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I think it all comes down to leverage. I think the best we could hope for is a 3rd rounder, but I'd be thrilled with a 2nd rounder. With a 2nd rounder, I actually think we might end up upgrading the team. My presumption is, if the new group decides his lockeroom issues outweigh his on the field production, it is more realistic we'd see a 3-5th round pick. I have no basis for that, but rarely do we see players traded for high picks. Given our needs, would be great if we could add a 2nd round pick though.

I really have a hard time arguing picks 1, 3, and 4. That said, I don't want to ignore defense and would definitely use picks in the 2nd round. I'm also okay trading down, depending on who is there at 7. I don't anticipate a significant difference in the caliber of player we get at 7 and say 15. Just a matter of whether a need position is there for another team (that isn't us) where they have use for that 7 pick. I think with our holes, we need more picks.

By all accounts, Jameis is very strong between the ears on the football field. So I don't think you can compare him to Vince Young. However, I do agree that being strong between the ears is extremely important in succeeding in today's NFL at the QB position.

Thankfully I don't think we are as far off from fixing the line as we were in previous years, but I don't believe you can consistently win without strong lines. And regardless of who are QB is and what direction we are headed, we need a strong line so the way I see it, if that is what grades out the highest at 7, that is who we should take. You add an LT who turns into an above average player (hopefully he is better than that but at least above average) and than put that with Kyle Long and move Bushrod to the other side and you than have 3 guys who should grade out above average at their respective position, with Long hopefully down the path of being elite (i.e, one of the 2 or 3 best at his position). If you surround those guys with average players, the overall line is above average. I think what you need are some anchors on the line and if you have that, largely speaking, the rest of your line will be good. Than you see if Mills can work out on the inside and coach him, Garza kind of works (although it would be nice to find a new center in the latter rounds) and even Ola at times showed some potential but hard to really stand out when you were constantly switching positions, etc, and working with different pieces. I think if we can hit on a LT, it would work wonders for the long-term and really give us two long-term anchors on our oline.

One thing I do know, is whomever we hire, they better be on board with running the damn football and winning the game at the lines. I want to be a physical football team on both sides of the ball. Do I want big plays, certainly, but I also want to be able to out-physical and wear out teams so that we can pull away late in games and be well prepared to destroy teams in Chicago when the weather gets cold. I don't want an OC who think it is a good idea to throw the ball 40-50 times a game.

Who are some of the top OC candidates out there? Big name I can think of is Gary Kubiak, however, the only way you are getting him is if Shanny is coming too. If the coach is Toub, is there a Reid disciple that he's worked with that he might pull? Clearly wouldn't be someone from the Bears organization, haha. I can think of a lot of good potential DC candidates, but the list would appear to be a lot shorter on the offensive side of the football.

I think someone else had posted this on the board, but thought it might deserve its own thread. We have talked about Frazier and Wade Phillips and I think a lot of this comes down to whether we switch to 3-4 (vs. staying at 4-3) but if we were to stay with a 4-3 defense, we have two excellent candidates to choose from between Frazier and Fewell. Before someone says the Giants D stunk this year, consider the below and the overall impacts to injuries as well as Fewell's overall track record for having strong defenses: The Giants' defense ranked eighth in the NFL in total yardage in 2013 but took a major step back in 2014 amid season-ending injuries to three of its top four cornerbacks, middle linebacker Jon Beason and defensive ends Mathias Kiwanuka and Robert Ayers.

Here is another article talking about Bears being done with BMarsh. Bottom line, we will know what happens with Marshall by the end of February. To do it right, decision should be made prior to March 1st. Cost to the Bears is relatively minimal prior to that point (if they opted to outright release him). My personal belief is Marshall will be somewhere else. I think one of the first things that will be done is that the Bears are going to clean up the lockeroom and send messages in there. I really hope Kyle Long can establish himself as a leader on the offensive side of the ball (kind of like Kreutz used to). Long reminds me of Kreutz in many ways. http://dawindycity.com/2015/01/07/report-c...andon-marshall/

I am in the camp that if he is there, you take him at 7. I hate saying it too, but I think he has all the tools to be a bonafide star. The key is that you are comfortable with him maturing, etc, and obviously you get comfort on his off-the-field matters. I believe him to be the best QB to come out since Luck and one of the best QB talents of the last 10 years. PS: I don't expect him to be available at 7 and he's the only QB I would pick this early. I've also said if Hundley is their in the 2nd, I take him. As a whole, someone could say QB isn't our biggest need, and I'd agree, but I think his football skills grade him out as a worthy #1 overall pick at a huge impact position. I don't pass up on that. I want the Bears to look to the future vs. trying to half ass their way to a 9 win season and the playoffs. We need to focus on being great and if that takes a little longer, so be it. If he's not there, I look at LT & Dline. I think the talent typically at those spots can warrant impact production. I'm also okay with going with LB. I know safety is a huge need, but if we are taking a safety, we need to move down in the draft. My personal belief is that a safety is not worth a top 10 pick.

I really like the fact that Ballard seems very decisive in terms of what he wants and he is not going to accept anything less than full control. I think he knows what he wants and his overall confidence is very valuable and much different from what some of our past candidates and GM's have had. We haven't had a guy come in and grab full control in an extremely long time. We know if Ballard gets the job, he's getting full control. That much is evident based upon the opportunities and situations he has turned his nose at (Philly / Jets this year; Tampa last year).

We need our offensive line fixed and a lot of help on the defensive side of the ball. I'd also go as far as saying if a QB slides to our 2nd round pick (or to be frank if one of the top 2 guys is there at 7 and we like him), we have to think very hard about taking them given the current situation. I don't envision us picking this high again next year. Do I envision the playoffs, way too early to say that, but I certainly am not going to peg us to win 5 games again and be picking at 7. I think we are better than that. I won't be picking us for a superbowl either though.

