AZ54

The rumor mill will suffice. No announcement was made but the NFL world knows the Lions are working on deal to make Matt Patricia their new HC.

The interviews are done. I don't think we're waiting around as we've done in years past. http://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/whe...lippo-Ryan-Pace I think Mullin is right. Pace dragged Ted and George all over the country so he wouldn't have to bring people in for a second interview to get ownership approval. I realize this made lots of folks very unhappy but ownership has a say in who represents them so I have no problem with them meeting these candidates. If I owned a football team I'd want to protect my $1B-$2B investment and know which HC will become the face of my franchise. I hope they weren't involved in the entire interview process, just a portion of it, and that their involvement is more to say Nay vs. Yay. Meaning they might rule out a candidate like McDaniels if they still feel he's going to act like a schmuck again. Despite all the criticisms of them, the McCaskey's, especially Virginia, want to know that people in the organization are being treated right. We've had multiple posts on this board expressing similar reservations about McDaniels. The back story here is that Pace really wants Fangio to stay. He's made that clear both through interviewing him for the HC job, despite no other teams having him on their radar, and by refusing to the let the Bengals interview him for their DC opening. That last part is interesting because Fangio is a FA on Tue. This all makes me think that if Fangio fits with the new HC, Pace will pay him big money to stay. That means a HC decision could be made tonight. A phone call/offer made tomorrow morning to the candidate he selects. That gives the new HC time to interview Fangio and see if they can work together. They can't force Fangio to stay since he can leave on Tue so most likely both parties (Pace/Fangio) have spoken about this openly. Keep in mind back in Nov Fangio said he really wanted to stay with the organization. He didn't say he wanted Fox and Co. to stay. All is playing out this way especially with the heavy focus on offense-oriented coaches. Who is our new Head Coach?

LOL, yes I did.

I'm not that high on DeFilippo. A guy who hasn't done much more than QB coach making a jump all the way to HC scares me a bit. Shurmur OTOH has been there done that and likely can improve. I also think he'll want little to do with the defense and prefer a veteran DC, possibly even Vic, to handle things on that side. With Flip I'd be most interested in hearing what he'd do differently with the Eagles. What could make Wentz even better? I feel much the same way about Nagy. Hasn't really held that much responsibility. Can he handle the organizing the entire team' structure? McDaniels is the outsider. He's not my first candidate but he could well end up as Pace's. ----------------------------------- Among who we're interviewing I prefer Shurmur with DeFilippo as his OC. I expect Shurmur has someone else in mind for OC. With that out there, I also want to say that I prefer to become like the Steelers. They always find a good HC who is young and can stay with them for 10-15years. That's not likely Shurmer.

THE Philip Daniels returning to Chicago?

You should question DeFilippo. Carson Wentz only has a 60% completion rate, Foles at 56.4%. There is nothing elite about any of that. This is with the #1a WR Alshon Jeffrey on board. The difference you see in the two in terms of game performance is that Wentz can run and it bails out the offense quite a bit. I like that about Trubisky too. In contrast under Shurmur Case Keenum has a 67.6% rate with his weak arm, Bradford had a 74.4% rate in his small sample size. I like what DeFilippo says when he details the Eagles' plays but what I'm more interested in is the guy who knows which plays to call and when against a defense. From the outside looking in it appears that Shurmur, McDaniels, and possibly Nagy would all have an advantage over DeFilippo.

That would not stop the Bears from submitting a formal request to interview him. Especially if he was high on their list, the first thing they'd want to do is let him know of their interest.

If this is all you can say about a Defensive Coordinator I'd never hire him. Wouldn't even interview him to be honest. In one sentence Zimmer says he does everything but in the next he makes it clear he's not doing everything. Who else is leading some of those defensive meetings? In Zimmer's eyes he's not even capable of coming up with the defensive game plan. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/article-1...40-6c218a102a10 "While Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer calls the defensive plays, Zimmer recently said that Edwards "does everything other than call the game on Sunday." "George does everything," Zimmer said last week during a conference call with Chicago reporters in advance of the season finale between the Bears and Vikings. "He helps with the game plan. He runs a lot of the defensive meetings. Him and I sit down and talk about all the different things that are going on. He studies the game just like he's calling the game."

That's ESPN which has zero credibility IMO. They list Steve Sarkisian #6 ahead of Sean McVay #8 I don't think anyone in the NFL would hire Sarkisian ahead of McVay when this report was written in mid-Nov. Kyle Shanahan, who led the Falcons to the #2 Offense last year and into the Superbowl, is now ranked 31st one spot ahead of Loggains. I'm not putting Loggains in the top half of the league as far as OCs but I think in time he'll get there.

Our Oline coach came here from Miami and Gase just 1yr ago. http://www.chicagobears.com/team/coaches/J...f5-e80d5da0d3e8

Rather quietly the Bears seemed to have moved on from interviewing Steve Wilks. I'm still of the opinion that they are most interested in the 3 offensive-minded coaches who are interviewing this week. If they don't get the coach they want there may be a second tier of interviews but right now it feels like we'll be hearing some rumors about a leading candidate this weekend.

If I listen to the Score it is only for the post-game show.

NFL Network. I do like his input on players, especially during the combine. Before Shaw I would take Matt Campbell out of Iowa State, and not just because I was there drinking and sometimes studying. I think Campbell is one of those few coaches that can take his players and beat yours, and can take yours and beat his. He turned around the Cyclone program very fast (2 seasons) after doing a fantastic job at Toledo. The same players that couldn't win anything two years earlier beat Oklahoma and TCU. More importantly, players know where to go and what to do when they get there so he's not winning on talent alone. I like Chris Peterson at Washington as well. I think he's in the same caliber of coaches but even more proven.

That's ESPN writers and broadcasters who have little to no credibility/brains. Nick Saban who flamed out in the NFL? Holy smokes Urban Meyer is on this list too. What about his offense makes anyone think he's ready for the NFL? Katie Sowers received the same amount of points as Jim Schwartz. Yes, it's interesting.

If you have internet access I assume you can listen here: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/category/sports/

I don't think Loggains is as bad as Bears fans think he is. Run-Run-Pass was not him, it was John Fox. They both admitted to that. He helped Cutler to his best season as a Bear and I think under his guidance he helped Trubisky improve quite a bit over the course of the season. If we're able to snag one of these hot coaching candidates it will be because of the potential Trubisky showed as the season moved along. Loggains' development of the offense beyond that, eh not so much. Loggains will learn from this and I believe he'll be around the league for a long time, whereas Mel Tucker and others have been relegated back to the college ranks, or the CFL. Was any Bears fan really surprised that Mel's Bulldogs weren't prepared for the Oklahoma offense in the 1st half of the playoff game? The HC got it corrected at halftime. Working with Gase is likely a good thing for Dowell in the near term. Those two worked well together to help Cutler and IMO there is no reason to think they won't help Tannehill next year. Beyond that he'll probably need to get exposure to other schemes or coaching styles before he becomes a quality OC in the league. I think he'll get there. Six years ago, make it 3yrs ago, nobody was banging on the table for Pat Shurmur to be our HC yet here we are.

I've seen some speculate that the Bears might be wanting to move quickly on their coaching hire. This late add might be done to satisfy the Rooney rule since the earliest they can interview Wilks is next week. Of course the fact he leads an outstanding defense is absolutely reason to consider him but it seems clear he was not part of the original list Pace had put together. It's purely speculative but for those keeping tabs the first 3 outside interviews already scheduled this week included: Shurmur (Fri), McDaniels (Fri), and DeFilippo (Sat). Now we add Edwards to the list this week.

I never realized his brother was a coach on the Bears. He will have a lot of insight into the locker room and talent on the roster when he gets his interview.

Key played much better in this game against Alabama, which I had not yet seen. He shows a little bit of everything you'd like to see in an OLB.

No player intrigues me more than Key. He seems like a perfect fit for us. I believe he was primarily used up on the LOS most of his career whereas Floyd was moved all over the place from MLB/WLB/OLB/DE. Every time I watch his games he just doesn't beat anyone straight up. His sacks seem to be more coverage or when the QB is flushed his direction. The player who impressed me last night was the OLB from Oklahoma: Okoronkwo He moved well around the field and even in coverage. I should add that I watched Key's games from earlier in the season. Reportedly he was playing better in the last part of the season and Draftbreakdown should have those games broken down soon especially the bowl game.

Last year at this time Jabril Peppers was a consensus top 5 pick. He ended up going #25 overall. I'll wait for things to settle because they will change a lot and I still think Key's value falls toward mid-to-late 1st Rd with Davenport taking his place as top 15 prospect. He still has the physical skills so can't rule out someone taking him based on potential. Davenport displays a physical side to his game that you never see from Key. That's also a part of what is missing from Landry who is not good at all in run defense, even in college he gets washed out of a lot of plays. It's hard to see Landry as much more than a 3rd down specialist as an OLB in our scheme. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/20...-nfl-potential/ Calvin Ridley will certainly go in the 1st Rd because there is a lack of WR talent in this draft and he's the best option IMO, although some teams may prefer the SMU receiver. Connor Williams will move up a lot if he's healthy, and that appears to be the case right now. Orlando Brown is hard for me to place because his size makes him more effective than perhaps his skills do. He doesn't move that well, but I've read several reports of scouts saying he moves well enough to get the job done with his long arms.

The fact McDaniels is rumored to be at the top of our list is likely a typical Pace smokescreen. We all know he does not tip his hand on big decisions. I think that's good maybe it will make someone move quicker to sign McDaniels leaving our real target still available.

Meet John DeFilippo as he explains plays in the red zone.

I agree, no way would I want McDaniels as HC. I think the interview of Fangio for HC is a way for Pace to keep him around, and show him a little respect. Maybe he will impress but that would be an interesting interview to see who he wants here as OC.

Yes, I'm ok keeping Fangio. Chubb steps into the exact same spot Pernell McPhee held. He is a McPhee style player with his power but has more speed and agility. As you know we don't always line up in a 3-4 front depending on the situation. I actually like the scheme flexibility we'd have with Chubb. If we were to do those 3-man rushes on 3rd and very long that Fangio likes to do then lineup Chubb, RRH, and Bullard and let everyone else drop into coverage. It's not just his ability that I like, he has a very high energy level on the field and hustles after the ball at all times. In the highlights below (at 7:40 mark) he forces a fumble on a tackle 15 yards downfield. He played LB before they moved him to DE and he has enough athleticism to drop into coverage at times.