DABEARSDABOMB

That seems fair. The one exception to that would be if we went after a high-profile candidate where we had lots of competition (right now we are one of the only jobs hiring OC/DC's so the Bears have the leverage) and in that instance the club might have to offer a longer term deal. For example, if the Bears went hard after Frazier, they'd have to offer him a 4year deal worth 1+M a season.

The Bears haven't offered him a contract though. Maybe they want to do the early homework so they can offer up a list of suggestions to the OC that they hire? We don't know what the plan is. Lets say the Bears interview him, like him, and tell him well we need to see who our OC is just to get the take too. That might have been done. None of us are privy to the talks but I'm not upset when I hear our team is interviewing all kinds of different guys and considering a whole range of options. It tells me we aren't just looking for a retread, we are really doing our homework.

I'm glad I hear all the beat writers talking about the Bears signing an above average back-up because I think that will do wonders for our rushing attack (including making Forte a better back). My guess is the Bears front office has tipped there hand in this regard so I pretty much expect that to be one of our signings. I also expect the club to look hard at OG's, DE's, CB, FS, and Wr.

I'm sure they will offer the coaches brought in more than 1 year deals (otherwise no one would come) but if the team doesn't make the playoffs, Lovie will be gone and the new coach will get to decide whether any of the current assistants stay or go. Remember, Toub was a holdover from the Jauron days.

I actually really like the staff Lovie has as of now. Obviously that could change since the two most important assistants haven't been hired, but I think Lovie is going to be in a position where he can excel. As a pure figure head I think he is one of the better ones. His problem is he was given too much power and failed a bit (way too much power on who the coaches would be). Now Angelo is getting more involved and it just helps the team get a better all around coaching staff and I think we'll see that do wonders in Chicago. The only real question is can Angelo find enough talent upgrades this year (without a 1st or 2nd rounder and a limited FA crop) to improve the team. I'm buying the coolaid right now and feel the Bears make the playoffs.

Exactly. I'm glad we are doing our homework. If we find a good coach, hire him. Plain and simple. We really have no competition for any of the positions at this point so there is no harm going slow. I will admit the only thing that stung was losing Fewell. He was the perfect fit and really the only name we heard about the entire time so it stunk losing our top choice to another team. On the offensive side of the ball, I'm perfectly happy with the way things have gone. I think I prefer Chuds to Bates and I certainly love the addition of Tice. I would have really liked Clements but that was out of the Bears hands.

Would it be a bad thing if Spencer left? Have we seen much development out of our backs with him here? Forte was solid in his rookie season (actually very good) but Benson never developed (not necessarily his fault)? Forte certainly didn't show improvement in year 2. Wolfe never emerged like Angelo thought he would (albeit one could say that was because we used him improperly). Basically Thomas Jones is the only guy that came in and was better or improved. I wonder if this really is a bad thing that he is looking elsewhere.

For those interested in Christensen (Colts WR coach), Brad Biggs is indicating that he most likely won't be interested in the Bears job. Biggs believes that Moore will retire at the end of the season and Christensen is the heir apparent in Indy.

Also a Bengals insider is reporting that the Bears really liked Zampese and that Zampese really hit it off with Cutler. Zampese is probably in the drivers seat, but Chud is a serious candidate with nice credentials too. Bears really seem to be doing there homework on these guys, imo. It literally seems like they put together a list of OC candidates and they want to meet with everyone of them on there list before making a decision (Bates/Clements were the 1st they reached out to but also Zampese, Chud, and most likely Christensen next week).

You really got to like that bio.

While I don't think Lovie knows the full details of the intracices of the offense, I do believe he has an idea of what he wants his offense to look like and he'll hire a coach who will run an offensive theory he support. Lovie wants a power-rushing attack to go with the vertical passing game and that is why he hired Tice (power-rushing guy). And you can bet your ass the OC he hires will support both ideas too and it is why I think Chud is a real good possibility.

I'd go hard after him. Offer up big bucks, etc.

On a sidenote, I expect the Bears to hire there OC/DC by the senior bowl (January 30th) so I think we will see thinks pick-up in the next week. I expect the Bears to interview one more guy this week to go with Chud for the OC position and than make there final decision next week after they interview Christensen of the Colts (the last remaining guy on a playoff roster). I won't even begin to predict who we are looking at on the defensive side of the ball.

