At this preliminary stage, Ben Johnson and Vrabel are my top-2 choices.
If Thomas Jones engineers a major turnaround in the O (esp w/ CW), then yeah I think you have to give him a good hard look too.
If he does, I'd be ok with leaving him at OC, but a new HC might not want that.
If they hire a new HC from the outside (by far the most likely) then yeah that guy should have free reign to pick his own staff. It would be the most stupidly Bears-ian thing ever to force an OC on a new HC.
If he does, I'd be ok with leaving him at OC, but a new HC might not want that.
If they hire a new HC from the outside (by far the most likely) then yeah that guy should have free reign to pick his own staff. It would be the most stupidly Bears-ian thing ever to force an OC on a new HC.
So naturally that's probably what they will do.
Actually, it may even make sense to let him pick his own QB1 too. We fans think CW is the answer here (as we did with Trubisky and Fields early in their careers... yes, in 2018 we even liked Trubs). But the new guy should be given the keys to the car and left alone to drive this thing. All the more reason to hire the right guy this time.
I don’t know George McCaskey, despite spending the last few years having to deny I am George McCaskey. Have we spoken? Yes. Several times. That’s it. We don’t have dinners together. But over the years I have become quite friendly with people deep inside the organization, several of whom can be described as being in George’s inner circle. And based on my communication with George, and my conversations with these individuals, there is an unequivocal truth to the following statement: George McCaskey is a very good man, and he very much wants the Chicago Bears to be successful.
Can George McCaskey engineer that success? So far, no.
First, something needs to be repeatedly stated. George is one of the most hands-off owners in the league. He hires a general manager, and that GM runs the entirety of football operations. (Ryan Pace was singularly responsible for millions spent on facilities in Lake Forest.) Kevin Warren was hired to take over the business end from Ted Phillips and get the new stadium sorted. The administrative aspects of this organization are a mess. The stadium issues are dramatically unresolved. Is Kevin Warren the worst hire of George’s tenure? No, not in a world where the football leadership was once Phil Emery and Marc Trestman. But Warren is pretty close.
Now, an argument that is constantly made is that George should hire a “football guy” to run the franchise from the ownership level. But that method has been proven time and time again to fail. Parcells flopped in Miami. Holmgren flopped in Cleveland. Coughlin flopped in his return to Jacksonville. These are three of the most impressive football minds in the modern game and they achieved nothing in those roles. Who would the Bears even hire? So, while many bark mad about the ownership of this club, I focus my attention on the football, and that means the GM.
The Bears could have Jim Harbaugh running their ballclub right now but that would have required firing Ryan Poles last off-season. Harbaugh is the alpha in an organization. He chooses the individual serving in the head personnel role, and he chose Joe Hortiz, his longtime friend, to lead the front office in Los Angeles. And, be honest with yourself, did Poles deserve to be fired in January? Poles tore down a decrepit roster for two seasons and rebuilt the team into what most of us believed should be a double-digit win unit this year, even with a rookie quarterback under center. They still need talent on both of their lines, but I dare you to find one preseason analyst who called this Bears roster anything other than seriously improved. If this 2024 season had happened a year ago, the move to Harbaugh would have been something of a no-brainer. But it did not.
Poles will likely retain this job moving forward, getting the opportunity to hire a second head coach. (The other fallacy about Poles is he did not hire Eberflus. Nonsense. Poles met with the three candidates and was told he could open the search broadly if he so chose. He liked Flus and was singularly responsible for keeping Flus after 2023.) Poles must immediately get two things right: (1) he has to find the right head coach to pair with his young quarterback and (2) he has to completely rebuild the offensive line as a unit. Not one player on that line currently should have a guaranteed job in 2025.
Also, stop with the “Ben Johnson as Savior” narrative. Johnson may very well be a terrific head coach but the seamless transition from lounge to showroom is by no means a guaranteed one. Also, Johnson is calling plays behind the best offensive line in the league. Shane Steichen used to do something very similar in Philadelphia and he’s 13-14 as a head coach in Indianapolis, having seemingly lost his grip on the quarterback position writ large. This is not to argue against the hiring of Johnson, but one should never be surprised when the Norv Turner and Wade Phillips’s of the league can’t translate their technical prowess into a leadership position.
