DABEARSDABOMB

Armstrong and Harbaugh…oh man would I be fired up!!!

Personally - at this point - as much as I want to watch him play one more game, I actually think this is a blessing in disguise. He had his moments, he took his lumps, and he knows he has a ton of work to do (as does every young QB) if he is going to take the necessary steps forward. He wouldn't have gained anything more in this game against Vikings and I expect, given all the reports of his work ethic, we are going to see him super focused and he will be 100% healthy for his offseason workouts etc. I hope he will be watching TONs of film, learning his (presumed) new playbook, and SPENDING tons of times with his skill position players while also working with the right coaches on his release (trying to speed it up), footwork, and obviously continuing to just focus on his overall strenght and conditioning (not that it is an issue). Will be excited to see what he can do and the strides that can be made.

Presume that means Dalton will be the guy again...unless Fields gets out of protocols pretty quickly.

I would love for Harbaugh as HC, Rick Smith the GM. At that point - If pace replaces Ted or moved into some other role I could care less cause Bears would have brought in two legit, top notch individuals at their respective positions.

Or my cliff notes version for why I say heck yeah: In four seasons from 2011-2014, the 49ers won 44 regular-season games under Harbaugh, seven playoff games, appeared in three straight NFC Championship Games, and even qualified for Super Bowl XLVII.

He made NFC championship in 3 out of his 4 years, inheriting a lousy 6-10 team. All 4 years he was .500 or better and has a fantastic overall record. Oh and obviously made Super Bowl in one of those 4 years. And the next year the Niners with a similar team absolutely sucked without Harbaugh. He also was pretty good in NFL at having really strong assistant coaches. Honestly - i would be ecstatic with the hire. I still remember arguing with people on this forum when I was adamant Bears should hire Andy Reid (we hired Trestman instead). If Harbaugh legit wants to come here, Bears need to make it happen - but I would specify we need a GM still. One Jim is very comfortable working with and I am ok with him having increased power but he can’t be in the dual role.

I would be exastatic. In general my list of candidates are all experienced head coaches. Oddly enough, outside of Harbaugh or Payton (who would be my dream hire(s), the other coaches I really like are on defensive side of the ball. Specifically Quinn, Bowles and Frazier. I am kind of surprised I have such a defensive lean but I kind of think a tough hard nose guy who runs a bit more conservative style is actually better fit for Fields. Maximize his legs, play action, simplify the field, keep down and distance on your side, etc are all actually really good and basic concepts to help develop a young QB, especially one with Fields strengths and weaknesses. Over time Fields will grow from the situations and each year start to expand his capabilities. I would treat him a lot more like Russel Wilson/Mac Jones/Brad early in their careers and less like Joe Burrow/Kyler Murray.

You guys are delusional in your hate of Rodgers. He is awesome and having another tremendous season. He is not Tua without Adams. He has made great receivers consistently in GB. I would probably say the other way around - Adams is just a guy without Rodgers...just like most of his wideouts (when they went elsewhere) became just meh. Rodgers and Mahome's are 2 best QB's in the league. Brady is not the same as he once was, but obviously still very elite and than you have a bunch of other guys who are in different leagues than Rodgers/Mahome's.

Congrats!!!

I think Nagy never wanted to start Fields. Quite frankly I think Nagy was right and Bears would have been better off with Fields watching from sidelines for longer. But McCaskey reportedly butter in and Dalton got hurt. I am okay with Fields not playing as he was on a rising trajectory until Baltimore and since thay injury I have seen too many new bad habits like jump passes and other crap. He needs an offseason where he focused on making quick and scripted plays…even if simplified with two quick reads they need to do that to protect him.

This is very true. Draft sec players or guys from small schools with good measurables (like Mooney who had the speed and quickness which were elite.

Desai is a really good coach.

Jenkins hurt his shoulder and didn’t practice. I don’t know why Borom didn’t play but Jenkins not playing was due to health.

Robinson took iv before game just to play. I think it is trendy to say he mailed it in but that doesn’t sound like a guy mailing it in. Dude has not had the season he expected. He dealt with injuries and issues with chemistry with Fields but he lost 10ths from Covid and had multiple Iv in last couple of days including this morning just to get out there. I still think if I ran the team, presuming him and Fields can put in the work this offseason(and I see no reason they wouldn’t) I would be okay bringing him back while also drafting another wideout. If they don’t they have to land another free agent wideout. That said I get it if they want to go with a quicker guy cause Fields isn’t playing like a qb who will fit well with Robinson.

And how is that helping a young QB.

