DABEARSDABOMB

By the way - I think one of the things that is very undersold on splitting the field, doing play action, more pre-read throws...is it simplifies things for the QB and helps get their feet and mechanics right. It isn't just the speed of the read, it helps them get into the groove. Bears really never did it and it was just so criminal. And they consistently operated this way - from Waldron to Brown.

Daniels is really good. He throws a great deep ball, is accurate, and his legs are a weapon. I think teams started to figure him and Kingsbury out in 2nd half of the season (which is the reputation in the league - teams adjust to Kingsbury offenses as season goes on), but there is no knocking what Kliff has done with Jayden. He put him in places where he could leverage his strengths and succeed. That is what a good OC / coach does and he did it. Daniels had a better season than Caleb - no denying it. I sometimes wonder what would have been if Caleb was in Washington and given the same coaching and played with a bit more training wheels. I don't know in the long-run what approach is better and I truly hope Caleb will have learned from the no training wheel treatment. I think there are a lot of QB's who would get broken by what the Bears did - but I happen to think Caleb has a swagger that will overcome it (similar to how Peyton overcame it). The inverse is I don't think Andrew Luck every overcame it (he did in terms of how well he played - but I think the shell shock and damage of the hits and lessons he took never went away, hence his early retirement). But Kingsbury had his issues in Arizona. He did somethings well but had his issues and I don't know if he commands the lockeroom and the detail aspects. He's basically always been a fast starter and than a slow downhill from there (from his head coaching days in college to head coach in the pro's). That said - he very well could have learned.

This is where I am. I'm looking for someone who can come in and bring a system. I'm looking for the guy who nails Monday through Saturday. Off-season, training camp, film study, the habits to be successful and putting the structure in place. If they nail that - Sunday's will go well. We may wake up in 3-4 years complaining about losing in the NFC championship game - but at least we'd have taken the real and necessary steps forward to build a repeatable infrastructure. It is why I'm leaning more and more to Mike McCarthy (who Cowboys just announced isn't being retained). He's 13th all time in wins, is an offensive mind, has gotten rave reviews from his time with Rodgers (remember he worked with Rodgers to rebuild his throwing mechanics) and has gotten best out of Dak. He will absolutely frustrate us with in-game decisioning, but he knows offenses and runs very good units. He also has a history of hiring very good coordinators (not that he doesn't have his misses - any coach will). But I think he's the type of guy that can get Caleb to next level. Lets also remember Caleb's ideal was Rodgers - so getting to be coached by the guy who was with him from day 1 in the NFL would be a pretty cool thing. I also think Cowboys dropping him now after declining the interview is really Jerry saving face cause he knows Mike is going to make a run at this Bears job cause he probably wants to get away from Jerry. I also think Mike has had to deal with pressure - Packers job is hard, Cowboys job is hard (big media, Jerry, etc)...so he is as fit for Chicago as there can be.

Im just not a fan of the rookie candidates with exception of Johnson (and even him I have reservations). It’s not that they aren’t qualified - those 3 guys are. Monkin id pass on, I’m hesitant of someone his age finally getting a shot (Arians is like the only time I can ever think of it working). The reason I don’t like the inexperienced coaches is I think the Bears don’t have the right culture and transition approach in place, so they need a good proven coach who can get that stuff right. It’s the stuff that rookie coaches will struggle with, with very few exceptions and I just think the Bears are so freaking broke. Fox was trying to do it but he was just too far out of the game. McCarthy, Tomlin, Pete - they all have the juice still and while they have flaws they know how to establish good, winning programs and build buy in and an actual system - you get that right for a number of years and than I think it becomes easier the next time you replace your coach…further you get away from it the harder it is to create. Shoot…even look across the board…with exception of Lions, rarely do you see the looser teams turn it around and it’s cause I think they are just so messed up by time some of that stuff gets fixed or attempted to those guys are gone and it’s just a whole new attempt at same stuff. When you get a legit experienced guy (not just some crappy retread…this is a rare year where they can get a good experienced guy)…they just enter the lockeroom with juice that someone else has to earn and build and that is its own unique skill that isn’t easy and doesn’t necessarily translate to being great at X’s and O’s or even being a good ceo / manager.

I think now is the time where you might be able to do some back room deal for him. Warren should at least assess the option.

Going to be interesting - McCarthy, Tomlin, and Pete Carrol could all options. All with a Super Bowl championship. Tomlin with a good young QB could be dynamite. Feels like it could be real. Plus Johnson if you go coordinator. God I would love Tomlin. He has gotten so much from crap since Big Ben retired.

He’s the best qb of all time - that isn’t something to discount. His voice matters and makes the Raiders different than before. If Bears had him as partial owner (or Manning) we would all be nuts about it too (imo). But their roster is still awful so I think Bears get who they want as long as they don’t totally mess it up.

You are spot on - has to be favor/rooney rule. I believe Brown doesn’t count toward the rule but I thought he was one of the first to interview. Any coach currently under contract (in playoffs or not) can only be virtually interviewed. This gets them one step closer. I suspect we will see everything speed up when McCarthy officially comes out of contract - because it’s at that point where I think the Bears next push happens (including waiting for Johnson). I think 20th is when any current coach or coordinator under contract can interview in person.

