker room Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field after the game. He’s rehabilitating from his knee injury and I am sure the hope is he will be fully cleared in time for the start of training camp. Meredith is a restricted free agent. My guess is the Bears will bring him back and hope that he can contribute again. My opinion is the Bears need to go out and get a minimum of two new wide receivers and preferably three and view Meredith and Kevin White as guys that can potentially add to the group. It would be a mistake to count on them.
Do you think Bryce Callahan will be back? — @swimcoachsi
Callahan is a restricted free agent and as I answered above, a lot of roster moves will be driven by the desires and opinions of a new coaching staff, if indeed the Bears hire a new group in January. Callahan, 26, has had a solid season and is an experienced slot cornerback. The biggest issue he’s had has been staying on the field and he missed four games this season with a knee injury. It looks like Callahan will finish with 12 games played this season, which will be one more than he had last year. I think there is a decent chance the Bears look to bring him back but, again, all bets are off until you get an idea what a new coaching staff wants to do. When coaching staffs change, you typically get significant roster turnover.
Out of the players who were on the team last year, who were the best comeback players? Kyle Fuller for sure. But I believe Josh Bellamy did a good job of catching the ball this year as compared to last year. — Jerry B., Parts Unknown
I would agree that Bellamy has had better hands this season and he’s established career-highs with 23 catches for 346 yards. But you wouldn’t call Bellamy sure-handed and I can’t imagine he will figure in the team’s plans at wide receiver in 2018.
While many Chicagoans will be waking up to hangovers New Year’s Day, John Fox should be waking up to unemployment. Do you think the Bears will seriously consider former Bears and current Chiefs special teams mastermind Dave Toub or is Indy a better possibility with Chris Ballard if Chuck Pagano is launched? — Tom S., Des Plaines
The Bears didn’t give much consideration at all to Toub when John Fox was hired in 2015. That was with general manager Ryan Pace leading the coaching search. Unless Pace’s opinion of Toub has shifted significantly, I would be a little surprised if Toub was in the mix this time. That being said, I think there is a very good chance Toub is considered for jobs next month. You’re right, he has been linked to the Colts since Ballard was hired in Indianapolis and Toub interviewed for jobs with the Broncos and Chargers last year. Toub is certainly ready to get an opportunity. Who knows? Maybe he gets interest from the Bears.
I think it's fairly obvious that Jimmy Garoppolo is a far superior QB to Mitch Trubisky. The excuse coming out of Chicago media that Trubisky does not have the weapons falls flat when you look at the sub-par WR's that Garoppolo is thriving with. My question is why didn't Pace go after Garoppolo when he had the chance? You can't say he'd be too expensive because he gave Glennon $21.5 million guaranteed and Trubisky will make around $7 million a year (which coincidentally adds up to one franchise tag for Garoppolo). You also can't say he would have cost too much in draft picks since the Bears gave away roughly the same for Trubisky (going by draft point charts) that the 49ers did for Garoppolo. — Paul, Parts Unknown
I don’t know what either folks have written or said about Garoppolo but I know when the 49ers came into Soldier Field earlier this month for his first start with San Francisco, I pointed out that Marquise Goodwin (the No. 3 wide receiver for the Bills last season) was his top target. The 49ers are dealing with similar issues to the Bears at that position. I think what you’re overlooking here is the Patriots didn’t seem inclined to trade Garoppolo to the Bears – or anyone else – back in March or April when that deal needed to happen. If the Patriots weren’t going to trade Garoppolo then, what was Bears general manager Ryan Pace supposed to do? Wait until October to see if Bill Belichick had changed his mind? That’s the problem with the scenario you outline. The Bears guaranteed $18.5 million to Glennon, not $21.5 million. Sure, it would have been awesome to land Garoppolo for a second-round draft pick way back in March or April. The Bears could have worked out a contract extension and then used their first-round draft pick on another position. None of it matters. New England wasn’t dealing Garoppolo before the draft.
What do you see as the Bears biggest needs in the draft and free agency? — @juhasz_breeze
Wide receiver, cornerback, pass rusher.
Since John Fox’s record is better than last year, is that enough improvement to keep his job? I don’t think any of us want the carousel of coaches with our young team. — @cubbybearjoe
It’s my sincere belief the Bears have come to a conclusion what they will do at the end of the season. They’re 47 games into the Fox era. I don’t see game No. 48 shifting their opinion. My hunch is a coaching change comes next week.
How much does @realmarkcuban have to offer the @chicagobears to buy the team? — @glenellyndad1
To my knowledge, the Bears are not for sale. The Panthers are reportedly going to be sold after the season concludes so if you’ve got $2.5 billion or so to invest, check in with Jerry Richardson in Charlotte, N.C.
