General Manager/Head Coach Interview Discussion

[TheWorldBreaker]

Now I’m being serious.

Even though I think the McCaskeys are an inbred group of taint tinklers, there’s no way in hell the Jags, Denver, Minnesota and Miami are ahead of us in terms of appeal.

Forget ownership. It’s a huge ass market with a rabid fan base and the probable expansion to Arlington Heights if the HC does a good job and is around for it.

Similar to the Cubs and Hawks Anybody associated with a winning Bears team would be crowned and have a statue of them up around the new stadium and eat for free the rest of his life.

Denver and Minnesota are better jobs. They have better rosters and also have large, passionate fan bases.

I live in Denver and Mike Shanahan is treated like Ditka is in Chicago. You don’t think there would be a statue built for the guy that wins Minnesota a SuperBowl?

Next year is going to have to be a rebuild because of Pace’s mismanagement (and a rebuild that begins with no first round pick) and Justin Fields had flashes but didn’t look good. Whether that’s a product solely of Nagy’s incompetence or what remains to be seen. But he’s not an elite franchise QB yet.

Miami and Jacksonville don’t make sense since they also have incompetent ownership, don’t have great rosters, and there are more Bears fans in their home stadiums.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

You have more potential uplift if you join the bears.

[Artbest]

George's biggest issue is that he can't trust Ted Phillips with the football side of the operation. Theoretically, George should be involved - just as Michael ceased to be involved/heard from when he was kicked up to Chairman and Phillips replaced him as President.

Phillips' hiring of Phil Emery SHOULD have instigated a change in the structure back in 2015 - i.e. a strong GM/head of football operations reporting directly to George/being a de facto peer of Ted. It appears George is fixing that.

Now we have to hope they get the GM/head of football operations hire right. If they do, then we should hear from George MAYBE once a year and never, unless it's to discuss the stadium, hear from Ted.

Now I’m being serious.

Even though I think the McCaskeys are an inbred group of taint tinklers, there’s no way in hell the Jags, Denver, Minnesota and Miami are ahead of us in terms of appeal.

Forget ownership. It’s a huge ass market with a rabid fan base and the probable expansion to Arlington Heights if the HC does a good job and is around for it.

Similar to the Cubs and Hawks Anybody associated with a winning Bears team would be crowned and have a statue of them up around the new stadium and eat for free the rest of his life.

[Artbest]

Denver is a better job in the short-run...Minnesota likely is as well. Long-term? No way - Success with the Bears dwarfs success in Denver or Minnesota. Winning a SB in Chicago makes one a head coach a cross over cultural icon.

Now I’m being serious.

Even though I think the McCaskeys are an inbred group of taint tinklers, there’s no way in hell the Jags, Denver, Minnesota and Miami are ahead of us in terms of appeal.

Forget ownership. It’s a huge ass market with a rabid fan base and the probable expansion to Arlington Heights if the HC does a good job and is around for it.

Similar to the Cubs and Hawks Anybody associated with a winning Bears team would be crowned and have a statue of them up around the new stadium and eat for free the rest of his life.

Denver and Minnesota are better jobs. They have better rosters and also have large, passionate fan bases.

I live in Denver and Mike Shanahan is treated like Ditka is in Chicago. You don’t think there would be a statue built for the guy that wins Minnesota a SuperBowl?

Next year is going to have to be a rebuild because of Pace’s mismanagement (and a rebuild that begins with no first round pick) and Justin Fields had flashes but didn’t look good. Whether that’s a product solely of Nagy’s incompetence or what remains to be seen. But he’s not an elite franchise QB yet.

Miami and Jacksonville don’t make sense since they also have incompetent ownership, don’t have great rosters, and there are more Bears fans in their home stadiums.

[dave99]

Now I’m being serious.

Even though I think the McCaskeys are an inbred group of taint tinklers, there’s no way in hell the Jags, Denver, Minnesota and Miami are ahead of us in terms of appeal.

Forget ownership. It’s a huge ass market with a rabid fan base and the probable expansion to Arlington Heights if the HC does a good job and is around for it.

