Ten Questions Bears Will Need To AnswerFor HC Candidates.
Dec 31, 2017 18:31:41 GMT -6
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2017 18:31:41 GMT -6
Column: 10 questions the Bears will have to answer for potential head coaching candidates
Brad BiggsBrad BiggsContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-new-coach-biggs-essentials-20171230-story.html
What one man calls a job interview another calls a debriefing.
The Bears likely have lined up their candidates to replace John Fox and maybe even secretly included a couple of unwitting sources of information in the process.
That will be the same strategy legitimate candidates will employ before potential employment. Anyone serious about leading this organization needs to run a clandestine operation of their own. You have to understand the vulnerabilities within an organization to determine if you can close them. Mitch Trubisky will make the Bears’ coaching job enticing when it becomes available, which ought to be Monday, but the franchise is going to have to do other things to sell top candidates on a future at Halas Hall.
As much as the Bears will do homework on potential coaching candidates, those prospective coaches will be seeking answers from a team that has finished in last place in the NFC North for four consecutive seasons. The Bears have been pointing to the future ever since they drafted Trubisky second overall back in April and, if things go as expected, they will make their next big move soon.
League observers have expected the Bears to make a coaching change after they close out their season Sunday against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Their next move will be crucial to change the fortune of an organization that has qualified for the playoffs just once in the last 11 years.
Here are 10 questions the Bears, Chairman George McCaskey and general manager Ryan Pace, assuming he remains in authority, will have to answer from candidates in the interview process:
1. Will the new coach have the resources to hire the staff he wants? The Bears have been criticized in league circles for not digging deep to pay assistant coaches in the recent and distant past. At times, that has been true. But near the end of the Lovie Smith era, he had some highly paid assistants and Vic Fangio is believed to be one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the league the last three years. What’s the budget for 2018 with the Bears having to pay off John Fox and maybe some assistants, and how does it relate to that of other teams?
2. Does the new coach have the flexibility to hire anyone he wants? Sometimes teams mandate or suggest a new coach keep a holdover assistant or two from a previous staff. Are there any highly regarded assistants the Bears would like to remain in place?
3. What is the long-term ownership situation? Virginia McCaskey turns 95 on Jan. 5 and a new coach will want to know the succession plan.
4. Why have injuries crippled the Bears the last two years? This is a big one. The team has 16 players on injured reserve and another six have been waived off injured reserve with settlements since August. The Bears had 21 players land on IR last season and that’s a problem attributed to Fox and those above him. Can the new coach bring a strength and conditioning staff with him and are the Bears married to the training staff? Something is wrong and injuries tend to be cyclical but the Bears have been decimated. What does management attribute the ongoing issue to?
5. Why have the Bears gotten so little from free agency? Defensive end Akiem Hicks has been a terrific addition and linebacker Danny Trevathan and right tackle Bobby Massie have been good in comparison to their pay but there have been too many players plugged in who have not provided return on the investment. That list includes Marcus Cooper, Markus Wheaton, Jerrell Freeman, Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps and, of course, Mike Glennon. Will the new coach have a substantial say in personnel? Will the approach in free agency shift?
6. Are there players the new coach can move to create more salary cap space to bring in players he deems to be better fits? The Bears project to be in or very near the top-10 in available salary-cap space and that has been managed well under Pace which is a credit to him after coming from New Orleans, where the Saints have been snug up against the cap for years.
7. Are the Bears flexible with the defensive scheme? Can the coach make the transition to a 4-3 if that is what the new coach prefers?
8. How does management view the cornerback position? Starters Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara are both headed to unrestricted free agency and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan will be a restricted free agent. Cooper has flopped and that leaves some serious holes at a critical position. What is Pace’s preferred route to address one of the most critical positions on defense?
9. Again, assuming Pace remains in place, how stable is he in his position? Pace’s contract runs through the 2019 season and a head coach is going to want to have a good feeling about the security of his boss’ position provided the Bears remain with their current flow chart for football operations with the coach reporting to the GM and the GM to ownership.
10. The most important question for a coach is what the GM’s vision is for building the team? Trubisky is the player to build around on offense. How will the Bears go about that? They have been among the league leaders in paying their guards the last two seasons and have a productive running back Jordan Howard heading into Year 3. Leonard Floyd, nose tackle Eddie Goldman and Hicks are good building blocks on defense. Besides a complete overhaul at wide receiver, how does Pace plan to proceed? It’s paramount the GM and new coach be aligned when it comes to the next steps needed to improve and develop the roster.