Assuming John Fox is fired on Jan. 1, how do the Bears approach scouting the Senior Bowl Jan. 27 if the coaching staff is still not in place by then? — @rola_sanc
They send their college scouts. Coaches are just beginning to turn their attention to available players in the draft by late January and really the first order of business for them is tackling questions and issues that are related to free agency. The Bears won’t be behind if they don’t have many or any coaches in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @bradbiggs
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2017, Chicago Tribune
.
Brad BiggsBrad BiggsContact ReporterChicago Tribune
The Tribune’s Brad Biggs answers your Bears questions weekly.
Has there ever been an instance (other than Buddy Ryan) where an incoming coaching staff hired members of the previous staff? — @mklcolvin
Sure. That happens regularly. John Fox kept Clint Hurtt as his outside linebackers coach before Hurtt departed after last season to become the defensive line coach in Seattle. Fox also retained wide receivers coach Mike Groh from the previous staff. Former coach Marc Trestman retained Jon Hoke from the previous staff as his defensive backs coach. Lovie Smith retained Vance Bedford as the defensive backs coach from the previous staff. Those are just a couple examples from Halas Hall when looking at the last few coaching staffs. If the Bears make a coaching change next week, it wouldn’t be a surprise if one or two of the assistants on Fox’s staff wind up sticking around.
Assuming the Bears make a head coaching change, is it realistic to expect them to go 8-8 or better next season or even make the playoffs with this good core of young talent? — @chuckietwoglove
Realistic? I wouldn’t say it is unrealistic but I’d remind you that people were figuring the same thing when John Fox replaced Marc Trestman, right? One of the storylines was that Fox had a history of quick turnarounds and he’d have the Bears back in the mix sooner rather than later. The Bears have finished last in the NFC North for four straight years and before you talk about making the playoffs, I think you have to talk about competing to win the NFC North. That’s the biggest issue here. The Bears can’t seem to get past Aaron Rodgers and the Vikings have one of the best defenses in the entire league. Add in the fact the Bears havn’t been able to beat the Lions recently, they’ve lost nine of the last 10 meetings, and you’ve still got some heavy lifting to do. The Bears had a very difficult schedule this season and lost some close games. You’re right, they have some good young talent and it starts with quarterback Mitch Trubisky. If he can take a major step forward next season, the Bears could be substantially better. Are they going to go from door mats to division winners like the Rams? That’s what everyone is hoping for. We’ll see what shakes out.
Given the events last year with Kyle Fuller, should the Bears re-sign him to long term contract? — @scotbear11
Cornerback is going to be one of the Bears’ greatest needs this season because Fuller and Prince Amukamara are both destined to become unrestricted free agents. Marcus Cooper has struggled to get on the field and has no guaranteed money remaining in his deal and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan will be a restricted free agent. So, the Bears are going to need to set priorities and if there is a coaching change, that’s something that will happen after the new group is in place and has a chance to review the action this season. Keep in mind that unrestricted free agency is a two-way street so even if the Bears want to re-sign Fuller, he’s got to want to return and they’ve got to likely match the market price. We don’t know what that’s going to be just yet.
The Bears have picks in rounds 1, 2, 4 (x2), 5, 6, 7* (which they may lose because of the Dontrelle Inman trade). In your opinion, is that what they end up with or do they swing trades to pile up more late-round picks? — @stevemco
I expect to get approximately 473 inquiries between now and late April about whether the Bears should stay put, move up or move down in the draft. For starters, I’m pretty sure Inman has played enough for the seventh-round draft pick to go to the Chargers as part of that deal. Could general manager Ryan Pace look to add some more depth to the draft with a trade down or two? Sure, that could happen. But the Bears will have to set their board, determine what holes they really need to fill and base decisions on what they believe will be available when their picks are up. If they are driven to get a pass rusher high in the draft and don’t think they can get one by trading down, then that would be an unlikely move. If the draft order was established based on the standings right now, the Bears would have the ninth pick in the first round. Let’s wait until we get much, much closer to the draft to really dive in on this.
Without diminishing the Bears many needs, do you think the Bears will draft a kicker this year. Are there any kickers worth drafting? The Bears sure messed up that situation unnecessarily. — @zevyr
I don’t believe the Bears will draft a kicker. There are far too many kickers available without drafting one. The Bears didn’t draft Robbie Gould. They’ve got far greater roster issues.
What is the status of Cam Meredith? Is he expected to factor into the team's plans next year? — @thepallister
I saw Meredith walking out of the locker room Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field after the game. He’s rehabilitating from his knee injury and I am sure the hope is he will be fully cleared in time for the start of training camp. Meredith is a restricted free agent. My guess is the Bears will bring him back and hope that he can contribute again. My opinion is the Bears need to go out and get a minimum of two new wide receivers and preferably three and view Meredith and Kevin White as guys that can potentially add to the group. It would be a mistake to count on them.