Similar to the Cubs and Hawks Anybody associated with a winning Bears team would be crowned and have a statue of them up around the new stadium and eat for free the rest of his life.

You have to remember this is for the HC job.
It is basically a referendum on the Bears lack of talent, particularly on offense.
An as yet unknown GM will have some major rebuilding to do.
So do you go to a smaller market with less risk or the 2nd biggest market with the 2nd most risk?
In that scenarios, you are more likely to attract the guy who has to take the risk as opposed to a more established quantity with a good resume.

[The Cooler King]

He has to be a top candidate. These are his chops:

Graduate of Purdue, became their strength/conditioning coach, TE coach, and secondary coach. Hired in '96 by the Broncos as their secondary coach and won 2 SBs with them. In 2000, promoted by Mike Shanahan to a front office job. When Gary Kubiak was hired by the Texans, he helped them hire Smith as their GM. Was the one who drafted JJ Watt, Deshaun Watson, and Andre Hopkins. Had decent success even with QBs such as Matt Schaub and the original giraffe, Brock Osweiler. Stepped down not long after drafting Watson as his wife was battling (and lost) cancer.

Yea, his overall record is weak (92-100), but he was probably like Pace his first 5-6 years and really learning on the job. And he was taking over a tough situation for a still very new franchise struggling to gain a foothold.

By the time of his stepping aside and eventual firing, they had clearly started to figure it out and got a franchise QB to boot. Then it took like 2 seasons for O'Brien to ruin it all an internal infighting to blow it up (not to mention Watson personal legal issues).

Thing is O'Brien was actually a good coach hire too. So he was 2/2 in his coaching hires too with Kubiak/O'Brien. That he got two O coaches from different offensive systems is a nice sign.

[dplank]

The Vikings complex is looks like an abandoned strip mall off the side of the highway. The worst in the league that I visited by a mile. Nothing beats the St. Louis Blues, who literally ARE located inside of an abandoned mall that used to have a skate rink in it. But for NFL standards, they are a joke. Their market is a joke compared to Chicago as well. And I don't buy that their roster is much better than ours, they have better wide outs and a great RB and that's about it. They also have Cousins on the hook for 45M next year lmao. Denver at least has a much bigger city/fan base, as the Broncos cover a huge geographical region for the NFL, New Mexico all the way up through the Dakotas are all "Bronco country". Most of Nebraska/Kansas (west half at least). They just cover a huge area of the country. But they don't have a QB, so.....yea I'd prefer Fields/Bears.

[dplank]

As others have correctly noted: We have the premium positions covered except for WR1. Right now we have QB, RB1, RB2, LT, RT, WR2, and TE all look like good players and are all on their rookie deals. And already accounted for in our current cap view are both edge rushers among others, but noted because they are the premium cost positions out there. We also have our CB1 on a rookie deal for good measure.

We have a young core in place, we need to fix our OL, find our WR1, and add talent to our secondary. Combine that with good coaching and we are a playoff team IMO, with major upside if Fields is who we think he might be.

Shit, I kind of made a case for Ryan Pace - oops.

[TheWorldBreaker]

As others have correctly noted: We have the premium positions covered except for WR1. Right now we have QB, RB1, RB2, LT, RT, WR2, and TE all look like good players and are all on their rookie deals. And already accounted for in our current cap view are both edge rushers among others, but noted because they are the premium cost positions out there. We also have our CB1 on a rookie deal for good measure.

We have a young core in place, we need to fix our OL and add talent to our secondary. Combine that with good coaching and we are a playoff team IMO, with major upside if Fields is who we think he might be.

Shit, I kind of made a case for Ryan Pace - oops.

The Bears have players that showed flashes but except for RB none of them are solidified.

Justin Fields had the worst QBR in the NFL last season and was 2-8. It might have all been Nagy’s fault but you can’t be sure.

Tevin Jenkins missed most of the season with back surgery didn’t look good early got hurt and then looked okay for stretches when he came back. Borom looked pretty good early but was garbage at the end the season. I don’t know if the rookie wall caught up to him or if teams picked up on some of his tendencies on film or what but you cannot hand either of them the starting jobs. Not solidified.

Cole Kmet is an okay player but not a difference maker and struggled to make difficult catches on throws Fields made under duress which is what you need a TE to do in today’s NFL.

The Bears have players in the positions you listed but RB is the only position group you don’t even have to think about.

[dave99]

Again, this is just a random sampling of a handful of insiders conducted by a seasoned Chicago sports reporter.
What it tells me is that, at least as far as this group is concerned, our offense is in pretty sad shape.
Too many OK's and maybes and not enough blue chip talent.
That makes the job risky and less desirable, at least to some.

[Grizzled]

He has to be a top candidate. These are his chops:

Graduate of Purdue, became their strength/conditioning coach, TE coach, and secondary coach. Hired in '96 by the Broncos as their secondary coach and won 2 SBs with them. In 2000, promoted by Mike Shanahan to a front office job. When Gary Kubiak was hired by the Texans, he helped them hire Smith as their GM. Was the one who drafted JJ Watt, Deshaun Watson, and Andre Hopkins. Had decent success even with QBs such as Matt Schaub and the original giraffe, Brock Osweiler. Stepped down not long after drafting Watson as his wife was battling (and lost) cancer.

Yea, his overall record is weak (92-100), but he was probably like Pace his first 5-6 years and really learning on the job. And he was taking over a tough situation for a still very new franchise struggling to gain a foothold.

By the time of his stepping aside and eventual firing, they had clearly started to figure it out and got a franchise QB to boot. Then it took like 2 seasons for O'Brien to ruin it all an internal infighting to blow it up (not to mention Watson personal legal issues).

Thing is O'Brien was actually a good coach hire too. So he was 2/2 in his coaching hires too with Kubiak/O'Brien. That he got two O coaches from different offensive systems is a nice sign.

Crap QBs until he moved up to draft Watson. O’Brien was okay until he became power hungry.

[Grizzled]

Denver has no premier QB and drafts in a position when one isn’t available. Minny has some very good to great WRs and a RB in Cook. They need to make a decision on a very expensive QB who has been adequate but no more.The Bears have a passionate fan base, none more so, not even Denver’s, which is strong. Ownership spends money. With the right head of football ops, a guy who actually knows the should be on the upswing next year.

[IE]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was. Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

[The Cooler King]

Schaub obviously wasn't a crap QB, but also obviously wasn't some obvious blue chipper at the position. I think most believe they certainly maxed his abilities.

[Moriarty]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was.
Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

I understand the impact of outliers and how they can deceive.
But nobody pulls the 1-2 worst games out of every other QB's stats. And, honestly, Fields' worst games didn't really crush his overall stats that much. It's not like he had Rexy performances mixed in there (not statwise, anyhow).

Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

84 in the last 5. Median (200 attempts) for the league: 92. 84 would come in at 27th.
It looks like improvement and some cause for optimism. It is also a somewhat small number of games to be calling a trend, though.

[TheWorldBreaker]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was. Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

It’s not a slam it’s just the reality of the season. The poster I was responding to was claiming that the Bears had all those positions solved because they had young players. I was just stating facts that threw cold water on that notion.

And even when you omit the earlier games as you did you can see that Fields still wasn’t a good QB.

Everyone here (I hope) wants Fields to succeed but he did not establish himself as a franchise QB as a rookie and it would be fair if his performance had some potential candidates questioning his ceiling and wether they wanted to hitch their wagon to them.

[dplank]

As others have correctly noted: We have the premium positions covered except for WR1. Right now we have QB, RB1, RB2, LT, RT, WR2, and TE all look like good players and are all on their rookie deals. And already accounted for in our current cap view are both edge rushers among others, but noted because they are the premium cost positions out there. We also have our CB1 on a rookie deal for good measure.

We have a young core in place, we need to fix our OL and add talent to our secondary. Combine that with good coaching and we are a playoff team IMO, with major upside if Fields is who we think he might be.

Shit, I kind of made a case for Ryan Pace - oops.

The Bears have players that showed flashes but except for RB none of them are solidified.

Justin Fields had the worst QBR in the NFL last season and was 2-8. It might have all been Nagy’s fault but you can’t be sure.