Chicago is a premier city in the NFL and the Bears will be an attractive destination but the fit needs to be right and the answers need to add up for the next coach to be all-in.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @bradbiggs
Brad BiggsBrad BiggsContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-bears-new-coach-biggs-essentials-20171230-story.html
What one man calls a job interview another calls a debriefing.
The Bears likely have lined up their candidates to replace John Fox and maybe even secretly included a couple of unwitting sources of information in the process.
That will be the same strategy legitimate candidates will employ before potential employment. Anyone serious about leading this organization needs to run a clandestine operation of their own. You have to understand the vulnerabilities within an organization to determine if you can close them. Mitch Trubisky will make the Bears’ coaching job enticing when it becomes available, which ought to be Monday, but the franchise is going to have to do other things to sell top candidates on a future at Halas Hall.
As much as the Bears will do homework on potential coaching candidates, those prospective coaches will be seeking answers from a team that has finished in last place in the NFC North for four consecutive seasons. The Bears have been pointing to the future ever since they drafted Trubisky second overall back in April and, if things go as expected, they will make their next big move soon.
League observers have expected the Bears to make a coaching change after they close out their season Sunday against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Their next move will be crucial to change the fortune of an organization that has qualified for the playoffs just once in the last 11 years.
Here are 10 questions the Bears, Chairman George McCaskey and general manager Ryan Pace, assuming he remains in authority, will have to answer from candidates in the interview process:
1. Will the new coach have the resources to hire the staff he wants? The Bears have been criticized in league circles for not digging deep to pay assistant coaches in the recent and distant past. At times, that has been true. But near the end of the Lovie Smith era, he had some highly paid assistants and Vic Fangio is believed to be one of the highest-paid defensive coordinators in the league the last three years. What’s the budget for 2018 with the Bears having to pay off John Fox and maybe some assistants, and how does it relate to that of other teams?
2. Does the new coach have the flexibility to hire anyone he wants? Sometimes teams mandate or suggest a new coach keep a holdover assistant or two from a previous staff. Are there any highly regarded assistants the Bears would like to remain in place?
3. What is the long-term ownership situation? Virginia McCaskey turns 95 on Jan. 5 and a new coach will want to know the succession plan.
4. Why have injuries crippled the Bears the last two years? This is a big one. The team has 16 players on injured reserve and another six have been waived off injured reserve with settlements since August. The Bears had 21 players land on IR last season and that’s a problem attributed to Fox and those above him. Can the new coach bring a strength and conditioning staff with him and are the Bears married to the training staff? Something is wrong and injuries tend to be cyclical but the Bears have been decimated. What does management attribute the ongoing issue to?
5. Why have the Bears gotten so little from free agency? Defensive end Akiem Hicks has been a terrific addition and linebacker Danny Trevathan and right tackle Bobby Massie have been good in comparison to their pay but there have been too many players plugged in who have not provided return on the investment. That list includes Marcus Cooper, Markus Wheaton, Jerrell Freeman, Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps and, of course, Mike Glennon. Will the new coach have a substantial say in personnel? Will the approach in free agency shift?
6. Are there players the new coach can move to create more salary cap space to bring in players he deems to be better fits? The Bears project to be in or very near the top-10 in available salary-cap space and that has been managed well under Pace which is a credit to him after coming from New Orleans, where the Saints have been snug up against the cap for years.
7. Are the Bears flexible with the defensive scheme? Can the coach make the transition to a 4-3 if that is what the new coach prefers?
8. How does management view the cornerback position? Starters Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara are both headed to unrestricted free agency and nickel cornerback Bryce Callahan will be a restricted free agent. Cooper has flopped and that leaves some serious holes at a critical position. What is Pace’s preferred route to address one of the most critical positions on defense?
9. Again, assuming Pace remains in place, how stable is he in his position? Pace’s contract runs through the 2019 season and a head coach is going to want to have a good feeling about the security of his boss’ position provided the Bears remain with their current flow chart for football operations with the coach reporting to the GM and the GM to ownership.
10. The most important question for a coach is what the GM’s vision is for building the team? Trubisky is the player to build around on offense. How will the Bears go about that? They have been among the league leaders in paying their guards the last two seasons and have a productive running back Jordan Howard heading into Year 3. Leonard Floyd, nose tackle Eddie Goldman and Hicks are good building blocks on defense. Besides a complete overhaul at wide receiver, how does Pace plan to proceed? It’s paramount the GM and new coach be aligned when it comes to the next steps needed to improve and develop the roster.
Chicago is a premier city in the NFL and the Bears will be an attractive destination but the fit needs to be right and the answers need to add up for the next coach to be all-in.
bmbiggs@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @bradbiggs