Jim Harbaugh to return to MI

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He's a whack-a-doodle. But what really great coaches aren't strange? Madden wouldn't get on an airplane. The Walrus is really strange. Pete Carroll is a 911 denier. They're all intense and quirky. So what if he leaves game tickets for Elvis?

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otis wrote: Sun Jan 09, 2022 5:09 pm Maybe it's time for the other Harbaugh to move on. He looks like his message in Baltimore has fallen in deaf ears. Give him gm and coach title and let him take over. The gm promotion would save us from having to give away any picks for him.?
It would not save them from needing permission. Totally a negotiation with Ravens what that would entail. But I assume picks, yes.
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IotaNet wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 1:15 pm
southdakbearfan wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:11 pm ... Made a running QB a Super Bowl QB. Solid to great defenses under multiple coordinators, solid drafts. Molds offense to players strengths.
I've said this before and I'll say it again -- I think Harbaugh is kind of strange (see video below) and I think his approach grates on NFL-level players after a while BUT ...

He took Kaepernick to within a couple of plays of winning a Super Bowl and I think JF1 is a better version of Kaep. I also think he understands Chicago Bears fans and Chicago Bears culture.

As much as it pains me to endorse anything from Ann Arbor, I think Harbaugh could do great things here.


Like I said. He's very much like Pete Carroll. And when Pete Carroll-y stuff works, it works REALLY well. And it can work for a really long time.

The Niners bailed on Harbaugh after his relationship with Trent Baalke started to deteriorate. The "story" is that Harbaugh wanted Baalke to stop drafting turds that he couldn't trust off the field, and Baalke basically told him to pound sand, he was going to draft talent over character, and that Harbaugh just needed to worry bout winning a super bowl with the players he was provided.

There was apparently a huge divide between Harbaugh and the front office on how to handle players in trouble with the law. Harbaugh wanted discipline and to be able to bench guys, and the front office's position was to play them until the NFL told them they couldn't.

Jed York was so set on winning another super bowl, that he was turning a blind eye to the issues on the roster.

So.... Harbaugh said "fuck this" I'll go to college where I have more control over how my players act.

That's the story anyway.
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He went 44-19 as a head coach, and went to 3 straight NFC championship games. That level of success in the NFL is extremely rare. IMO, you don't need to 'interview' him, you just need to talk to him about the fit in Chicago and if it appears a decent fit then you do whatever it takes to get him here.

Anyone got George's cell #?
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312 - 426 - 3862
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Otis Day wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 3:38 pm 312 - 426 - 3862
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I'm soooo tempted to call and ask for George.
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He's a guy I think would be a good hire. Which means one of 2 things. Either we won't even talk to him, he goes to the Rayders and wins it all, or we hire him and go 4-13 for the next three years.
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Arkansasbear wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:53 pm
Otis Day wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 3:38 pm 312 - 426 - 3862
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I'm soooo tempted to call and ask for George.
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Otis Day wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:57 pm
Arkansasbear wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 4:53 pm

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I'm soooo tempted to call and ask for George.
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THAT MAKE WE WANT TO SEE IF IT HIS NUMBER EVEN MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I think I'd get Pace or Nagy.
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I ALMOST, but pussed out, called that number and whoever answered was just gonna say "Hire Harbaugh" and hang up. I was hoping it was actually your number Otis lol
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I am 3 hrs southwest of Chicago. I may have to call it myself. I will call from work though.
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Believe it or not, it is a non number. Called it 3x and it never rang. It just stayed silent.
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Otis Day wrote: Thu Jan 13, 2022 12:27 pm Believe it or not, it is a non number. Called it 3x and it never rang. It just stayed silent.
:D Good work Otis ;)
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I was hoping I would be able to talk to someone. Oh well. Used to do prank calls all the time when young, nothing outrageous. I did get a Mrs Folger to laugh. I dialed her # and asked if she was "mountain grown." (folgers Coffee line from years ago for you younger peeps out there).
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This is a copy free link so it should work.
Jason Gay is pretty funny.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/jim-harbau ... _permalink
These recent NFL jobs you’ve been mentioned for…not the best. Not the best, Jim! One is the Chicago Bears, whom you played for back in the ’80s and ’90s, and are just as miserable as when you left. Maybe the Las Vegas Raiders, but those guys seem to love their interim coach, who got them to the playoffs. Maybe the New York Giants, who have somehow figured out a way to be more soul-crushing than the Jets.
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Article advocating that Harbaugh is considering returning to the NFL:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/jim-harbau ... 29772.html

I would think the Bears have talked to his agent but were asked to keep it quiet regardless of the outcome. Of course, with the McCaskeys, I could see them totally not trying to talk to him.

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Angelo tried to land Sabin with an aggressive pursuit and it was an exercise in futility, as I remember.
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pus wrote: Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:24 pm Angelo tried to land Sabin with an aggressive pursuit and it was an exercise in futility, as I remember.
Well...put it this way -

He really wanted Sabin. The gap between the Bears' offer and what Sabin wanted was, metaphorically speaking, somewhat larger than the Grand Canyon.
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Almost seems we have a red flag for lack of mutual interest for/from Harbaugh... Not sure if it is on the McCaskey family side or maybe even Pollian has his reasons as to why he is not even on the list...

I would not be surprised Harbaugh has privately stated he does not have interest in the Bears. Who really knows? Maybe he did not enjoy his time in Chicago and does not want to move to the area.

I really cannot think of any positive statements from him about Chicago to help me draw any current connection to the Bears... Maybe he is still sore on how it ended here as the QB??

Recent reports have him "intrigued" by the Giants HC job... Never heard he was even "intrigued" about the Bears opening.