Tribune is reporting that he will be interviewing with Michigan State for the same position on there staff. He joined the Bears when Lovie was hired so he's been here a while. He previously spent 10 years at OSU as a coach (and also played there). I figure he has a good relationship with the Bears but I wonder if he feels the heat on the offensive side and would rather leave now when he knows he has an opening as opposed to take a chance for a year without one. I think if I were him I'd think about it, especially since the lower level assistants don't get paid enough to go without work.

Ron Turner is a class guy and I believe he knew he'd be the scapegoat this season and understood that. He had a very long career in Chicago (with Wanny and Lovie) and was one of the best OC's we ever had (not meaning he's a great OC, but he was solid for a while). I don't see him blasting the organization and I think He'd tell Norv that Chicago would be a good opportunity for someone like Chud who is looking for a 2nd chance as an OC.

Awesome!!! He has two years experience running the show (1 tremendous year...1 awful year) but he really didnt' have much talent in his awful year (Derek Anderson sucks so the fact he got 1 great year out of him says something and in year 2, Edwards had the drops and injuries and Winslow was hurt). Chud using the TE well and comes from a lot of high profile offenses. He also has shown that he likes to run the ball as well (Brown really did have a well balanced offense in yr 1 of Chud). I'd be fine with Chud or Zampese. The one nice thing about Chud is he has called plays, but with Tice being around I'm a bit more comfortable bringing in a raw guy who hasn't called plays (since Tice could help him develop a bit if needed).

McDaniels wanted more control and input on the defensive side of the ball and Nolan told him to pound sand, but essentially it was McDaniels who ran Nolan out of town.

I think Bates had more pull to get Fish in than the Bears had and that is why we didn't go that route. I also think that if we are leaning towards Zampese (a former QB coach) we would have to look more heavy at him for who to hire at that position (as well as Cutler). In the case of the TE coach, Tice is probably going to have a better read on who is a good TE coach than our OC would.

You might not agree, but given that it is coming from NFL guys it at least shows that the Bears aren't doing something that would be considered abnormal or unprecedented.

I think the head coach still is very involved in the hiring of assistants. Turner only really brought in Harry, I think that was his guy, but outside of that while he might have vetted some of the guys, Lovie/Jerry were bigger influences on the assistants hired, imo.

I got a feeling Tice is going to be in charge of a pretty substantial portion of the offense (mainly the oline and rushing philosphy and his influence might even extend a bit into the TE's since he has experience coaching them, is a former player, and well quite frankly they play an important factor within the rushing game) so my guess is he's been given the reigns to pick his guy and that ultimately the Bears will have Tice be part of the process to get the OC as well (obviously not as the decision maker but I'm sure it will be important that Tice and the OC agree). I assume whomever we bring in as the OC will be very good with QB's and the air attack and Tice can step in and help with the ground-game. I see it in a similar mold to how Arizona runs things. I assume that guy is Zampese but that they are also waiting to talk to a few guys that are still in the playoffs (most noteable the Colts WR coach).

In no way will I be incredibly excited about the hire though. Oline coach and our OC/DC are the positions I truly care about. I truly believe that the oline/dline coaches we have are amongst the best in the league though and that is something to build upon (Tice/Marinelli).

One thing I just thought of is the fact that the TE coach typically works closely with the Oline coach so it could be that Tice is interviewing him as well.

One thing I wonder is have the Bears already identified there OC and they just can't announce it yet since he's in the playoffs or something along those lines? Otherwise it seems odd that we continue to interview assistants and potentially hire them prior to make a move. I understand it with Tice since he was a pretty big name hire and something they had to jump on quickly but in this instance couldn't you wait? If you aren't waiting, it makes me think the Bears already have a guy in mind.

Carllson put up good production despite being less talented than a guy like Greg Olsen and he worked with a bevy of QB's due to the injuries to Hasselbach. Carlson also showed a lot of development and is supposed to be a pretty solid blocker. I like the fact that our TE coach (if we hired him) also has experience on the oline since he'd be able to provide Olsen and our other TE's with improved blocking techniques.