tshanno Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 http://bearingthenews.com/?p=976 Bears in a Bind if Titans Try to Take Mike Tice by Tom Shannon Both Sean Jensen at the Chicago Sun-Times (http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2011/02/mi...n_titans_r.html) and Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02...rcus-webb-bears) are reporting that the Tennessee Titans might have an interest in Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice. Some interesting aspects to this: 1) New head coach Mike Munchak was the offensive line coach there and he would certainly see Tice’s value to the team as a replacement for himself. However Tice’s value as a coordinator is debatable. Though he is definitely a leader of men and he would make a fine head coach, there’s been very little evidence that he would make a good X’s and O’s man. He seemed to recognize the value of the tight ends that he had in Minnesota and he knew how to use them. But I’m guessing that he had very little to do with designing any kind of a complex passing game involving multiple route combinations beyond creating some individual mismatches. 2) Lovie Smith and the Bears must give the Titans permission to contact Tice about the job. Ordinarily this is a no brainer. Smith has always been supportive of assistants who were seeking to advance and it would take an extraordinary circumstance, indeed, to prevent him from doing that. This might be that circumstance. The Bears offensive line is a work in progress. Tice has been crucial to the training of young players such as J’Marcus Webb and Lance Louis. To lose him now would be a blow to thier development. In addition, the Bears are likely to add at least two more linemen to the mix over the next few months, at least one of whom may be a draft pick. Those linemen will need to be indoctrinated in the Bears offensive system. But I don’t think that these factors would ultimately cause smith to hold Tice back if it weren’t for one more major difficulty, as Biggs describes it: “In mid-February, it would be difficult for the Bears to find a replacement for Tice, who Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo have called one of the league’s best line coaches. Most of the coach shuffling is complete so the pool of candidates isn’t deep.” This may be part of the reason why the New York Jets denied the Titans permission to talk to offensive line coach/assistant head coach Bill Callahan. Tice is not an assistant head coach. 3) The fact that the titans are looking to raid the Bears coaching staff rather than one of the Super Bowl staffs is as much of an indictment of Angelo as it is a compliment to Tice. The Bears offensive line was roundly criticized and was generally believed to be one of the worst in the league. Its obvious that the Titans believe that Tice worked miracles with a talent depleted line and this offer is a general acknowledgement of this fact. Teams know that if Tice had any players to work with, the Bears offensive line would have been one of the best units, if not the best unit, in the NFL. Tice should be proud. Angelo should be ashamed. Perhaps the Bears can offer Tice an assistant head coaching position and a bump in pay for him to stay. But if not, I think Smith knows what the right thing to do is. Generally speaking, you want the people around you to be happy. Good people do what they can to make that happen. If nothing else, on a professional level you want to make it so that other coaches and players around the league want to work for you. Long-term, that’s how you become the best. Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy was roundly criticized by this blogger when he held quarterbacks coach Tom Clements back from interviewing for the Bear offensive coordinator position. I would hate to see the Bears sink so low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrizzlyBear Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Pretty funny, I searched and nothing outa the NFL or Titans about this I think the Trib started this its being picked up by other news. Here is link from the Music city miracle http://www.musiccitymiracles.com/2011/2/13...ive-coordinator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defiantgiant Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I would hope that Lovie could convince Tice to stay for at least one more year and finish the job he started. He's a young guy, and there will be other coordinator or even HC jobs in his future if he turns the Bears' o-line into an elite unit (assuming that Angelo remembers to draft some players come April.) I respect Lovie a lot for making it a policy not to block his assistants from advancing their careers, but he needs to make a push to retain Tice, at least for one more season. I shudder to think what that o-line would look like without him coaching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connorbear Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 My understanding is Tice took the Bears job because he wanted to be closer to his kids who are in school in Wisconsin. I can't imagine him leaving if this is true. Peace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 It's also going to be hard for a team like the Titans to hire a guy like Tice away if they're not willing to pay a lot of money for a guy to sit around and wait for the lockout to end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 The Bears offensive line was roundly criticized and was generally believed to be one of the worst in the league. Its obvious that the Titans believe that Tice worked miracles with a talent depleted line and this offer is a general acknowledgement of this fact. Teams know that if Tice had any players to work with, the Bears offensive line would have been one of the best units, if not the best unit, in the NFL. Tice should be proud. Angelo should be ashamed. Loved this portion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradjock Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 My understanding is Tice took the Bears job because he wanted to be closer to his kids who are in school in Wisconsin. I can't imagine him leaving if this is true. Peace True, but we see this all the time. Guys want to be near their family. Then they pack up for slightly more money and a slightly better opportunity. It's not football related, but the most classic example is Jordan quitting basketball to spend more time with his family, only to play baseball. Then quitting basketball to spend time with his family, only to travel to various golf tournaments. I'm in no way comparing Tice to Jordan, but it's just common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 True, but we see this all the time. Guys want to be near their family. Then they pack up for slightly more money and a slightly better opportunity. It's not football related, but the most classic example is Jordan quitting basketball to spend more time with his family, only to play baseball. Then quitting basketball to spend time with his family, only to travel to various golf tournaments. I'm in no way comparing Tice to Jordan, but it's just common. Of course, this comparison only makes sense if you think "Spending more time with his family" was actually a big part of MJ's reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have no prob with the Bears naming him asst head coach. Shit I think they all should equal Tice, Marinelli, Martz and Lovie. They're all shit as HC's alone, but together they might be able to get by for a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshanno Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Loved this portion. Thanks, Jason. Tom S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshanno Posted February 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have no prob with the Bears naming him asst head coach. Shit I think they all should equal Tice, Marinelli, Martz and Lovie. They're all shit as HC's alone, but together they might be able to get by for a year. Honestly, I'd like to see what this staff could do given another year together. I liked some of the things Marinelli did last year. H'ell never be Dom Capers but at least he had them disguising coverages and generally doing something more than lining up and saying, "Here we are. Run your best cover 2 beater." They're going to have to play more effective man-to-man every once in a while to compete with the big boys but at least they're trying. Tom S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I too loved that! Thanks, Jason. Tom S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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