As we continue to inch closer to the end of the season, head coaching jobs are becoming open, and more and more speculations are connecting candidates to new locations. According to Diana Russini of The Athletic, there are quite a few mixed opinions on whether or not Chicago is a premier destination for a new head coach.
There are certainly factors that make the Bears an attractive team to coach. Rookie No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams has shown promise throughout his first season on the team. There are a few other young, talented players ready to be developed, and even with some veteran contributors likely to be on their way out soon, Chicago should be in a pretty good position salary cap-wise over the next few years.
The issue comes from the organization’s management. For years and years now, horror stories have come out of Halas Hall concerning the uncertain hierarchy in the building. Candidates and their agents are doing research on team president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles in order to determine who will have the ability and intent to potentially overrule the head coach. How stable or risky the situation is will likely contribute to the quality of candidates that interview for the job.
Here are a few other rumors about coaching situations across the NFL:
- We touched recently on some of the “comical” rumors that 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was approaching a hot seat. General manager John Lynch shut down those rumors, but Shanahan felt the need to speak on a similar rumor after today’s win, per Adam Schefter of ESPN. When asked about speculation that another team should trade for him this offseason, Shanahan told the media, “I don’t want to be any place in the world more than here.”
- In what has been viewed as a relatively weak candidate pool for head coaching candidates this year, some college coaching names are popping up in conversations. One name that many have been looking for is fast-rising Colorado head coach and NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. Sanders began his head coaching career at Jackson State, finding immediate success that led to his hiring at Colorado. After a rough first year under Sanders, the Buffaloes turned it around with a 9-3 season behind two separate Heisman candidates this season. With his obvious connections to certain NFL franchises, it makes sense that this would be the next step for Sanders, but according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, his name has not been making the rounds in coaching circles yet. The two teams that he has been linked to as a good fit, the Cowboys and Raiders, don’t have open coaching jobs, and he is currently not viewed as a natural fit for Chicago, New Orleans, or New York.
Two years at a Power 5 school-one good, one bad. I think everyone on the planet wants to wait a minute on the Deion Sanders rumors.
As for Chicago, I’ve said before that I think their biggest issue is their strong division. Right now, roster-wise, they seem like a pretty good place. Poles seems like a capable GM and manager, and Warren is still early in his career there. So far, he has at least acted decisively in addressing issues instead of letting them stagnate. I suppose the question for him is more in regards to how hands on he is, but Chicago looks better than it was before management-wise so far. The roster has some pieces, too. To me, the biggest hang-up by far is the division.
Warren has been pretty good. Poles is still up in the air. He signed Nate Davis and traded an early #2 for Claypool which turned out to be bad moves. You’d think he should know better about OL being a former OL himself. Every new GM has to learn and hopefully he will. Bears have talent on both sides of the ball but the merry-go-round of coaching needs to end. They get paid to make these calls on who gets hired so jury is still out.
Can’t argue with any of that. I think I’d say that that the outlook is still positive in my eyes, but I’d like to see results to accompany the instincts. Davis I felt was sort of a placement and circumstances sort of signing, which I can’t hold too much against Poles.
It’s still early-we’re just going to have to see how the big acquisitions pan out accompanied by the big draft choices. I will say, though, that there is at least a sense of genuine optimism around the Chicago organization that has been lacking before. I won’t commit as an observer to the Poles/Warren hybrid model just yet, but I do think that Warren has brought a sense of accountability that hopefully will be helpful on a football level for the franchise. We’ll see if it pans out.
Bears need to build a dynasty ala KC, PITTS, SF, BUFF, even WASH. Caleb has the potential but he’s way too emotional on the field. Passes for a 15 yd 1st down and acts like he won the SB. I wonder if he even sees the bigger picture of the winning the game for 4Qs. He needs to grow up. They didn’t want Jim H or Sean Peyton who currently ARE building dynasties. There never is a formula to the right HC. Most coordinators fail as HCs but you have to give them a chance to find an Andy Reid or Shanahan. Eberflus was good at D but didn’t know jack about O. No good OC wanted to work for him as he was a lame duck. That’s not how to build a dynasty and hopefully what Poles can figure out. Let’s hope the merry-go-round of bad coaching stops.
If the 49ers are satisfied with frequent playoff runs, they should stick with Shanahan.
If they want to win a Super Bowl, they should look elsewhere.
That makes zero sense.
Yes, this insanity needs to stop! Almost every other team, except maybe the Chiefs, would instantly trade for Shannahan and the success he’s had over the last several seasons.
As fans of a successful franchise, people all too often get spoiled when their teams are having success.
Some of you all clearly must have forgotten what the 49ers were like post Harbaugh and pre-Kyle S./J.Lynch.
This is exactly right.
I’m not saying Shanahan isn’t successful, he’s one of the better coaches in the league. He just can’t figure out how to handle a Super Bowl.
Please put Deion in charge of the Bears. It would be the absolute best. No two things deserve to spectacularly fail together more than the Bears and coach Deion Sanders.
(Love and respect to Deion the player)
The Bears deserve to fail because why?
As for Deion, his recent (strange) comments about the Bears draft choice and the weather there (of all things) makes him a bad fit culturally for any large market team.
Sander’s extensive experience at developing QBs is hard to ignore but how bout we let him manage the White Sox for a while before we have him take control of the Bears.
How about both?
That would result in the Blackhawks complaining that they were ignored 🙂
After watching the 49ers march down the field basically unopposed I turned that debacle off. The Bears obviously weren’t prepared to play, Not like it was the first time either, As they continually seem to think the game starts in the 3rd quarter. So far no coach on this team has proven that they have their part of the roster even remotely interested in the start of the game. It’s a good thing SF had half the team injured or it could have been 73-0.
So basically Dennis Green had it right…”The Bears are who we thought they were”.
Holy sh!t man! Some fan bases are incredibly spoiled and in need of a decade or so of straight up losing! Shanahan has led that franchise back to respectability quickly and now there are rumors of him on the Ole hot seat? That is why I am loving every single second of what my Lions are doing the last few years. When you have continued success without adversity, you basically start grading your wins and looking for junk to whine about. Try being a Lions fan from 1978 (birth) until today. You can truly appreciate a great season when you haven’t had many (1, maybe 2) to choose from! Love you Dan Campbell, and GO LIONS!
You have great points. They’re true, but unfortunately outdated. The phrase “What have you done for me lately” has always been relevant, but in today’s day and age it’s been especially so. I mean, coordinators are getting head coaching shots on five year contracts with a single year of top ten finishes. The NFL has shifted unobjectively and totally to recency bias.
As much good as the Shanahan/Lynch combo has done, I don’t think that the current NFL is as respectful of their success as a prior generation would have been. That’s not to say that Shanahan couldn’t improve-I have a few thoughts, as an amateur, on his ability to make in game adjustments-but teams are much less patient than they used to be. Mostly, it doesn’t end up being stable. It’s a shame, and even though I doubt that this year has put Shanahan on the hot seat,I also don’t think that coaches get get as much grace these days as they probably deserve.