AZ54

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.

I have no problem with the owner thanking someone who worked for him for his time and effort even if he was fired for cause. George can be inept at football but he doesn't have to be classless. Someone else is going to get this job and they shouldn't be wondering if they'll be the next one to get s#%@ on publicly in 3 years. I personally feel that treating people with respect regardless of circumstances carries through an entire organization and that includes the players and other coaches who are about to get fired. The world already knows Eberflus failed no need to dig the knife in further. I don't think there will be 8 people in the interview room but it sounds like there will be 8 people involved at various points in the interview. Just to hire one person at my job they have to get interviewed by 5 people. Candidates for a manager role can get interviewed by 7 people including those who will report to them. While that may sound odd the post interview discussions are always enlightening because each person tends to focus on different aspects of a job and I always get a different perspective on a candidate that I didn't see in my interview. Or I'm the one who is a hard "no". Regardless, the problem for me is who those 8 people are and what they personally bring the interview table. Since the entire coaching staff is getting fired who are the 8? George, Kevin, Ryan, and maybe scouting department leaders... ? Poles already stated he's letting Ian go off and focus on his own interviews. The owner should only have right of refusal and even that should be for an extreme issue like a past history of drug or legal problems. The owner absorbs all liability so IMO that's fair. Get the DEI crap out of the way. Anyone who has played sports knows that teams become inclusive when they win. Kevin Warren does not know football, just sports management. He needs to be a sideline player in terms of the football aspect but I also don't mind his perspective on their leadership qualities after meeting with the candidates.

I always said that. Elite QBs change everything and really that and just decent coaching will get you into the playoffs.