AZ54

I don't put any stock in titles. Some people hand them out like candy. Right now they are doing screening interviews and can assess the actual work experience of each candidate. Then decide on the top 5 or so for the real on-site interviews.

We do know what Hackett's offense looks like without Rodgers. Hackett "Joined the Packers on Jan. 16, 2019" which gave him plenty of time to put together a lovely 7pt performance with Jordan Love in 2021. He does get mad props for that TD because it was done against the always tough KC Chiefs defense. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/202111070kan.htm

Had that same question myself.

The Bears are skipping over Josh Lucas to interview his assistant, who could then become Josh's boss? I get that people don't always want to advance to the next level so that's not necessarily a concern with Lucas. I have to think that Kelly isn't going to become GM and then fire Lucas. There is more than a hint here the Bears feel good about their talent evaluators. Josh Lucas Director of Player Personnel Champ Kelly Assistant Director of Player Personnel

I’m still laughing at that one.

For Hackett, if we were to take away all the improvised big plays from Rodgers what do we have left of his offense?

https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/morocco-brown-chicago-bears-gm-candidate-search I'll say this. If we choose Morocco he's at least going to make press conferences more interesting around draft time.

Interestingly. Chris Ballard. Brandon Staley, Morocco all ex Bears.

All I can say is that early on they are clearly going after experience. So far it doesn't appear they want the young up-and-coming coach but these are also the easier interviews to get setup so we're likely to see some OC/DC with no HC experience. After so many years of searching and hoping I don't really know what to think of any of these coaches. Maybe I'm afraid to fall in love again and get my feelings hurt. As I said before, I believe people can live and learn and benefit from their experience the second time they have that role but that doesn't mean everyone does. I want to be the fly on the wall and listen when they are asked... You've been a HC before, what will you do differently this time around, and why? That aside I think Pederson has a better grasp of offense and how to attack a defense as compared to Nagy. I realize that's a low bar.

Yes I did. Imagine that closing ability working behind Roquan who likes to get underneath the blocks? Pretty sure Williams just fell to us in the draft.

I agree the Browns get a lot of press but end up average year after year. I’ve seen enough of that average performance here even if it never came with the positive press coverage. That’d be My first question: so you want to be the Bears GM why can’t your Browns roster make it deep into the playoffs?

I used to work at 7th St and Bell Rd. I live in Gilbert.

Lewis Cine would look good in a bears uniform.

That's a pretty good list Bearswire put together. I don't know much about all the candidates but on the surface most of their track records seem strong. Can't wait to see what the real list looks like.

Welcome to the valley. Where are you at in the metro area?

Tanisha is likely there to make sure nothing illegal is said or done. You can't ask how old someone is, or their health status, family status (are you taking care of someone at home?). These are risks for anyone doing job interviews these days. Usually these reps don't have say in final decisions but are there to make sure the process is fair and balanced across all candidates. You only need to look at this board to see how easily people have preconceptions on certain candidates. Anyone that has done interviews for a few years has come across some surprisingly good candidates who weren't at the top of the initial list. We've also had people at the top of the list go down in flames.

Never quite understood that other than a nice name: GM oversees Dir Player Personnel/Coaching staff. Dir Football Ops oversees GM/player personnel and Coaching staff. The only difference is the player personnel person gets a nice GM title but has responsibility limited to just personnel.

I was surprised to see him call out David Montgomery and Roquan Smith as two players who always gave it their all. He said he does not plan to ever be involved in day to day football operations but that's a pretty clear statement about what he wants to see on the field.

I'm good with Desai sticking around.

You got Montgomery and if you run and don't make it at least you keep them pinned near goal line.

