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Looks like it's Allen. A bunch of reports have surfaced in the last hour that he's the choice. It all adds up. I'll await the official announcement, but it looks like we were right about the RR holding back a decision that was already made before we signed Al Harris. He is going to be great to watch - we will get burned by being too aggressive sometimes, but no more sitting back in a zone on 3rd down as a matter of course. Thank goodness. The secondary will be able to eat now.

for sure. Id love that 3rd rounder, but he is too smart and has too good of a future to take that ticket.

There's kind of a golden rule going into the draft every year, and that is you sign a free agent to fill every hole. We get confused thinking that the free agents are the likely starters, when the plan is you hope a bunch of the rookies push them out. But going into the draft with actual holes is a recipe for having to reach and not maximizing your draft value with some amount of BPA. So I expect a ton of new free agents on the OL before the draft, and many of them may be Pryor level players, but hopefully one of them rises up and takes a job. But we will have 5 players on the OL before we go into the draft. And right now we need at least 3 more to even be able to say that much. I dont think Jenkins is coming back.

good point. this will help us on both sides of the ball. we're also going to have to get some free agents, and while I'm tempted to say Poles' luck with free agents isn't great, the truth is free agents are hit and miss for everyone. Teams don't willingly let their best players go, and as my dad always says when Im talking up some new free agent we signed "theres a reason the other team let them go" - true as often as not. Let's hope our new staff have a good eye for linemen!

I disagree, especially if your head coach is a first time HC from the offensive side of the ball, and you're talking about a guy like Dennis Allen. You might be prohibited by the rules for asking "hey were gonna hire this guy is that OK?" but you can always ask him or his agent "we're thinking about signing this guy, what can you tell me about him?" You dont want to hire a passing game coordinator (whatever that is) without the DC wanting that flavor of pass coordination (lol) Then again, Thomas Brown was our passing game coordinator and apparently when he was in that role, he was forbidden to talk to Caleb LOL so who knows what any of it is. Still, I think our future DC probably said OK about Harris. And that really only makes sense if it's Allen. Otherwise, it's a little weird. And the only reason Allen wouldnt already be official is the RR. So I think we are watching this whole dance for no real good reason at all if Allen is the choice and the RR is driving this. And you have to dance well and convincingly and carefully, because Flores is suing the league already! Your lawyers tell you it has to be this certain dance. And that's when it gets ridiculous. If it is Allen and he is announced soon after the two interviews occur, then we will know we were probably right. And if it's someone else, then we are arranging marriages again. My guess is it's Allen.

I think the OL coach is going to be a really important hire

He has turned down other offers before. I suspect he will wait for an opportunity that he really believes in. Of course I cant know what his feelings are about Jacksonville, but it's not an elite destination as you say AZ54. My guess is he sticks around this year. My gut tells me he has been good for us in player evaluation, but i also think having Johnson and his staff around should help alleviate whatever we lose in that way when Cunningham does finally go. That extra 3rd looks like an interior OL or DL to me. Could be a RB, S or TE too.

feels like it. I just hate screwing around while someone else might poach him. Look at Liam Coen, and how he told the Bucs he was taking care of a sick child, having already made an agreement, and suddenly, he's in Jacksonville.

So we just hired Al Harris (not that one!) from the Cowboys to be defensive pass coordinator. Seems to me you wouldnt be hiring assistants until you had your DC in place. Given that no signing has been announced, I think this adds some weight to the idea that Dennis Allen is already decided and agreed, and we are waiting for Rooney Rule fulfillment. otherwise, youd figure if they had chosen a DC it would be announced. No reason not to except the RR, and it's unlikely they are going to saddle and incoming DC with a hire he didnt agree to. Then again, it would be so Bears to do that? Still I think this lends some credence to the idea that Allen will be our DC, especially since we arent hearing hes having more interviews anywhere else?

I agree - I wonder if they mean defensive passing game EDIT: yup, I went and looked on the Vikings website and their TEs coach is also listed as passing game coordinator, so I guess this is defense against the pass, and not a defensive / offense hybrid position?

I agree, and you actually have a coach, Flores, suing the NFL to stop the Rooney rule, well I mean, i think he is suing to say every Rooney Rule interview has to be a real interview, but how can you mandate that or police it? Affirmative action was just discontinued this week, maybe it's time. But yeah, winning is everything, and no one is going to pass over whoever they think the best coach or player is because of race.