Tevin Jenkins missed most of the season with back surgery didn’t look good early got hurt and then looked okay for stretches when he came back. Borom looked pretty good early but was garbage at the end the season. I don’t know if the rookie wall caught up to him or if teams picked up on some of his tendencies on film or what but you cannot hand either of them the starting jobs. Not solidified.

Cole Kmet is an okay player but not a difference maker and struggled to make difficult catches on throws Fields made under duress which is what you need a TE to do in today’s NFL.

The Bears have players in the positions you listed but RB is the only position group you don’t even have to think about.

I couldn't disagree more with this post. You aren't looking for stats from rookies, particularly when playing in a failed offense that a litany of players, young and old, have been unable to produce in. With Fields, if you don't see the playmaking potential you simply aren't looking. You can gripe about picks and sacks, but if you ignore that a well established vet QB who has always been at least "mid tier" in the NFL had games where he threw 4 INT's and took 7 sacks, you realize where the blame lies. With Jenkins, you simply don't understand line play if you don't see that he can play at the NFL level. Can he stay healthy? Absolutely a concern, we'll see, but he went out there as a rookie with almost a year of no football and immediately started pushing guys around - grown ass men - he's a beast. Same with Borom minus the health concern, he can play in the NFL and it's OBVIOUS he belongs. I'm not saying he'll be a perennial all pro, but he's a clear NFL starter already that will only improve. These are rookies and were ALREADY better than what we've had (Leno who just signed an extension, Ifedi, Massie, Simmons, etc). Cole Kmet ranked 12th in yardage for TE's this year IN NAGY'S OFFENSE. That is a feat and placed him just behind Darren Waller (#11) and ahead of really good players like Hunter Henry, Dawson Knox, and Tyler Higbee.

[wab]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was. Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

I agree with you for the most part, but at some point that "no preparation" in training camp thing has to stop being an excuse.

[wab]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was. Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

It’s not a slam it’s just the reality of the season. The poster I was responding to was claiming that the Bears had all those positions solved because they had young players. I was just stating facts that threw cold water on that notion.

And even when you omit the earlier games as you did you can see that Fields still wasn’t a good QB.

Everyone here (I hope) wants Fields to succeed but he did not establish himself as a franchise QB as a rookie and it would be fair if his performance had some potential candidates questioning his ceiling and wether they wanted to hitch their wagon to them.

"Solved" insomuch as that there are young drafted players there that you have to see how they perform in 2022 (and to an extent 2023) before you draw any conclusions.

I feel pretty confident that there isn't a candidate on that list that is going to want to move on from, or replace, Justin Fields. They will come here because of him.

[IE]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was. Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

I agree with you for the most part, but at some point that "no preparation" in training camp thing has to stop being an excuse.

Totally agree! After a camp! lol

The camp is really just a short way of criticizing Nagy's entire approach with him, actually. But it does stick out as the biggest problem. The biggest ding on his stats is Cleveland... the first start with only a few days prep as the starter... and look what Nagy did. He does have some game speed stuff to still learn. But his late season performance deserves better than these QBR quoters give him. It isn't remotely fair.

[IE]

The Jags pummeled the Pack this season. And the Bears beat the Bengals. Those are ALSO reality of the season - but me saying that isn't helpful, informative or particularly honest maybe if I'm using that as a basis for a point.

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

I’m very happy with Fields, he’s a winner - no doubt about it

[wab]

I agree with you for the most part, but at some point that "no preparation" in training camp thing has to stop being an excuse.

Totally agree! After a camp! lol

The camp is really just a short way of criticizing Nagy's entire approach with him, actually. But it does stick out as the biggest problem. The biggest ding on his stats is Cleveland... the first start with only a few days prep as the starter... and look what Nagy did. He does have some game speed stuff to still learn. But his late season performance deserves better than these QBR quoters give him. It isn't remotely fair.

I mean it might not be fair, but it is what it is. It's a pretty universally accepted standard unit of measuring a QB.

If you want to go back to the ol' eye test... well... He was bad a lot, good sometimes, hurt occasionally, and inconsistent at best.