Leno getting cut is a wake up call that it appears he answered. After several subpar seasons in Chicago he had to go. You can't assume he'd have played well here without fighting for that new contract. We just don't know but the decision had to be based on his performance no differently than the subpar performace you are using to justify cutting Goldman. Pace has only had one HC. He was forced to take on Fox because the owners wanted a veteran HC with such a young inexperienced GM. They also hired Pace really late that year and he had to use the previous scouting organization for his first draft. Things got a little bit better after he got his setup in place especially in the later rounds but not the early rounds. Nagy was his first fully-in-charge HC hire. I don't know if Pace is staying but it sure feels like we'd have a lot more rumors if he wasn't because his replacement has to hire a HC. The last rumor I recall was about Trace Armstrong and that was weeks ago. Have to disagree with this statement: "also signing several vets and none have worked out." Hicks worked out very well, Quinn just set record for sacks, Trevathan worked out very well his first few years he's just too old now. ARob was a good signing until he went into "me first" mode this year. He has brought in many cheap FAs who contributed on the field: Blackson, Ifedi, even Jason Peters, Damien Williams. Not saying there weren't misses just that the blanket statement that they were all bad isn't correct IMO. Get ready because the Armstrong/Harbaugh rumors still persist: https://www.sportsmockery.com/chicago-bears/another-layer-to-persistent-trace-armstrong-rumor-just-surfaced/

I get that we could replace his past performance but unless we go with high draft pick we're not likely to find a replacement with as high upside as Goldman. We get $6.6mil from cutting Goldman and we have to replace all 3 starters up front: Nichols, Hicks, Goldman https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/ufa/defensive-tackle//

I'm not cutting Goldman because I'm expecting he can return to form. At the top of my reasons is that we only save $6.6 mil in space for 2022 and a reasonable replacement in FA will cost more than that. Of course keeping him around depends on next years D scheme and if we go to 4-3 then yes he's gone. If we stay 3-4 we'll need him and he's not easy to replace. Or we replace him using a Rd 2/3 pick which I'm also against doing. As I go down the list of contracts I see Roy Robertson-Harris at $7.8mil/yr which I find shocking and a sign of things to come if we try to backfill Goldman in FA. I might have a chat with him about restructuring his deal but his agent will tell him what RRH got in FA and I doubt he'd want a pay cut and could just let us cut him. A comparable player Brandon Williams at age 32 in Baltimore picked up $13mil on a 1yr deal this year. In summary, as I see it, finding a comparable or better replacement for Goldman in FA will only cost more than we'd save, or more in draft capital than I'm willing to use because of critical needs at WR/CB/S. I don't see Tonga ever having the endurance to be a starter but he could prove me wrong after this offseason. In any case he'll never have the lateral movement skills Goldman has when he's at his best. I'm taking my chances that the new coaching staff sparks a Quinn-like resurgence to his former high level of play. Tackles Fumbles Def Interceptions Rk Player From To Solo Ast QBHits TFL Sk FF FR Yds TD Int Yds TD 1 Eddie Goldman 2015 2021 1.5 0.7 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2 Brandon Williams 2013 2021 1.5 1.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

I just read something where he had to take time off from football due to mental health issues. While I believe he made the right decision for himself that's not something I want to take a risk on with a 2nd day pick when we really need a solid player opposite Mooney, or elsewhere on the field. Get into 5th Rd territory then we can talk. Keep in mind with one year left on his contract we'd be stuck in a bad spot because until we know his mental health status and if he can handle a full season, and how well he can still play, it'd be very difficult to commit to him long term and extend his contract. Of course that depends on what he's asking for but rarely does a player want average money or just a 1yr extension. That means we'd either be getting a one year rental for our pick (very bad even for the 5th Rd pick because it means something went wrong and we're willing to walk away), or an unhappy player stuck on an expensive franchise tag who might be in the ARob space with average-good performance but wanting top 10 money with a lot of it guaranteed. For a 5th Rd pick, who are not likely to be contributors in their first season, I'd take that contract and risk off their hands. Then again there are the occasional Larry Boroms to be found in the 5th. If we made that deal I'm still going into the draft with WR among top needs as if we didn't trade for Ridley. If Ridley can play well and our draft pick contributes then we're in a good space. Add in Jakeem Grant and one of Dazz Newsome/Byrd to round it out.

Funny how everyone quit asking about Cohen’s return shortly after Grant arrived.