I can understand when there once was a need for it. To get people who werent getting chances in front of decision makers, and to give them a chance to meet them and get their name out there. When there were no and then very few successful black coaches. But now, you have Brian Flores actually suing the league because the Rooney Rule interviews he got, he claims were not serious interviews, but just to satisfy the rule. Which is crazy because the intent of the rule was to get people who wouldn't have gotten an interview a chance to meet. And it's not like Flores didn't get a head coaching job either. He DID. Now there are lots of great coaches in the league, and some may even feel that having a black coach gives them an advantage in dealing with players, of which more than half are black. The real damage with affirmative action type hiring, college acceptance etc is that it does two things. 1) if the candidate was already qualified, then it demeans them and people may suspect that they got some extra boost when in fact they would have gotten the job on their own merit, or into that college etc and 2) it may promote people who are not qualified to positions over their heads where they will not succeed, and fulfill racist stereotypes of not being good enough. FWIW, most people of any color are not good enough to be head coaches in the NFL, myself obviously included. For example, a large percentage of black students who are admitted to Harvard with lower SAT scores than the average white SAT scores at Harvard eventually drop out, while Black students who did have competitive SAT scores, not surprisingly, perform on average at the same level as their other race counterparts. And of course exceptional individuals will come in any color, sex etc. If we want to take a look at the quality of schools in poor areas to provide better competitive outcomes, that's great. But taking an 18 year old kid, who has the SATs they have, and just pretending they are more capable than they are doesnt help anyone. helping kids achieve so that they can get those SAT scores is awesome, but creating false outcomes that arent based on reality is a terrible idea. I understood the need for it at one time, now I feel like it diminishes the excellent candidates, and makes others, like Flores, feel like tokens. In a league where owners would sell their own grandmothers to win (are you listening Bears? lol) I don't think racism is really an issue in the hiring of coaches anymore. The Rooney rule is not helping anyone at this point in my opinion.

i thought it was 2 for HC and 1 for coordinators, but i could well be wrong EDIT: just googled, so yes you are right. Hopefully this means Allen is coming to Chicago.

I guess we have asked to interview two other defensive coaches. The Rams' defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant, and the Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones. Both candidates are black, and I haven't heard any more rumors about Dennis Allen interviewing anywhere else. Each of these guys is a legitimate candidate to interview (unlike, say, Eddie George) each coming from good defenses and being well thought of. But with the silence around Allen, I can't help but wonder if these are Rooney rule interviews. FWIW, for a coordinator's spot it only takes one interview to satisfy the Rooney rule, and also, the Vikings have not agreed to let Jones interview, at least not yet. Also Aubrey Pleasant hasn't interviewed yet either, so Jones could be a back upcontingency, or an attempt to get inside info on the Vikings too. All this to say that this silence doesn't mean Allen is out of the running, and maybe the Rooney rule is the reason for the silence/delay in the absence of info about Allen being active elsewhere?

Hmm - heavy on the back end, no experience with either on the DL.

yes, and Caleb will be downright dangerous if he grows like he should under Johnson. I think youre right that Caleb knows it, and wants it. And Johnson will not be shy.

I hear ya. Like I siad, I have no opinion on the players this year yet. I was just responding to the idea of taking LT in the top 10 generically, but yes over drafting someone is a big mistake, especially if they end up at OG.

yeah, like I said, I have zero opinion right now about specific players in this draft, and generically speaking, if it is as I read that there are no slam dunk top 10 OTs, then a trade down makes a ton of sense this year. Of course there is edge rusher to look at too, and if you are going to trade down, you need a team that wants to move up, but if a great WR or CB falls to #10, that seems like a good move for us to trade down there. Especially because, again speaking generically, good OL can historically be found in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

LT is a premium position. I'm not saying any LT in this draft class is worthy of a top ten pick, I havent done any of my research yet, but premium LTs often go in the top 5. They say QB, Edge, and LT are the three most important positions on the field. The QB because he is the QB, the edge because he tackles the QB and the LT because he blocks the edge from tackling the QB But Im not saying anything about this particular class, just the position.

yes, thats a big deal, ask Eric Bienemy. If he was sure he wanted to come here, he'd probably have signed already, so I think there is something to the idea he is looking elsewhere - but nothing is done until it's done, youre right about that.

LOL

amen. look at us agreeing all the time

well he is getting a second interview at Seattle, so it's unclear at the very least. Too bad, because after what i saw from the Lions, I really trust Fraley. A great OL coach is necessary, and hopefully Ben Johnson can identify a great one and persuade him to come here.

I like everything Johnson said in the interviews, but I am also seeing why I (wrongly!) thought he wasnt alpha. Im not saying he isnt, because i now believe he is intense and demanding of his players, and alpha in those situations, but sitting down talking interviews, he does have a gentler more corporate vibe. And thats fine. It doesnt make me think less of him, its appropriate and fine. It's just that he doesnt always exude that leadership vibe the way he did when he was talking to Halas Hall for example. You meet Vrabel in a gas station, and youll know his meatheaded competitiveness instantly. Johnson seems to turn it on when it's needed, which is probably even better. but it's why I think I didn't see it early. Anyway, I'm excited to see where he can take us. I hope he, Poles and Fraley (if we land him!) are able to identify OL talent and fix our front quickly. Cant wait to see what we look like.

yes! my worries about him being too cerebral and corporate seem to be completely wrong. I loved him saying that. It's true that he isn't a meathead like Vrabel or Campbell. You can see their control coming a mile away. But Johnson has a McVey or Shanahan kind of alpha, and that was harder to see based on all the YouTube videos I could find etc. But now, it is much easier for me to see who he is. I am extremely happy. what a great time for us.