The Bears Deny Coaching Search
This afternoon Hub Arkush, the guru from Pro Football Weekly, teased Chicago football fans by suggesting his sources say the Bears have quietly begun exploring a possible change at both the head coach and general manager positions.
Arkush,
citing unnamed sources, said on WSCR Radio the Bears have begun the process of looking at coaching candidates. "Inquiries have been made, feelers have been put out," Arkush said. He specifically mentioned three names the Bears are interested in as potential candidates, listing Super Bowl winning coaches Bill Cowher, Mike Shanahan, and Jon Gruden.
If the Bears make a coaching change both Bill Cowher and Mike Shanahan will be at or near the top of the Bears list of candidates.
Tonight, a Bears source told Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh that there is absolutely no truth to the report. Now, does that mean that the Bears won't change coaches after the season ends? Absolutely not. It simply means that no official search is underway and with 6 games still to be played in the 2009 season, it would do the Bears no good to undercut Lovie Smith and his staff as they try salvage a very disappointing year.
Should the Bears fire Smith and his staff at the end of the season? Absolutely. This will be the third consecutive season that the Bears will miss the playoffs, and the future looks anything but bright with question marks all over the roster. The team hasn't quit on Smith but it is becoming painfully obvious that the team is woefully inadequate to compete for a championship.
So with the team struggling again, and with not much in the way of draft
picks available over the next couple of seasons to improve, now
is the time to clean house in football operations and start the
rebuilding process.
Both Smith and General Manager Jerry Angelo should be given their
walking papers at season's end so that the arduous task of retooling
the roster can begin immediately. If a change is
going to be made, the Bears hierarchy has to begin doing their
homework so that they don't have to deal with a protracted coaching
search that could see better prepared organizations hire candidates
while the Bears are still going through the process.
To me, the search should come down to two names: Bill Cowher, the former
Steelers coach, and Mike Shanahan, the ex-Broncos boss. Both men
have Super Bowl rings on their fingers, and both are strong
personalities who hold people accountable. Both are very honest in
their dealings with the media regarding their team's strengths and
failings, and both have put together outstanding offensive teams.
Shanahan will have plenty of people in his camp because of his ties to
Jay Cutler during their days in Denver. Cutler became a Pro Bowl QB
under Shanahan and there are many people who believe he can fix
whatever it is that has caused Jay to have such an awful first season
in Chicago. However, let's not forget that Shanahan failed to lead the
Broncos to the playoffs in his final three seasons on the job. In fact,
over his last 10 seasons in Denver, he won just one division title. He
is an unquestioned offensive genius, but the big question that has to be
answered is this: Is he the right choice as the next head coach of the
Bears?
If I was making the hire, I would do whatever it took to land Bill
Cowher as the next coach of the Bears. In Cowher's 15 seasons, the
Steelers captured eight division titles,
earned ten postseason playoff berths, played in 21 playoff games,
advanced to six AFC Championship games and made two Super Bowl appearances. He is one of
only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division
titles. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers
had the
best record of any team in the National Football League since Cowher
was hired as head coach in 1992.
Cowher would be an instant hit with a Bears fan base that has clearly
had enough of Lovie Smith and his lack of emotion. Cowher is a very
aggressive and emotional coach, who will remind many Bears fans of
former coach Mike Ditka. He will be much more vocal publicly in
holding players accountable for their performances, which has been a
major criticism of Smith.
So are the Bears actively looking for a new head coach? Probably not.
However, if they are at all interested in making a change, they are
definitely doing their homework. That's not major news. A well run
organization should know all of its options at all times. If they
aren't considering all possibilities as to how to fix their struggling
team, then shame on them. I'm betting that they are least seeing what it
would take if they decide to make a change.
9 Comments
shawndgoldman said:
Kap,
Quick question for you: do you honestly think that Angelo would bring in a defensive-minded coach that isn't a Tampa 2 disciple? It seems to me that on the defensive side of the ball, Angelo only knows how to acquire talent for that particular system. I can't see them bringing in Cowher unless they can both Smith and Angelo. And given the money Cowher will command and the money still owed to the current braintrust, I think that's highly unlikely.