Do you think Bryce Callahan will be back? — @swimcoachsi
Callahan is a restricted free agent and as I answered above, a lot of roster moves will be driven by the desires and opinions of a new coaching staff, if indeed the Bears hire a new group in January. Callahan, 26, has had a solid season and is an experienced slot cornerback. The biggest issue he’s had has been staying on the field and he missed four games this season with a knee injury. It looks like Callahan will finish with 12 games played this season, which will be one more than he had last year. I think there is a decent chance the Bears look to bring him back but, again, all bets are off until you get an idea what a new coaching staff wants to do. When coaching staffs change, you typically get significant roster turnover.
Out of the players who were on the team last year, who were the best comeback players? Kyle Fuller for sure. But I believe Josh Bellamy did a good job of catching the ball this year as compared to last year. — Jerry B., Parts Unknown
I would agree that Bellamy has had better hands this season and he’s established career-highs with 23 catches for 346 yards. But you wouldn’t call Bellamy sure-handed and I can’t imagine he will figure in the team’s plans at wide receiver in 2018.
While many Chicagoans will be waking up to hangovers New Year’s Day, John Fox should be waking up to unemployment. Do you think the Bears will seriously consider former Bears and current Chiefs special teams mastermind Dave Toub or is Indy a better possibility with Chris Ballard if Chuck Pagano is launched? — Tom S., Des Plaines
The Bears didn’t give much consideration at all to Toub when John Fox was hired in 2015. That was with general manager Ryan Pace leading the coaching search. Unless Pace’s opinion of Toub has shifted significantly, I would be a little surprised if Toub was in the mix this time. That being said, I think there is a very good chance Toub is considered for jobs next month. You’re right, he has been linked to the Colts since Ballard was hired in Indianapolis and Toub interviewed for jobs with the Broncos and Chargers last year. Toub is certainly ready to get an opportunity. Who knows? Maybe he gets interest from the Bears.
I think it's fairly obvious that Jimmy Garoppolo is a far superior QB to Mitch Trubisky. The excuse coming out of Chicago media that Trubisky does not have the weapons falls flat when you look at the sub-par WR's that Garoppolo is thriving with. My question is why didn't Pace go after Garoppolo when he had the chance? You can't say he'd be too expensive because he gave Glennon $21.5 million guaranteed and Trubisky will make around $7 million a year (which coincidentally adds up to one franchise tag for Garoppolo). You also can't say he would have cost too much in draft picks since the Bears gave away roughly the same for Trubisky (going by draft point charts) that the 49ers did for Garoppolo. — Paul, Parts Unknown
I don’t know what either folks have written or said about Garoppolo but I know when the 49ers came into Soldier Field earlier this month for his first start with San Francisco, I pointed out that Marquise Goodwin (the No. 3 wide receiver for the Bills last season) was his top target. The 49ers are dealing with similar issues to the Bears at that position. I think what you’re overlooking here is the Patriots didn’t seem inclined to trade Garoppolo to the Bears – or anyone else – back in March or April when that deal needed to happen. If the Patriots weren’t going to trade Garoppolo then, what was Bears general manager Ryan Pace supposed to do? Wait until October to see if Bill Belichick had changed his mind? That’s the problem with the scenario you outline. The Bears guaranteed $18.5 million to Glennon, not $21.5 million. Sure, it would have been awesome to land Garoppolo for a second-round draft pick way back in March or April. The Bears could have worked out a contract extension and then used their first-round draft pick on another position. None of it matters. New England wasn’t dealing Garoppolo before the draft.
What do you see as the Bears biggest needs in the draft and free agency? — @juhasz_breeze
Wide receiver, cornerback, pass rusher.
Since John Fox’s record is better than last year, is that enough improvement to keep his job? I don’t think any of us want the carousel of coaches with our young team. — @cubbybearjoe
It’s my sincere belief the Bears have come to a conclusion what they will do at the end of the season. They’re 47 games into the Fox era. I don’t see game No. 48 shifting their opinion. My hunch is a coaching change comes next week.
How much does @realmarkcuban have to offer the @chicagobears to buy the team? — @glenellyndad1
To my knowledge, the Bears are not for sale. The Panthers are reportedly going to be sold after the season concludes so if you’ve got $2.5 billion or so to invest, check in with Jerry Richardson in Charlotte, N.C.
Assuming John Fox is fired on Jan. 1, how do the Bears approach scouting the Senior Bowl Jan. 27 if the coaching staff is still not in place by then? — @rola_sanc
They send their college scouts. Coaches are just beginning to turn their attention to available players in the draft by late January and really the first order of business for them is tackling questions and issues that are related to free agency. The Bears won’t be behind if they don’t have many or any coaches in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @bradbiggs
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2017, Chicago Tribune
