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This post is such a tell. Please try to back it up at all that there were posters mourning the loss of Paddy.

100% Please with the activity splurge we've been seeing in regards to keller. May not lead to anything, but the complete passiveness under Paddy was maddening.

I think with a different org it would be like "eh, new rules its hard to decide quick, may as well interview guys as favors/info gathering" With bears it feels like they inflexibly rely on structure to provide the look of credibility. If they were meeting a bunch but were like "there is a LOT of smoke around bears going all out for johnson", then it would be different. But feels like mccarthy and others could go off the board and bears would be like "well we have to do our round 3s according to our schedule"

Ah, sorry I thought he switched TO Armstrong. Schefter, who is great because he is telling me what I want to hear:

I kinda wonder if this is actually a meaningful bomb thrown into the process that could change how George operates. (Ben Johnson is not a trace client)

yeah chalk that up to youthful memory, he was much better than I realized. I think where I was at the time Parcells and Gibbs at that time seemed underwhelming what they were doing in dallas/washington because it was super hyped maybe? It's hard to remember years now. Well I have a new favorite reporter, killer work here: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43439332/nfl-coaching-carousel-2025-agents-package-deals-consultants-goodell-concern

I think for Flores to get an HC gig, he'd need to go to college and end up having a college QB that is a big time recruit and leaves advocating that Flores was completely different with him, as well as his assistants. It sucks but that Fitzgerald thing is just so similar to what it sounded like with Patricia, except clearly Flores is a way better coach in every other way.

well s%*#, I take that back I did NOT remember he made the playoffs 2 out of 4 years which was definitely one of the best runs in the Snyder era.

I'd say the parallel for TLR was the Joe Gibbs return to Washington.

Said it before but he’d be the exact same role Johnson just saw help turn around Detroit in Spielman. He’s a former player with no explicit role who just makes sure good football people are there

good news everyone, I talked myself into Todd Monken numero uno. Ben Johnson can't hurt me.

this guy has been pulling a lot of social weight this offseason...always seemed like more of a draft guy. That said that's just so horrifying to read. I sure would like that GM who led the commanders FA run that led to a bunch of productive players over ryan poles who gave a bunch of money to Gerald Everett. there's just no way for me to exist in all of this without being just so so mad lol

NFL moves so fast though. Last year we all thought the bears roster was miles better than the Commanders, and now...

I would say that getting some guy to get on your page who may not want to be on your page has got to be like an A1 skill for a good coach. However my true A1 is just finding a coach that can give us an edge in playcalling/offensive strategy so we are finally not on backfoot.

I feel like it'll be like Drew Pentzig. I don't think they'd go for rivera but I'm terrified it will be David Shaw. Maybe that dude could get great assistants, but i unno. Monken is definitely the most interesting to me because I can't figure out why I don't like him more, but I think a lot of it has to do with Daboll. But that's pretty dangerous because coach resumes do not equal much when comparing them. But he reminds me a little bit of an offensive 'fangio' if that makes sense. Then again - feels like you look at a Fangio era broncos and are like "they expected him to make the playoffs with drew lock and trevor semien?" Poor guy.

I feel like at the end we'll be sad we didn't get mccarthy 🫥

ok it was clear once I got past the norm macdonald videos that this is for the class that just started signing.

I'm so embarrassed how confused I am but Sosaka is a 2025 signee...so is that now this for the 2025 season that finalizes next january? Or is it the one that just finalized? B/c we don't have 3 million from this last one.

The fact that they made him a round 2 candidate is notable, the plane is less so. He's clearly viewed as a top candidate, but there is also that Waddle said it was McCarthy that requested an in-person. McCarthy has an agent too, so smart move. That said, nearly every single national guy save schefter is starting to circle johnson to the raiders. Such a freakin annoying thing. Bears are always so arrogant for being so terrible.

The one thing I’ll say is last week Courtney Cronin said that one thing bears will change this time is they will fly in candidates privately, not commercial. So I’m not gonna go crazy when that exact thing happens.

Oh I didn’t include giolito/lopez because I counted them as a trade acquisition? I thought this year could have ruled because crochet/sale/rodon but it was still pretty borderline even with keeping semien/tatis

wow that's funny. I started putting this together too and ended up kinda bored because I was struggling to find team WAR totals. Maybe I did post it? But my conclusion was largely that we would still be a pretty dogshit team that maybe never made teh playoffs. Our pitching would have been too weak in early 20s, and Sale wasn't enough to save us last year.

No offense but this reminds me of when the board was like "no way san diego can afford machado, their property payment is killer!". For all the talk of brady part time owner, what Ben Johnson could see there is a set-up exactly like detroit - where chris spielman became the 'football guy' that helped spur the hiring of holmes and campbell. He barely has an official title, like Brady, but is a big influence in helping guide the ship. And I really wonder if Johnson's experience with Goff has become formative. There was a story yesterday of the Commanders hearing from Johnson that they wanted him to keep Howell. We may see an org with no qb, johnson may see a place where daniel jones is going to be saved by him. But the x factor is really just that the raiders are openly courting johnson, desperate to have him, and the bears are reading the dictionary to try to figure out what a head coach is.

I think there is a bit more pushing back on McCarthy as a bad coach because there was a sense that he was just a product of Aaron Rodgers, then a sense that Kellen Moore was the true genius, but when Moore left, the chargers struggled, and McCarthy led the cowboys to the number one offense…it definitely muddied the picture. He’s clearly not just a product of his talent, but also hasn’t appeared to have lifted a talent decrepit team to the playoffs. Anyway Johnson or bust.

I think the “hiring a coach immediately” approach bears have taken is extremely overrated. KOC and McDaniel were later hires, I don’t think we’ll be screwed much other that by the bears ownership