Shanahan is more likely, but I can't see him coming here, either. I doubt he'll want to come to a team with a GM in place with many years left on their contract, as Shanahan likes to control the personnel on the roster.
The only option out of the big names that seems feasible is Gruden. He's coached a Tampa 2 defense before... in Tampa. And although the defense improved when he got there (the offense got worse if i recall correctly), he's known as an "offensive mastermind."
My money is on Smith and a new offensive coordinator, or Gruden.
JobbaJibba said:
Hey Kap...I agree with placing blame on Lovie's ancient defensive system. But Angelo? Really? He signs players that Lovie wants for his system. He also is only available to do what the owners give him the "OK" for.
shawndgoldman said:
JJ, I think Angelo is the bigger problem of the two. He's made repeated mistakes in his handling of the roster, and when he took over he proved he's going to get Tampa-2 guys regardless of who the head coach is.
Unless the Bears bring in another Tampa-2 coach, it's pointless to get rid of Smith without also getting rid of Angelo. Angelo is just as much of a "system guy" as Smith is.
Illini said:
"Both are very honest in their dealings with the media regarding their team's strengths and failings..."
SERIOUSLY KAP? Who cares about how they deal with the media. Can they win? That's all we should care about, and accountability and offense are certainly factors...media relations is not.
arch21002 said:
Of course the Bears are going to deny this at this time. We aren't even to Thanksgiving yet, but Hub wasn't going to flat out lie for no reason, he is too respected to just make something up out of the blue. From what I could gather the names mentioned are Cowher, Shannahan, and Gruden.
dan9189 said:
Kap,
I have no problem with you wanting Cowher (I want Shannahan) but please don't fall into the "fire and passion" that Cowher brings and how he would loved by Bears fans because of his enthusiasm and emotions. This is so beyond overrated if you ask me. The best coach the NFL has seen in the last 25 years is Bill Belichek and he has the personality of a brick wall. I do like Cowher but I don't want him here because he's firey, I want him here to elevate the Bears play on the field. There is a a case to fire Lovie but its not because he's low key, its because the team has underperformed. Remember his low key style of coaching also brought back a team that was a joke for over 10 years (92-03). If the Bears do decide to make a coaching change, I'm fine with it. But let's please not want a guy only because he's intense, there have been plenty of emotional NFL head coaches who have stunk it up (see Bears D-Line coach).
RLB Ronnie said:
Kap:
The man needed to take over the Bears top to bottom is Mike Homgren.
He is the main reason that Brett Farve progressed into a Hall of Famer and can do the same for Jay Cutler.Farve's early years were very similar to Jay's and Holmgren can mold him to be a championship type player.
irena splitt said:
it's Lovie Smith's idea to pick up all these worthless draft picks...Angelo sucks as GM ...he only does what Lovie tells him to do...If u keep Lovie again as a headcoach, we'll have the same problems with the draft picks as we do now's...Time to clean house & get a much more experience headcoach that knows what he is doing...I'm all for Bill Cowher..he fits the Bears perfectly...The Steelers under him were in the playoffs every year...plus they were in two Superbowls in which one he won...He's an aggressive coach & he'll get his team motivated...I'm sick of Angelo & Lovie and his whole coaching staff...they have to go...I can't stand watching another Bear's Football with this Headcoach & his coaching staff...The only one I would keep is the special teams coach...the others have to go!!!
irena splitt said:
it's Lovie Smith's idea to pick up all these worthless draft picks...Angelo sucks as GM ...he only does what Lovie tells him to do...If u keep Lovie again as a headcoach, we'll have the same problems with the draft picks as we do now's...Time to clean house & get a much more experience headcoach that knows what he is doing...I'm all for Bill Cowher..he fits the Bears perfectly...The Steelers under him were in the playoffs every year...plus they were in two Superbowls in which one he won...He's an aggressive coach & he'll get his team motivated...I'm sick of Angelo & Lovie and his whole coaching staff...they have to go...I can't stand watching another Bear's Football with this Headcoach & his coaching staff...The only one I would keep is the special teams coach...the others have to go!!!
Leave a Comment?
What your comment will look like:
said: