AZ54

The HC needs to build the culture because it won't work the other way. He can get advice from a former HC who is now DC or even OC (running Ben's system) but he must deliver the goods himself because sooner or later everyone will know he's the push over. Kids figure out which parent to go for what they want well before they are 2. When Arians took over the Cardinals he said clearly he was firing everyone. when he took over he didn't want anyone left around even if he knew them and they were good coaches. He wanted people to know if they had a problem his way of doing business the only one they could talk to was him. No commiserating with your (retained) position coach about how things were better with the old HC. I don't personally agree with that theory because I want the best coaches working for me, regardless of where they come from. However, I do understand his point and if I hired him by default I'd be agreeing to let him do it his way. It does highlight the importance of the culture running through the HC. Arians had seen issues with that not happening at times in his career.

I listened to Waddle and Silvy with Greg Olsen yesterday. Olsen it’s my favorite broadcast analyst so I wanted his thoughts on our coaching options. They asked him about McCarthy and he raved about him for 5 minutes and all the good things he do for the Bears. Then they talked about different offensive schemes and what Greg like among the NFL options. He said in todays game he liked the Shanahan LeFleur style the most with compressed sets and how that helps Oline and QB. He added that Johnson does some of that too but mixes in a little of everything. McCarthy is still running the same old west coast stuff. Then when asked about how he graded an OC he said it’s all about getting the chunk plays and nobody does that better than Johnson. You always see guys wide open in every Detroit game. Not every play of course but that he can set them up within the game but running and passing. Then they asked him if you were running the Bears who are you signing as HC. He said Johnson. After all the chatter about how great McCarthy is he is choosing the newer more innovative offensive mind.

I think we’re all know this. what we don’t know is who is the leading candidate. Whatever the Bears are thinking having a 2 horse race gives them a little bit of negotiating power on the contract. But that won’t last long. https://bearswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bears/2025/01/16/nfl-insider-claims-bears-head-coach-job-is-down-to-2-candidates/77755968007/

Matt Campbell...love his leadership and what he's done at my alma mater but he has no NFL experience. Caleb needs NFL experience in his ear.

He got fired after the team fell apart. Not really unlike what we've seen in Chicago with Nagy wherer he had a brief flash of goodness before reality hit.

When I read about other teams ready to give up on their HC (read Steelers' message boards) I think how perfect for the Bears to grab a coach just as his expiration date is about to hit. That actually is the epitome of Bears' hirings of washed up coaches at one extreme or low cost newbies who have minimal track record of success or minimal leadership qualities. I have always liked and respected Tomlin but I also think this is one of the toughest jobs and, while it pays well, it does come at a personal cost. Which is my way of saying that head coaches do have an expiration date. That intensity and fire we want is hard to burn forever. Look at how Belichick ended his run. Andy Reed is an anomaly but he's also paid a heavy personal price. Sean McVay has talked about retirement quite a bit already. On the flip side there is an addiction to the job and some guys struggle to let it go. Which is why I'm very skeptical about guys like Pete Carroll, and now McCarthy. Vrabel is still young enough that I think the fire stills burns. I love the debate because it's helped me gain perspective on all the options but why can't we be the team that finds the next McVay, or the next (young) Tomlin? These next great head coaches do exist. Go find one. There will never be another opportunity like this in our head coaching search. Despite our excessive hand wringing this team does have almost everything a good young and confident coach should want. We're just a few pieces away from being a playoff team. One of those pieces being a good HC. We can and should be in the drivers seat among candidates if we choose to be (that means paying the money). In recent days I've just settled on my final option: Get it right. Ownership needs to know for the fans there are no more excuses.

As proven in his HC failure Hackett is Rodger’s Buddy precisely because he won’t hold people accountable.

Had to go with the Ditka jersey.

If you see a guy at tonight’s game wearing a Butkus jersey you’ll know who it is.