I think a lot of assumptions have been made by the media based upon the fact that he used to work here. I don't think the Bears had necessarily decided on anyone prior to, of course they might have had a lean and that usually is the case. We aren't talking about of unknown candidates that you have never met. I am directly involved in certain hiring decisions at my work and when I go through a stack of candidates, I typically have a lean to which ones I'm going to like more based upon that. Doesn't mean that is who I ultimately hire but you normally start an interview process with some form of a lean a certain direction (and that is if you don't know any of the candidates). In the case of a small league like the NFL, you already have heard quite a bit and might have met a lot of these people already or talked to people who have and thus are going to have a definite lean.

http://www.csnchicago.com/bears/why-one-ex...ka-impact-bears Interesting article talking about how Tommie Harris thinks that Toub could have Ditka like impact on the Bears.

Either way, new group comes in and they could be sly and say, we really like what we have seen from him, blah blah blah. We'll listen to all offers but are happy with him on our team.

On a sidenote, one of the reasons he was believed to be fired by Miami was due to the # of poor character guys the Dolphins brought in during that tenure (not necessarily 100% on him). I really am not a fan. I think if I were to look at anyone outside of Ballard, it would be Ross of the Giants (and Gamble who is now available from the Eagles). But for me my 1/2 is Ballard / Ross and there really isn't anyone very close to either of them.

See article I posted. No idea what is true vs. what isn't, but I don't find what Hub is saying to be unfathomable. I think part of it also comes down to how will he handle himself when the next coach comes in and truly holds him accountable. I don't know that answer but toxic can be toxic and I think one of the many areas Trestman failed at, was his inability to get rid of toxic players, no matter who they were. If you are going to change a culture to the one you want in the organization, sometimes that means you got to get rid of guys who are talented / better than other options, but the long term gain is worth it.

http://www.chicagofootball.com/2015/01/05/...rshall/ami5l7j/ That is the article I mentioned in my previous post from Hub.

Hub Arkush has indicated the lockeroom wasn't happy with Marshall and he can be extremely difficult to deal with. He is all over the place in terms of his attitude, etc. All that said, I don't think any decision has been made on BMarsh and that decision will be made by whomever the next GM and HC are. I would presume it would include speaking directly with Marshall (but also gathering various intel on how he behaved). I do think as incoming HC / GM, you need to set the tone and an easy win (if BMarsh is truly a problem) would be to move Marshall (for a late round pick) or cut him. Reality is, the top teams in the league aren't built at the skill-position, they are built at the lines, QB, and on the defensive side of the ball, imo. Plus, we still have Jeffrey, Bennett and Forte so it isn't as if we have a bunch of turds behind Marshall. I do really respect Marshall for his work ethic though. But again, I think this lockeroom needs to be cleaned up and messages need to be sent, however, those decisions should be made by the group of people hired these next few weeks.

Didn't know where else to put this, so just created a new thread. Given that we spent the time to interview him, he's clearly someone on the radar. Tweet was from Peter King of SI. There was talk that Quinn was hoping to work with the Vikings Asst. Gm, who turned down all interviews and chose to stay in Minny.

His (Gaine) background isn't all that impressive to me. I don't really like much about the Dolphins organization and that is where he spent the past 6 years. I also tend to think most everyone out of the Belliceck tree has failed on their own, which is another negative to me. Clearly the Bears are going to do their diligence and I like the fact that we are meeting with roughly 4-5 guys (and keeping the list small). I presume after Wednesday with Ballard, they will regroup and finalize (if they don't just flat out decide on Wednesday to give it to Ballard). Even though they might be set on a guy, still helpful to bring others in. Not to mention, during the interviews, you get some free insight into other intelligent peoples view of the organization and its players and ideas, which can only be helpful. I'm so glad that the Bears appear to be moving very swiftly and with a clear vision, which really is the opposite of how we have handled many searches in the past (whether HC / GM / Assistant searches). Pix, I'm with you, I'm 100% on board with Ballard.

Completely agree with both of you guys. We might end up with stiffs (I think a lot of this is quite frankly luck), but how the organization is handling it self is completely different, imo.

Reports are he, along with Dawson are interviewing today. Adam Jahns indicating that one source suggests that Ernie Accorsi's top recommendation is Gaine. I think a lot of what is being reported is pure crap. This is someone saying oh hey, Ernie worked with Bill Parcells, he clearly would want a Parcells guy.

I like the idea if Ballard and Shanny can work together. I think Shanny had far too much at his plate once he took over personnel items, etc. If they are able to get on the same page and have a good working relationship, I truly believe Shanny the coach is one of the very best. Problem is, Shanny the roster guy, isn't the whiz.

I am totally fine sticking with Jay. I just don't want anyone making the Shanny decision because we invested so much money in Jay. I want them to hire Shanny because they think he is the best coaching candidate, period. If him and Ballard ultimately want Jay or to give Jay a year, fine, but don't hire him and than get rid of Jay in a year and than say oh well Shanny is no longer a good fit. Get him because you think he's the best. He'd certainly clean up the lockeroom and give you instant leadership and he's made the playoffs with a lot of different QB's (which is not easy to do).

I forgot about Phillips...he'd be a fantastic option if we opted the 3-4 route. Given that i want Suh, I prefer to stick with the 4-3 route. That said, given we have a lot of depth at DT (depending on what we do with Paea), it probably doens't make sense to spend the money on Suh. I just think he'd give us a much needed edge on the defensive side of the football. I also think that overall he's a good dude. A little too nasty on the field, sure, but off the field guy is quality.