So bears definitely have need at wideout…if new front office and coach comes in I wonder if they might try to keep Robinson / use franchise tag as possible leverage. Just feels wrong if they go with Mooney and have to pay big money in free agency plus use picks. The wr crop is just so thin.

No such thing as too high to pick a tackle if they are good. Jenkins had one game with literally no practice time. The only thing to even note is he played with the nastiness I want an olineman to play with. Glad he will get these few games to get his feet wet and put him in a better position for what he needs to do in offseason to get better.

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/6-bears-head-coach-candidates-if-matt-nagy-fired-including-ryan-day Thought it might be good to start putting a thread together on our general thoughts on who might be a good candidate. Below article from NBC sports seemed like a good starting point. I think the big thing to me is - I think I've gained an appreciation for experience, finding a coaching candidate who has seen the rodeo and understands and has showed a skillset to consistently evolve in the league. When the Bears went with Nagy - I really couldn't argue the hire. Pace went the way the league was going and found a young, innovative, up and coming mind who had the personality to succeed as a head coach. I think Pace got MANY of those traits right - however, what we didn't yet know was how said individual would handle adversity and be able to adapt. The biggest issue with Nagy has been his inability to make adjustments and continue to meld his offense so that it stays ahead of the league. Once the league got the book on what Nagy did - he basically just kept doing the same (but slightly different). He struggled to create a vision / style that went with the team because quite frankly, in his early coaching tenor he hadn't had to go through those challenges. Where he missed was he didn't have the right coaches around him (or trust in those coaches) nor did he have the right skillets (at least not yet) to lean in and pivot and make appropriate adjustments. With that in mind - I think of Joe Brady & Daboll as two people who have yet to show any ability to make real adjustments. Brady is so raw that we really don't know what he is at the NFL level and Daboll, as awesome as his work was with Josh Allen - we have seen the league make adjustments this year and have not YET seen him adjust back. I think it will be interesting to see how he finishes the season - if he can work with the offense to make the necessary adjustments - HE IMMEDIATELY jumps to the top of my list. Other people who fit on my list are Greg Roman - who clearly has demonstrated an innovative way to consistently stay ahead of the league in his ability to optimize the run game, which I think is a really good asset when it comes to developing a young QB. He also has twice shown an ability to adapt offenses around raw, athletic QB's (Kap & Jackson). I don't know whether he has the other traits - but he has also had a chance to work with two elite head coaches (Harbaugh's) which at the very least is a plus. I also am good looking at Dave Toub as well as other defensive coordinators that we think are seasoned and have right fit/personality (Leslie Frazier getting a 2nd chance wouldn't be terrible). The other spot I have no interest in is going to the college ranks. From Ryan Day to Fitzpatrick (Northwestern) - I just see the risk as too great. A few other names that I don't know what to think of, but I could get on board with: Byron Leftwich - Seemed to do a lot to blend the Arians style with Brady. Liked what he did there - but its still Brady so I don't know what to really think of Leftwich. Eric Bienemy (Chiefs OC) - Like that he has more experience than Nagy and I still believe heavily in the Andy Reid tree/system. The plus is there is consistency/similarities that come with Eric, but that is also a potential downside element. Todd Bowles (Bucs DC) - Not much I don't like with Bowles. He may be my favorite candidate. He has had innovative, aggressive defenses everywhere he has been and in hindsight, his tenure with the Jets (given their personal & fact they are the Jets) was a lot better than he initially got credit for. I think he's learned a lot in his subsequent ventures as well and has clearly shown an ability to adapt and evolve in the league and has gotten to spend the past few years working with an offensive guru in Arians, so I think he's positioned to understand what it takes to find the right OC. Josh McDaniels - So this is hard for me to write. The way he did the Colts rubs me the wrong way and I can't forgive it and there is the Cutler fiasco. But this is a guy who has shown an innate ability to adjust his offense to reflect various personell and is doing an amazing job positioning a young QB to exceed. His resume is fantastic - but the intangibles get in the way and as much as I love his performance and how good he can be, its the personality that is making me have an ugly face as I type this. Sean Payton - Obvious answer - but if he is interested - I'd give him a blank check to drive change

Robinson quit on the team. This was just one example but there was a ton of sloppy play from him out there. He isn’t the only one either at this point. That said I want to see the young tackles hopefully grow along with Fields, Mooney and others. Johnson was awesome on Adams and Packers really didn’t get going until they basically schemed away from Johnson and attacked the rest of the non existent secondary. I would like to win at least 2 of next 4…ideally 3 of next 4 through good development of core pieces. Show new front office and coaching candidates the ship is closer than it may appear (partly due to injuries). I wish there was a Brandon Marshall / Alshon Jeffrey combo offseason available haha. Gallup is intriguing though.