The Bears believe they have their quarterback. I believe they have their quarterback. I don’t know how anyone could have watched Caleb Williams Sunday against the Packers and believe anything different. If they get the offensive line reconstructed and the right head coach, the winning will commence immediately. That’s how the league works. That responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of Poles, not McCaskey. And if Poles flops, the responsibility will shift to the next general manager. For now, all we can do is hope the merry-go-round stops spinning, and the winning follows.
Poles must immediately get two things right: (1) he has to find the right head coach to pair with his young quarterback and (2) he has to completely rebuild the offensive line as a unit. Not one player on that line currently should have a guaranteed job in 2025.
I absolutely LOVED that ^^^
Because it is true.
I get it, that PFF stats may paint a different picture of our OL. PFF is wrong. They usually are regarding Bears OL grades. But the good news (in fact the great news) is that Poles can, and I think will, fix the offensive line. I think his job here depends upon getting that right this off-season. Because if he doesn't, the new coach hire won't be successful. I believe Poles is bright enough to realize how important it is to finally get the OL right here in Chicago.
The HC hire is not a given to be done right. We'll just have to wait and see if Poles can get it right this time. I figure he has a 50/50 shot at success there.
I don’t know George McCaskey, despite spending the last few years having to deny I am George McCaskey. Have we spoken? Yes. Several times. That’s it. We don’t have dinners together. But over the years I have become quite friendly with people deep inside the organization, several of whom can be described as being in George’s inner circle. And based on my communication with George, and my conversations with these individuals, there is an unequivocal truth to the following statement: George McCaskey is a very good man, and he very much wants the Chicago Bears to be successful.
Can George McCaskey engineer that success? So far, no.
First, something needs to be repeatedly stated. George is one of the most hands-off owners in the league. He hires a general manager, and that GM runs the entirety of football operations. (Ryan Pace was singularly responsible for millions spent on facilities in Lake Forest.) Kevin Warren was hired to take over the business end from Ted Phillips and get the new stadium sorted. The administrative aspects of this organization are a mess. The stadium issues are dramatically unresolved. Is Kevin Warren the worst hire of George’s tenure? No, not in a world where the football leadership was once Phil Emery and Marc Trestman. But Warren is pretty close.
Now, an argument that is constantly made is that George should hire a “football guy” to run the franchise from the ownership level. But that method has been proven time and time again to fail. Parcells flopped in Miami. Holmgren flopped in Cleveland. Coughlin flopped in his return to Jacksonville. These are three of the most impressive football minds in the modern game and they achieved nothing in those roles. Who would the Bears even hire? So, while many bark mad about the ownership of this club, I focus my attention on the football, and that means the GM.
The Bears could have Jim Harbaugh running their ballclub right now but that would have required firing Ryan Poles last off-season. Harbaugh is the alpha in an organization. He chooses the individual serving in the head personnel role, and he chose Joe Hortiz, his longtime friend, to lead the front office in Los Angeles. And, be honest with yourself, did Poles deserve to be fired in January? Poles tore down a decrepit roster for two seasons and rebuilt the team into what most of us believed should be a double-digit win unit this year, even with a rookie quarterback under center. They still need talent on both of their lines, but I dare you to find one preseason analyst who called this Bears roster anything other than seriously improved. If this 2024 season had happened a year ago, the move to Harbaugh would have been something of a no-brainer. But it did not.
Poles will likely retain this job moving forward, getting the opportunity to hire a second head coach. (The other fallacy about Poles is he did not hire Eberflus. Nonsense. Poles met with the three candidates and was told he could open the search broadly if he so chose. He liked Flus and was singularly responsible for keeping Flus after 2023.) Poles must immediately get two things right: (1) he has to find the right head coach to pair with his young quarterback and (2) he has to completely rebuild the offensive line as a unit. Not one player on that line currently should have a guaranteed job in 2025.
Also, stop with the “Ben Johnson as Savior” narrative. Johnson may very well be a terrific head coach but the seamless transition from lounge to showroom is by no means a guaranteed one. Also, Johnson is calling plays behind the best offensive line in the league. Shane Steichen used to do something very similar in Philadelphia and he’s 13-14 as a head coach in Indianapolis, having seemingly lost his grip on the quarterback position writ large. This is not to argue against the hiring of Johnson, but one should never be surprised when the Norv Turner and Wade Phillips’s of the league can’t translate their technical prowess into a leadership position.