Just got done scanning the usual Youtube suspects and at this point it's safe to say the internet is abuzz about Ben Johnson really impressing the Bears with his plan for the roster as well as for developing Caleb over the years (yes plural). Aaron Glenn apparently impressed as well. It's all just local rumors as near as I can tell but if the network guys pick this up as well on Monday then there's likely some truth behind it.

And yet the Steelers' fans at work all tell me to take him off their hands...for free.

Not really the value you want at 10 but if he were truly All Pro from year one that'd be ok with me. He could also slide out to OG if needed for injury depending on who your top 6 Olinemen are. I still prefer the slight trade down and grabbing him a few picks later but we're going to be pretty much stuck at 10.

Shaw pretty ran Harbaugh's Stanford program into the ground albeit slowly. He just seems like a run of the mill coach. Nothing creative, nothing that appears to exhibit the leadership we desire.

Nah if they really wanted him they could have had him. However it seems this was all a foregone conclusion since the day Mayo was fired. I saw where NE interviewed 2 minority candidates Pep Hamilton, Byron Leftwich, then Vrabel and Ben Johnson. Vrabel's interview was in person. Johnson was virtual. It appears Hamilton and Leftwich, two coaches who are out of the league, were both in person and satisfied the Rooney rule. Aaron Glenn declined to be part of that circus, kudos to him. That is not an extensive coaching search. Now if we want Johnson he has less suitors and less "good team" options. Reportedly the Raiders are now interested in Johnson but if there's an organization where ownership is worse than Chicago there you have it.

That'd be more like wet towel fight in a losers locker room.

Interesting for me because he was the only OT I thought was worth a top 10 pick.

Pete Carroll recommended Shane Waldron.

For all his success in NE with Brady everywhere else McDaniels has been a failure. I like Vrabel a lot but this would definitely make me concerned. https://www.profootballrumors.com/2025/01/mike-vrabel-heavy-favorite-for-patriots-job-josh-mcdaniels-in-mix-to-return-as-oc "Before the New England job became available, Vrabel connections to Josh McDaniels emerged. The northeast Ohio natives and former Patriots coworkers have stayed close, to the point OC rumors regarding McDaniels are still coming out. Buzz indeed is connecting McDaniels to being Vrabel’s OC with the Pats or another team, Fowler adds."

Dexter did that without any help on the interior for half of the season. Plus he fought through an injury that clearly affected him for a few games. Drop a stud next to him and teams will have their hands full. I like Walter Nolen but he's not top 10 material and likely won't last to our 2nd Rd pick.

He just signed a big contract extension he's clearly not interested in the NFL at this time. I haven't been that impressed by him not even in last night's victory over another marginal HC at Penn State. Coaches like Matt Campbell (Ia State), Kenny Dillingham (ASU) who do more with less talent and less NIL money are more interesting to me. I'm sure there are several other college HC who fit that category. Even so the college game is much different from the NFL and without any NFL experience I don't like going that direction at all.

All the reports I've seen say Johnson and Vrabel are at the top of their list. Maybe they are adding some others to try to get to a top 3-4 for in-person interviews. All interviews so far have been via Zoom which I'm not crazy about.

How do you know a guy is the next Lombardi or Papa Bear until you interview them?

I'm very conflicted about this. https://www.profootballrumors.com/2025/01/bears-expected-to-conduct-hc-interview-with-matt-campbell

Sad

Kudos to the Bears for forcing the Cowboy's hand with McCarthy. Regardless if our interest was legit, part of the search is understanding the competition and they forced Dallas to show their hand early. With their roster makeup and Jones' deep pockets that was a legit concern. Now there are 3 decent HC openings and how you count "decent" varies depending on what you think of Trevor Lawrence and JAX, NE and Drake Maye. You've got to figure Vrabel is at or near the top of the list in NE along with Ben Johnson. Does Johnson really want to go to JAX? Is this now a 2 team and 2 horse race for the top candidates? If so that gives the Bears more time to be thorough and see if there are any rising stars that intrigue them.