DABEARSDABOMB

Keller has produced and Rodriguez hasn't (and I'm not writing Rodriguez off here but he was just a 4th rounder). Unless your point is that they Keller isn't a good blocker, which is the case. Supposedly he made strides the past year or two, but no one would call his blocking good. He's very similar to Greg Olsen.

I like him. I think there are quite a few good TE candidates that are out there whom the Bears could sign that would be significant upgrades. We don't need an elite TE, just a good one would be great. Keller, Bennett, Finley, etc.

I'm officially on board with Holmgren being my top candidate. Followed by Reid and Gruden. Holmgren has done so much and succeeded in so many areas. He'd be an excellent grab for the offense and he's a total QB guru. Probably would be fine sticking with the cover 2 D and Marinelli (which I personally think is a good thing). Also has a very good eye for talent and could be helpful to Emery. What a coup hiring Holmgren would be. I wonder if Emery will do it though. You hire Gruden, Reid or Holmgren and you are no longer going to be the "face" so to speak. Hire an assistant and provide him with that opportunity and you still really control the power. Just my 2 cents.

Kyle Shannahan really intrigues me. Did a great job with Schaub and done good things with RG III. Heck, even Rex was decent at times in Washington. Seems really bright and talented, not sure what his personality is like. I'd also think he has quite a few connections through his pops.

Clement's issue is his limited experience running an O combined with the fact that he's older for an assistant (59 IIRC) to be hired as a HC. I really would have loved (and have always been high on) getting him a year or two years ago as our OC (too bad we couldn't get him).

I must be having a major brain fart. Who is Anderson?

Want to say your posts today have been spot on.

What a coup for the Cardinals. Best realistic candidate off the board. Huge bummer the Bears didn't even interview him.

What I meant was, he didn't get hired in the NFL as a head coach because of his college resume, it was because of his NFL experience (where he was for about 10 years before being hired as HC of the Pats).

Their will be changes to the oline. No doubt about that. But you can't replace 5 guys. My guess is we will see 2 new starters on the oline. You also have to hope that Carimi can get his shit together.

No other way to say it other then Gabe was awful. Worse tackle in football. Only thing you can hope as a fan is that this was due to him not being at full strength. He was just manhandled at the tackle position.

Agree with you on all counts. And for someone to say Louis was mediocre is laughable. The guy was an above average guard prior to the injury.

I think Bennett is still under contract. I thought it was last year where they signed him to an extension.

Agree with you on that. He clearly is in charge and I'm happy about that. That press conference shuts me up.

Saban wasn't bad, he just ran back to college. He is an elite coach and I believe (purely a belief) that if he wanted to, he'd be very successful in the pro ranks.

When Pete Carrol failed the 1st time he wasn't coming from the college ranks. He was a pro assistant that failed as a HC, IIRC. It was after that failure that he went into the college ranks.

Jerry Angelo gets a lot of credit as well for that. Or at least everything I've heard and read about his tenure in Tampa indicates he was very instrumental in that development.

I have no issue with Marinelli sticking around and am very open to Clements. Good post.

If he's the right guy, i have no issue. He's the only in-house guy that should be interviewed. If they hired Tice or Marinelli, I'd flip. Toub is an interesting guy. He's been outstanding as a special teams guy but I also wonder how he'd be since he isn't an offensive or defensive expert.

A good boss doesn't need to yell. I don't ever yell at my staff. The reality is the defense loved playing for Lovie and they were very productive under Lovie. Problem is he couldn't get the right guy for the offense.

Kaplan indicates the following names on the Bears list (I don't have an issue with any of the below names): Denver OC Mike McCoy Wash OC Kyle Shanahan Saints OC Pete Carmichael PSU HC Bill O'Brien

I would absolutely love Norv. Great offensive mind. I assume if Norv is hired, it would be because the Bears hired a defensive minded coach. I hope one thing...I hope whomever the Bears hire is as classy as Lovie was. I will puke if they hire someone like Rex Ryan to be the HC. Another guy I wouldn't be surprised about would be Brian Billick. I know one thing, Bears need to get a proven guy to help out this offense. That could be Norv Turner or Cam Cameron as OC (or a HC like Billick that knows offense). They need to make sure their is a voice Cutler will listen to and respect. That is one thing Martz was able to get out of Jay. It just didn't work cause it got Jay killed. I wonder in hindsight if Jay would have liked to still have Martz. I also wonder if Jay had issues with Tice or not. I know recently he said he wanted Tice to stick around, however, Jay's comment was pretty damning about hiring good assistants. Daryl Drake is a failure that has stuck around way too long.

Probably a decent chance Bates might stick around.

Cutler is the one guy that doesn't seem as irritated. Defensive guys are mad...offensive players aren't. Seems like a lot of offensive players were very frustrated. Cutler's quote was telling about the type of guy the Bears should hire as the head coach ("one who can hire good assistants"). I think the Bears would be wise to sign Cutler to a couple year deal (although they could wait a year). Reality is, they should bring in a real good offensive guy and let him work with Jay. Give him 2 years...if it doesn't, our new head coach gets a chance to bring in a new guy as QB (and we kind of start over there).

Agree. I also think Ditka robbed us of some superbowls. His ego got in the way of things.