I do not think that 2021 is an accurate representation of what JF1 will be in 2022 or beyond. But it's tough to say that's anything other than hope at this point.

[wab]

Yea, his overall record is weak (92-100), but he was probably like Pace his first 5-6 years and really learning on the job. And he was taking over a tough situation for a still very new franchise struggling to gain a foothold.

By the time of his stepping aside and eventual firing, they had clearly started to figure it out and got a franchise QB to boot. Then it took like 2 seasons for O'Brien to ruin it all an internal infighting to blow it up (not to mention Watson personal legal issues).

Thing is O'Brien was actually a good coach hire too. So he was 2/2 in his coaching hires too with Kubiak/O'Brien. That he got two O coaches from different offensive systems is a nice sign.

Crap QBs until he moved up to draft Watson. O’Brien was okay until he became power hungry.

I wouldn't say O'Brien became power hungry. He was delegated the job when Smith stepped down and wasn't up to the task even remotely. It wasn't as if there was some power struggle that resulted in O'Brien getting GM duties.

[Mikefive]

I'm no expert at any of this. But Rick Smith is my guy.

[IotaNet]

I'm no expert at any of this. But Rick Smith is my guy.

Total co sign. I’ve been reading/hearing good things about him for years and he appears to be highly respected across the league as a “football man.”

He also has learned a quite a bit about life and perspective over the last few years. I think he’d be an excellent FO leader.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

God, I hate that season-long QBR stat for Fields. Especially because they're so bad only because of really 1 or 2 games. That's super-lazy OR for some reason intentionally making him look worse than what he was. Over his last 5 games he was something like an 85 rating with 250 passing and 1:1 TD/INT. That is slightly below average NFL starter right there, with no preparation as the starter thanks to Nagy.

Why the deliberate slams at the kid, given the context? Makes no sense.

He does have some game speed stuff to still learn. But his late season performance deserves better than these QBR quoters give him. It isn't remotely fair.

I hate to be that guy IE, but you could have said exactly the same things about Trubisky and his first season. I assume we're actually talking about passer rating rather than QBR here and Fields median rating was 79.95 whereas Trubisky's was 87.95. Unlike Fields, whose highest passer rating in a game was 96.6 when he threw a TD on the last play against the Vikings, Trubisky even put up 3 games with a rating over 100.

Here are their stats for their last 5 starts (Fields versus Trubisky):

Completion %: 60.4 versus 67.1
Yards: 1058 versus 1054
TD/INT Ratio: 5/4 versus 3/3
Passer Rating: 84.0 versus 85.4

Remarkably similar wouldn't you say?

We all hoped Trubisky would take a leap forward with a new HC and a new scheme. Now we're hoping the same with Fields. That's not 'slamming the kid' or ignoring context. It's just stating a fact. Fields looks like a better prospect, but there are no guarantees.

"Solved" insomuch as that there are young drafted players there that you have to see how they perform in 2022 (and to an extent 2023) before you draw any conclusions.

This is it exactly. We've seen something from a number of young players this season, although thanks to Nagy's obstinacy and (understandable) desire for self-preservation not as much as we should have, to hope good things lie ahead for them but it's far from certain at this point. Next year should be all about the new HC getting his schemes in place and evaluating what these players can do.

[dplank]

If any potential HC didn’t want to coach Chicago because of Fields or Jacksonville because of Lawrence, then they aren’t qualified to coach in the NFL. QBR be damned.

[Ditka’s dictaphone]

If any potential HC didn’t want to coach Chicago because of Fields or Jacksonville because of Lawrence, then they aren’t qualified to coach in the NFL. QBR be damned.

[The Cooler King]

Crap QBs until he moved up to draft Watson. O’Brien was okay until he became power hungry.

I wouldn't say O'Brien became power hungry. He was delegated the job when Smith stepped down and wasn't up to the task even remotely. It wasn't as if there was some power struggle that resulted in O'Brien getting GM duties.

Most coaches who last into their second contract get at least a little hungry. Had Smith's wife not gotten ill and he stepped away maybe it never gets that way and O'Brien was just filling a void. But sounds like ownership did ultimately close the door to Smith.