I don’t know what to think of Flores Miami stint. He did a ton with very little there and is an elite d coordinator and holds people to a standard. He also seems to show remorse - but he also expects a lot. I think or would hope Caleb would respond to someone who held him to such a high standard. Tua was too soft to handle it - but the intent wasn’t to knock him down, it was to push him to be great (him begin Tua). But Flores would be last on my list of former head coaches that I outlined above. But I could get on board. It would be a far better hire than Flus or Trestman were out of the gate.

I do lean towards an experienced HC - Vrabel, Pete, Flores, McCarthy. My guess is it is one of those 4. Part of my lean is I don’t think ownership knows what a highly competent head coach actually does and all of the above guys are that.

No interest in Ron. I think this is purely a favor to Ron.

Dexter got a lot better this year - he faded as season went on, but he has a chance to continue to ascend given his physical talents. If they get some support on dline we can see some big multipliers fast next year as it should free up more for Dexter and Montez.

I'll also caveat that I think this is a really good class of coaching candidates, when I think of 3 really good fits on the retreat circuit (Vrabel, McCarthy, and Kingsbury), one older hall of fame coach (Pete Caroll) and than you have the bright OC's (Ben Johnson, Joe Brady, Bucs OC) and you have a really dynamic DC (Aaron Glenn). There are obviously other names I'm not listing - but that is a pretty good pool of candidates in my eyes.

This isn't going to happen. It just won't. Too many candidates out there that are with playoff teams. If you wait 5 weeks, fine thats a risk. But waiting another 1-2 weeks is really only going to put Vrabel at risk (in my mind). Now if they think Vrabel is their #1 - than they need to move fast. Now could a team settle and grab a guy like Kafka early - sure, but I don't think that impacts the Bears and when you look at past hiring cycles, there is ZERO correlation between the team that swings first in the hiring circle vs. the team that swings last.

If I could trade a 3rd rounder for Quentin from Colts to solve some interior problems maybe that makes things a bit more interesting in terms of going pass rusher first.

Was thinking same thing. He looks like a difference maker and could be there at 10.

Yeah that is why I have no major issue with them having a big list as long as they are focused and smart on how they are doing it. Because the new rules basically prevent teams from hiring for another 1-2 weeks or so.

Marcus Freeman is one name that intrigues me a ton. No way bears would spend the money and it would be a huge risk but regardless of what happens these final few minutes, Freeman is a special coach who I think would work at both levels (College & NFL).

One thing to note - if Johnson is their preferred / target candidate, the reality is they can't hire him for a while anyway, so if that is the case (or its someone else on a playoff team), than they aren't losing a ton of ground by having all of these other interviews, but may be gaining traction around other intelligence for coordinator positions and / or just gaining far broader knowledge on varying view points across the league. The one piece Poles/Warren are going to have to be smart about - is if they really like Vrabel or Pete, and most notably Vrabel, than that is the one scenario where they may have to cut the process short and reach an accelerated conclusion as they obviously run significant risk to a New England jumping on that. Otherwise I think all other teams the general expectation is this will play out and I suspect no other team will hire anyone in the next week.

They are interviewing Iowa State's head coach Matt Campbell. So they certainly are looking deeper than they further have. I have heard only great things about Campbell on a sidebar. I now wonder if we hear the name Nick Saban pop up or Marcus Freeman as well. We know David Shaw (former Standford coach) is also going to get an interview (my guess is he could be a theortical OC as well under say Vrabel or a different defensive minded HC). But Shaw was a hot name for a long time too and did a ton in Stanford (which is NOT an easy place to win).

The only risk is if the wait for him they lose out on another candidate. I don’t think Johnson will be gone in next week but Vrabel might be. But I think McCarthy is a legit plan B if they don’t like their plan A’s (Johnson / Vrabel / Pete).

Rodger’s had his mechanics rebuilt by McCarthy so I think he deserves some credit for his work with Rodger’s.

Its this - I think they focus on people who interview like a Corporate executive and don't focus on the right things that matter. I don't mind if you are interviewing these people for a purpose and have a "real" list which is say 3-5 people and the others are more of a "intelligence" list. This could be - we want to gather intel on views they had on x or y, or learn something specific and or even just get some early insights around how they might fit on a potential staff in a non HC role. But if you are legitimately looking at all of them and going to go off best interview than you are really throwing out tons of track record and realness for who put in the best prep for an interview (especially when some of these people are in the middle of prepping for playoffs, etc). Its why Pete, McCarthy, Vrabel are super high on my list - all would be good gets. Issues and risks with all of them - but they are people who move us forward as an org in my mind. Johnson or Brady or Bucs OC are guys who have risk but could be awesome too.

He is probably the safest hire of all the coaches. He's worked with 3 high level QB's and played a huge part in 2 of theirs success (huge part of Rodgers & Dak had his best years under Mike). He's won a superbowl - made the playoffs a ton - high winning percentage. Yes - he has some issues that maybe keep him from being great, but its not like Jerry is the best in the world either. Bottom line - they could do a lot worse. McCarthy has a good floor and I'd feel pretty good about Caleb's development...maybe in 4 years you need to move on from Mike to someone who can take them to next level -but I think Mike would put Caleb and the rest of the team on a pretty good path forward. I also think he's pretty good at bringing on good assistants. By the way - Poles press conference today. I don't know how to describe it - but he gives me absolutely zero confidence. None. In fact I have negative confidence in his ability at this point.

McCarthy is a proven good coach. Talking to him and getting his view points is a no brainer. Is he great…no, but he is good and you should speak with him.