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/2022/01 ... g-vacancy/
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bearsoldier wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 7:42 am Almost seems we have a red flag for lack of mutual interest for/from Harbaugh... Not sure if it is on the McCaskey family side or maybe even Pollian has his reasons as to why he is not even on the list...

I would not be surprised Harbaugh has privately stated he does not have interest in the Bears. Who really knows? Maybe he did not enjoy his time in Chicago and does not want to move to the area.

I really cannot think of any positive statements from him about Chicago to help me draw any current connection to the Bears... Maybe he is still sore on how it ended here as the QB??

Recent reports have him "intrigued" by the Giants HC job... Never heard he was even "intrigued" about the Bears opening.

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/2022/01 ... g-vacancy/
I walked away from some of yesterday’s articles with the exact same impression. We’re interviewing a cast of thousands (which I’m ok with) but Harbaughs name has not come up. Likewise, the Bears name doesn’t appear to have come out of his mouth, either.

That can’t be an accident. Either both sides are in stealth mode or there is truly no mutual interest.

Whatever. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.
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Are there "plenty of fish" though? I mean sure, there are lots of guys who will take the job, but in a given year, how many "good" coaching hires are there?

If you're wanting a Belichick, Tomlin, Reid, long term hire, those guys don't actually come around too often. Even for coaches to last a while like Lovie or Zimmer, those are not the norm. Odds are, statistically speaking, and especially for the Bears, we'll be back doing this again in 4 years. Unless they get the right guy.

It's obvious who that is. They need to make it happen.
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bearsoldier wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 7:42 am Almost seems we have a red flag for lack of mutual interest for/from Harbaugh... Not sure if it is on the McCaskey family side or maybe even Pollian has his reasons as to why he is not even on the list...

I would not be surprised Harbaugh has privately stated he does not have interest in the Bears. Who really knows? Maybe he did not enjoy his time in Chicago and does not want to move to the area.

I really cannot think of any positive statements from him about Chicago to help me draw any current connection to the Bears... Maybe he is still sore on how it ended here as the QB??

Recent reports have him "intrigued" by the Giants HC job... Never heard he was even "intrigued" about the Bears opening.

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/2022/01 ... g-vacancy/
Has Harbaugh came out and said anything himself? No. He has hired on a new, well thought of DL coach. That move right there told me he is going nowhere this year. Someone besides Harbaugh is putting shit out there. No surprise, really.
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Burl wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:43 am Are there "plenty of fish" though? I mean sure, there are lots of guys who will take the job, but in a given year, how many "good" coaching hires are there?

If you're wanting a Belichick, Tomlin, Reid, long term hire, those guys don't actually come around too often. Even for coaches to last a while like Lovie or Zimmer, those are not the norm. Odds are, statistically speaking, and especially for the Bears, we'll be back doing this again in 4 years. Unless they get the right guy.

It's obvious who that is. They need to make it happen.
I don't mean to make a constant circle jerk here, but this is absolutely correct. The league sees a constant flow of HC hires year after year, the vast majority of those hires fail. The vast majority of those hires are "coordinators". Everyone is looking to land a Sean McVay or Tomlin, but 9 out of 10 are Matt Nagy.

It's so rare that a situation emerges like Andy Reid a few years ago. Clearly a great coach, time had simply worn out in Philly and it was time for a change, and KC was really smart to snap him up. Harbaugh is a slam dunk hire, coaches who went 44-19 and went to 3 straight championship games are ultra rare. The fact he has ties to the Bears makes it even more so. The fact that we have Fields, a perfect QB for Harbaugh, who he also has some history with as an opponent, makes it even more so. The stars have aligned and it's right there for us. George just needs to do the obvious thing, which means there's a near zero percent chance that he does.
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If I were Jim Harbaugh, at his stage in life, I wouldn't leave a top-level college gig, period.

When you're purring down an uncluttered I-84 at 70 MPH in a cruisemoblie with every creature comfort imaginable, why on earth would you want to jump into a half broke-down, overheated old Sherman tank?

Been there - done that.
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pus wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 1:11 pm If I were Jim Harbaugh, at his stage in life, I wouldn't leave a top-level college gig, period.

When you're purring down an uncluttered I-84 at 70 MPH in a cruisemoblie with every creature comfort imaginable, why on earth would you want to jump into a half broke-down, overheated old Sherman tank?

Been there - done that.
Agree with this :thumbsup:

The ONLY thing which could sway him is unfinished business. That SB loss to his brother.

How much is that eating away at him?
Probably not enough, plus the Bears are unlikely to deliver that for him in the short term.
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Otis Day wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:03 pm
Has Harbaugh came out and said anything himself? No. He has hired on a new, well thought of DL coach. That move right there told me he is going nowhere this year. Someone besides Harbaugh is putting shit out there. No surprise, really.
Yeah, when he hired Elston it seemed to seal any false hope he might be our next HC. Agree, all other hype is probably just that. Reporters have to write stories, even if it is total fiction.
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He’s a competitive person and winning the Super Bowl is the top achievement in sport.
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dplank wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 3:51 pm He’s a competitive person and winning the Super Bowl is the top achievement in sport.

He's got 4 kids under 13 at home and a couple more who work for the same employer that he does.


Please stop moping.
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dplank wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 3:51 pm He’s a competitive person and winning the Super Bowl is the top achievement in sport.

Maybe for him it is an FBS championship. Bear Bryant didn't give a shit about a Super Bowl, neither did Bobby Bowden and Saban sure as hell doesn't either. That argument doesn't wash. Get over it, it ain't happening.
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