bmags

I think Quinn is like 2:1 favorite for Denver. I do think at this point we are looking at Eberflus as a strong favorite here. If the Raiders land Dodds/Harbaugh I'll be pretty bummed. Bummed by the raiders.

This seems contradictory. First you are complaining these are all just Polians guys, then that he should have narrowed his list prior to the interviewing. They've interviewed 12 GM candidates from 11 different orgs by my count. They only interviewed 4 guys when Pace was selected.

I think the surprise/disappointment here is Daboll NOT being there. Either they know he's gone or their GM feedback outside Schoen hasn't been as high on him for some reason, probably the former. For the interviews, I'd point out that like Eberflus, Quinn already has a second interview with Denver lined up. Caldwell does not have an official one, but is likely to get one from Jacksonville. This is likely just ensuring the GM has the opportunity to interview these candidates by letting them know they are still interested and not to just take the jobs elsewhere. And my expectation - that I will be surprised if is not the case - is that we will have Morocco brown, Khan (both interviewed today) with Poles as finalists, and Glen Cook as a possible 4th. I'd hope that these happen pretty soon and get them to interviewing these coaches before anyone but Eberflus is scheduled.

Actually no, but I guess pringle is even faster. Point is - it's a toub team, they are good. But I'd still have squibbed but it's really nuts that they had such an easy time on that second play after a time out.

Wasn't there :17 seconds? They had two time outs, so if you get 9 seconds you definitely have time for a 25 yard pass plus time out. Basically nothing is guaranteed but 40 yards in 2 plays should be quite difficult, but for whatever reason they ran the defense Fangio would do when teams only needed the end zone. It was very bad. Obviously 1 play for 25 should also be difficult. That play they executed to Kelce is just unbelievable, it's insane they wouldn't have guys at each level for him.

Also I'm with Jack here - there is an assumption that squib kick just ends up with them at the 25 to 30 with time ran off. But the Chiefs could throw Hill and Hardiman back there - two incredible returners - who could end up much deeper or worse. You can say they just need to execute the squib kick, but you can also say they just need to execute by not giving up 40 yards in two plays. I probably would have squibbed, but I've had squib kicks backfire on my teams I follow a lot enough where I've definitely said "JUST KICK IT STRAIGHT"

So it doesn't sound like they are 100% going to sign a coach before a GM

One thing I'll be watching is if Bears can grab back Pep Hamilton as QB coach now that Culley is gone with whomever takes over. He has done some incredibly strong work recently in that role with Herbert and Davis Mills.

I think the danger would be someone like Kelce could still release out of it, likely make a big gain (got past initial defense) or worse, and you still would have a stopped clock.

Aaron Leming's twitter is good for aggregating the helpful tweets

The real dream should be Khan as President of football operations and Joe Hortiz as GM.

re: Daboll

I'm still not sure. Fields is physically built yet doesn't play delivering near the punishment Allen does (or Newton), nor does he avoid contact naturally like Jackson does. BUT, I do think the Arians or Roman or Daboll offense is way better for fields than the west coast scheme of Nagy, at least initially. He wants the big play. A lot of Daboll's passes are essentially runs. I think he'd be great in an offense like Cleveland's as well. I both agree that league trends and success point to the idea that an offensive coach is more likely to be successful than a defensive guy. But it also has felt like the offense has been extremely picked over recently. I like Daboll a lot because he had so many stops. I think Shanahan was likely helped immensely by his stop in Cleveland, and then ATL. But you look at someone like Zac Taylor and he had like 5 games of bad offensive playcalling and he's been good! Who knows. I like what I read about Eberflus and Patrick Graham. I don't think they are "we run the ball and play defense" coaches. But you never know what these coaches will be like. Same with GMs.

Playoff expansion would be annoying, however I also hate the play in though I am glad 5 teams get in from each league. Changing that to a 3 game series would be welcome to me.

The only coach second interview was with Eberflus and it was a response to Jacksonville. Breer last week goes from "Leagues circles saying Frazier is Bears guy!" to then Eberflus being the only second interview to then "League circles saying Caldwell is rejecting offers from LV and calling staff for Bears job!" to then getting a rejection of that from Caldwell, and now he's saying all three of those guys are the finalists. His columns are fun when he gets access (a la King)...but he clearly doesn't have access right now and there are no shortage of people willing to pontificate stupid things the bears will do. But if you just look at the process they are going through - nothing indicates they have a short list for coaches.

Listen, I know this will seem like wishful thinking, but Breer has been all over the place on the bears for a week. Everyday there is a new freak out.

Lol

One thing I love about Allen is for a few years around 2018 it seemed like the NFL was starting to be predictable and make sense…then he drops in as a pretty universally hated prospect by draft writers, on a team the league was ignoring even as they just kept acquiring solid talent, and hiring a D coach instead of O, and they became one of the most fun teams in the league led by their MVP level QB.

Man, weekends like this are why no matter how freakin awful the bears are I can’t quit the damn nfl. When it is great it is unbelievable.

Glad my TB and Cooper Kupp MVP arguments held up

I don’t find Bienemy compelling at all.

The game we are watching today: Jason Licht drafted Jameis and fired two coaches. Les Snead drafted Goff, and survived. Unless things are just an absolute dumpster fire like Gettleman, Emery, they tend to get time to correct. But it’s true they tend not to get re-hired.

This was destined to lead to a terrible Brady game lol

I thought this was a good run down. Not a podcast I consistently listen to but this was good atuff https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/1/23/22896784/t-formation-conversation-latest-chicago-bears-searches-head-coach-general-manager-brian-daboll-khan For GM, My number one is Khan. But, I think Brown is a really good candidate - he’s been in multiple orgs and ran both pro and College scouting - and you can’t fault Indy’s scouting in the draft - and that’s when bears pro scouting esp OLine was quite good. Poles is scary because he’s a lot of what I didn’t want. His youth and single org make it a huge unknown what kind of staff and scouting he can bring. And does he really know what is required to build a successful org when you remove a hall of fame coach? Pace knew how much Brees meant to NO and sacrificed the rest of the team to try and find him - and he was too focused on the leadership side of Brees. BUT - KC made this guy VP so he can only leave to GM. He’s handled scouting AND contracts. Every team is impressed. That’s more than Pace. For GM I’m not so concerned. This candidate pool is exciting. For coach, I am more open to Eberflus than you. People really like him, his players respect him. He’s developed guys like crazy, and I think coaches will see how he stayed under Reich as a loyal coach where he won’t have a problem building a staff - for instance - I wouldn’t be shocked if Eberflus could get Caldwell as OC. Schematically he seems flexible and smart. However - yeah, I’d prefer Daboll and I have been sold on Leftwich. Id also be very excited about Flores though, I think if the new GM liked him it is a sign Dolphins spin took the reins. Both GM and Flores would likely have a plan for OC like Joe Brady. I won’t lie, Khan seems like a slam dunk. A guy 20 years in an incredible Org, managing the resources to make them consistently competitive.

Hahahaha this is excellent