The Bears believe they have their quarterback. I believe they have their quarterback. I don’t know how anyone could have watched Caleb Williams Sunday against the Packers and believe anything different. If they get the offensive line reconstructed and the right head coach, the winning will commence immediately. That’s how the league works. That responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of Poles, not McCaskey. And if Poles flops, the responsibility will shift to the next general manager. For now, all we can do is hope the merry-go-round stops spinning, and the winning follows.
A) I have never heard or read anything negative about George as a person. Everything says he's a good and decent man who truly does want to win. No dispute there.
B) I also do not believe that George meddles in daily operations but I think its naïve to believe he gives the GM unfettered control over coaching changes. The Bears have never in their entire history fired a HC in-season. They have on many occasions stuck with a failing HC a year too long. Its hard to believe that remarkable consistency has maintained itself over many different GMs, unless there was some influence from above.
C) Regarding Warren, I like 99% of us was super excited when he got here. He's been a massive disappointment since. I'm not gonna go into the stadium deal mess cuz its too long to describe here and because there are sticky political issues involved...and yes I mean racially charged politics between the downtown and the NW suburban options. I'll leave it at that but anyway Warren has accomplished nothing since coming here. If anything, the project has lost all momentum and has taken a step back.
D) When you have a chance for a clear and decisive upgrade, you take it no questions asked. Harbaugh would have been a massive upgrade to this franchise both as a HC and as a personnel director/quasi-GM. If that means Poles has to be shunted aside, then so be it. You don't pass up on a "generational talent" (I'll say it-he is) to avoid hurting someone's feelings and no I don't care if Poles "deserved" to be let go or not--this is business. When you can upgrade, you upgrade. Furthermore, JH actively wanted to come here and leaked as such publicly so lets put that myth to rest. If you paid him and gave him what he wanted, Jim Harbaugh would have taken the job in a freakin' New York Minute. We are talking about a guy who has turned around multiple programs (college and pro) and developed multiple QBs (college and pro). To not even call him and interview him was a MASSIVE MISS by the organization George sits atop of.
E) I too believe we have our QB. Its obvious to me he will be elite if given better coaching and OL.
F) I also believe Poles is not in any danger right now and will get another crack at the HC apple. I think that's a wise decision to stick with him at this point given that we need to see the CW thing through. Having said that, I find it hard to believe he truly had "free reign" with the Flus hire. Flus was officially signed only a few days after Poles was. There's no way Poles would have had time to interview the 3 finalists handed to him AND vet other candidates. Perhaps by default and not coercion, he stuck with that list, which included Dan Quinn, and still made the wrong choice. So, in my mind its both--he was somewhat constrained in his options by ownership but still picked the worst of 3 choices.
I don’t know George McCaskey, despite spending the last few years having to......
A) I have never heard or read anything negative about George as a person. Everything says he's a good and decent man who truly does want to win. No dispute there.
B) I also do not believe that George meddles in daily operations but I think its naïve to believe he gives the GM unfettered control over coaching changes. The Bears have never in their entire history fired a HC in-season. They have on many occasions stuck with a failing HC a year too long. Its hard to believe that remarkable consistency has maintained itself over many different GMs, unless there was some influence from above.
C) Regarding Warren, I like 99% of us was super excited when he got here. He's been a massive disappointment since. I'm not gonna go into the stadium deal mess cuz its too long to describe here and because there are sticky political issues involved...and yes I mean racially charged politics between the downtown and the NW suburban options. I'll leave it at that but anyway Warren has accomplished nothing since coming here. If anything, the project has lost all momentum and has taken a step back.
D) When you have a chance for a clear and decisive upgrade, you take it no questions asked. Harbaugh would have been a massive upgrade to this franchise both as a HC and as a personnel director/quasi-GM. If that means Poles has to be shunted aside, then so be it. You don't pass up on a "generational talent" (I'll say it-he is) to avoid hurting someone's feelings and no I don't care if Poles "deserved" to be let go or not--this is business. When you can upgrade, you upgrade. Furthermore, JH actively wanted to come here and leaked as such publicly so lets put that myth to rest. If you paid him and gave him what he wanted, Jim Harbaugh would have taken the job in a freakin' New York Minute. We are talking about a guy who has turned around multiple programs (college and pro) and developed multiple QBs (college and pro). To not even call him and interview him was a MASSIVE MISS by the organization George sits atop of.