And like that - he is starting on Sunday.

Mooney had a weird quote saying if Fields is hurt it sure doesn't look like it. That might be more of just him implying Fields is looking more like himself or maybe the Bears are being extra protective and want to position Fields to really play following GB game (where he has a shot to finish the season on a nice run).

I agree - that is why I kind of said certain positions are what you need to tackle - you still have to follow relative draft board, free agency and trade and figure out best way to go get those items. If a great safety is there and the wideouts aren't good - you draft the safety and find another way to get the wideout.

I am prioritizing the offense - so yeah, I could argue safety is a bigger hole than Center, but you know what, the center protects the biggest investment on this team (Fields) so that makes center more important. Similarly - I feel the same way about wideout and the value it will have on Fields. I also think safety is a position you can change via free agency and other spots too. And Mustipher is not good. I Liked him last year and maybe he will grow as season goes on, but his physical limitations are becoming obvious. He's a good depth/back-up guy, not strong enough to be a quality starting center.

One more point - but as everyone on here knows - I think if Fields proves to be good - this franchise is on the way up and big time and is much closer to being a pretty good football team vs. a terrible team. But I do think there are some very clear needs that have to be addressed: - Center (prefer via draft, but type of position you can affordably fill in FA - not sure the candidates out there) - Wideout - EARLY DRAFT PICK - Mooney has an elite skillset (NOT AN ELITE WIDEOUT but he has speed in spades and is good with a true plus skill that is actually useable). He is the only one under contract that is worth anything. Even Robinson - as good and productive as he is, his skill is his skill...pure talent and seperation skills are limited and Bears CLEARLY need a massive upgrade at this position to help wideouts. In an ideal world - Arob and Fields would show a connection (my guess is neither play this week and than we have them both back starting next week - would be massive if they can show real chemistry and growth). In a perfect world - Arob/Fields show that growth and you get Arob and extension, have Mooney continue his upward path and DRAFT another receiver with upside (ideally you have an extra 1st or 2nd from a Mack trade that can be deployed here - so high investment). You also SIGN a slot type of guy too (no more of these sign random dudes with speed and call them wideouts - get me guys who can get open and play football). - DB - EARLY DRAFT PICK - We clearly need to find another good CB. I suppose they could go FA route here, but I feel like big money FA DB's are risky propositions. Plus I want more money invested on the offense as to surround our young QB with as much as possible to succeed. I would actually be okay if they picked up a young DB and went back and grabbed Fuller (who I think would be available at a much cheaper rate and probably hungry and sometimes guys just fit in better in different places). But this is a clear area of need that has to be addressed and my gut says with a 2nd rounder (I am hoping we can acquire at a minimum a 2nd rounder in a trade - so one can be WR and the other DB). - LB - We need to upgrade our speed next to Roquan. I think this is something that could be filled via a combination of mid-range FA signing + mid round draft picks. Playing next to Roquan should make any other LB better and Ogletree has been fine, but reality is Ogletree/Trevathan both are way past their primes and these are not expensive positions and they should be able to upgrade. They also need to PAY ROQUAN. - Safety - Ugly position, probably have to see if you can sign a mid-range type guy to make things better and i don't know cap situation with Ejax. They may be stuck one more year with Ejax, hope you can find a mid-range guy. If somehow you trade Mack for a 1st & 2nd - than things get interesting. At that point - I'd prioritize taking a CB, Safety, and WR (in no particular order). Note: I AM IGNORING TACKLE AND GUARD. I want to see what Borom / Jenkins can do plus I will live with Whitehair/Daniels in the interior. That means extending Daniels. Center is the weak link and than if Borom/Jenkins don't work, that becomes a critical area of need via FA / Draft in '23 (the good news being if you have moved at least Mack, between him being off the books, having a rookie contract QB, having all of your draft picks, plus quite a few other aging vets gone - they will have MASSIVE cap space in 23 to upgrade line and fill other parts).

I see ZERO scenario where they win this game. Quite frankly - no need to start Fields or Robinson here. Focus on getting them both at 100% in a week and than see how they can finish the season from that point forward. I'd actually probably just treat this as a mini-bye week and not rush Hicks or Roquan either. I will caveat - if Hopkins/Murray don't play, than I think it gets a bit more intriguing as it makes the game more "winnable" and technically a win here would be huge at restoring playoff hopes (which I don't really care about but if you are Nagy you probably do).