E) I too believe we have our QB. Its obvious to me he will be elite if given better coaching and OL.
F) I also believe Poles is not in any danger right now and will get another crack at the HC apple. I think that's a wise decision to stick with him at this point given that we need to see the CW thing through. Having said that, I find it hard to believe he truly had "free reign" with the Flus hire. Flus was officially signed only a few days after Poles was. There's no way Poles would have had time to interview the 3 finalists handed to him AND vet other candidates. Perhaps by default and not coercion, he stuck with that list, which included Dan Quinn, and still made the wrong choice. So, in my mind its both--he was somewhat constrained in his options by ownership but still picked the worst of 3 choices.
I 100% think the not firing coaches in season comes from the McCaskys.
Also, Johnson is calling plays behind the best offensive line in the league.
I have often thought the same thing, MP. That's not a knock on Johnson, but just a fact. Detroit has developed both the DL and OL. That OL has been a huge help to Goff, and a huge help to their run game. This is what I dream of happening in Chicago. We talk a lot here about Harbaugh. You will never see that OL get neglected with his team in LA. At Michigan in 2021 and 2022 he had the #1 offensive line in college football. They won the Joe Moore Award for having the best OL in the nation. In 2023 Michigan had a top-3 offensive line in the nation. Harbaugh understands football. Having a "good enough" OL is not good enough.
Also, Johnson is calling plays behind the best offensive line in the league.
I have often thought the same thing, MP. That's not a knock on Johnson, but just a fact. Detroit has developed both the DL and OL. That OL has been a huge help to Goff, and a huge help to their run game. This is what I dream of happening in Chicago. We talk a lot here about Harbaugh. You will never see that OL get neglected with his team in LA. At Michigan in 2021 and 2022 he had the #1 offensive line in college football. They won the Joe Moore Award for having the best OL in the nation. In 2023 Michigan had a top-3 offensive line in the nation. Harbaugh understands football. Having a "good enough" OL is not good enough.
Now that the Harbaugh ship has sadly sailed off into the distance, you gotta figure Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel are two leading candidates to replace Flus next year.
Both would be good choices IMO and both have some cons.
BJ has never been a HC before and we have seen many good coordinators fail at HC. He wants more money than I suspect George will want to pay. And yes he has an elite OL which probably makes him look better than he is.
Vrabel is from the D-side of the ball (though he has put together good offenses and knows OCs) and hiring him wouldn't weaken a key divisional rival.
I think Vrabel is who I am leaning towards right now as you KNOW HE CAN BE A HC. You don't really know that yet with Johnson so I see him as higher risk. I'd have to be convinced though that Vrabel has a good OC in mind but MV has definitely developed solid DLs and OLs.
Now that the Harbaugh ship has sadly sailed off into the distance, you gotta figure Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel are two leading candidates to replace Flus next year.
Both would be good choices IMO and both have some cons.
I honestly don't know who I like best because, as you say, both have some cons. Vrabel would have a higher floor because BJ is an unknown as a head coach. And a first time HC is often a guy who makes his share of mistakes in the early years. But it sure would be great to have a head coach who was solid with the offense side of the ball. But with Trestman and Nagy the Bears sure got it wrong. Vrabel would probably want some real power over personnel that is Poles now. Not like total GM power, but I would imagine he'd demand some real power over personnel acquisition decisions. That may not be a negative though. One thing is that Vrable is not a warm and fuzzy guy like the Bears usually hire. He played a long time in the NFL under guys like Bill Cowher and Belichick. He's played at an All-Pro level and has 3 Super Bowl rings.
If Vrabel could bring in good OC's I'd be fine with him. I don't know how the players would be, going from this present environment with 'Flus where the players seem to have real power and meetings and stuff. And one other thing is that Vrabel runs a 3-4 defense. The defense would probably be rebuilt to best fit what he wants here. That's just one of the ways cycling through head coaches is tiring.
