CrackerDog

Ha! Let's hope we upgrade to crappy! Ugh. Our expectations need adjustment.

Lovie running the D (via HC) and Trestman running the O sounds like an outstanding opportunity to me. I suppose we'll have to see how it all plays out but the Lovie haters on this board might be sad.

Oddly, I agree with your comments. I just see them giving this decision to the new coach and the new guy not wanting to start with a free agent and/or rookie. We don't have, IMO, a guy on the bench who can step up. So, almost by default, we've got Cutler for another season. Then again, if they're offered a good deal on Cutler and can be free of his salary, and they think they can bring someone in with a better future, it could happen. I guess it really depends on who the new HC is and that won't be determined until we know the new President of Football Ops and GM. I hope. If they hire out of order, like they've done similarly in the past, it's a sign that they've not learned from their mistakes. BUT... They've got to move fast on all of this so it's good to see George taking steps this quickly.

If they bring in Shanahan (which I'm probably not a fan of but I'd have to think about it more) he could give them a lot of immediate insight into whether he believes Cutler can be salvaged. Hell, ask him the question during interviews and go with whatever he says even if you don't hire him!

I'm SHOCKED his name wasn't the first one we heard.

Holy shit! Welcome back dude!!!

I predict the new regime gives Cutler a year.

I still have hope for the Cubs but I haven't been impressed with the Ricketts family thus far. No offense but I hope the Bears do better.

Ha. Still depends on WHO they hire to run the operations. But yes, getting the accountant out of the football mix is VERY important.

If any of these douchebags had any honor they'd resign after this cluster of a season. I simply can't believe Phillips is retaining his job. He hired Emery and had the final say on all the other hires! If they deserve the be fired, so does HE! With Phillips in charge, the cycle is destined to repeat itself. Unless they pull all football related decisions from him and create a new position. As it stands right now, an accountant is still in charge of our favorite football franchise. It's understandable why we hired a nerdish little fellow, a professor type, when you look at who makes the decisions from the top. Trestman was a nice man but in WAY over his head. I'll reserve judgment on them keeping Phillips until I hear what they have to say. But as of right this minute, I'm not satisfied they've taken the step necessary to make REAL change.

I'd probably be OK with it too if it weren't for the fact that my Wisconsin relatives will give me shit about it. As long as Phillips is given a completely non-football role, I'll be happy. I don't know how I feel about Emery. Like some of his work, don't like other things....

As internet football experts nobody needs a plan, they just need to make themselves feel better. Get all that pent up emotion out. And then, when at the end of the day, we're left with someone worse than Jay, they'll have even more to bitch about. It's a win win for them. Meanwhile, in the real world, I like the idea of hiring a football guy to run the team, have him hire a new HC and then let him decide on Jay and all of his assistant coaches. No more of the same old nice bullshit we've seen from the team's owners.

Cutler needed to get going earlier in games this season. Not sure why but he almost always came out flat. He's not the only problem with the team and certainly not the biggest one. But he's not a leader either. He hasn't rallied the guys to his side like a great QB would. If the Bears can get something in trade, I could see it happening. Not sure what'll ultimately go down but it's going to be an interesting offseason. Jay has had some magical moments with the Bears and some god awful ones. If he's done here, I wish him well. If he's back next year I'm going to root like hell for him.

I think most candidates already know how they feel about Jay. Just my guess. And I doubt many want to keep him.

The accountant must go!

Yep. Hell, we all thought Trestman could get any QB to the next level and he didn't. No matter who you hire you've got to get a QB up to speed quickly. So Jay isn't my #1 concern. You've also got to repair a horrible D and a shitty ST. And you've got to find leaders on this team and build them up. And you've got to restore confidence of the fans and media. This job is going to be TOUGH. That's why I'm thinking Harbaugh. Not that I like him, I actually think he's a tool. But the Bears will be able to "sell" him quite easily to the fans and media. And his track record is good despite an off year this season. I just don't know if Jim will want to come here over say Oakland or Michigan, etc.

Thanks for the cap analysis. That looks right to me. As to the decision on Cutler, I wouldn't eliminate a HC candidate just because he believed he could work with Cutler. For one thing, it'll be a first year in a new system and the team is BAD now so I don't expect 16-0 next year no matter what happens. Further, the trade offers out there for Cutler right now are just rumors. If someone is willing to take him and you've narrowed the field on your HC choice, THEN I'd ask them their opinions so as to see what each would do given the real opportunity to "start over". Their responses could be exactly what puts one candidate "over the top" on the others. Let's just hope this goes better than the last time we did this. Trestman hasn't proven to be a better choice than Lovie, IMO. The whole point of making changes like this is improvement. So here's to the Bears going out and finding a real football guy to take this team to the next level. My fear is they're going to keep looking for the nice guy who sells tickets and not the ballbreaker who gets the most out of his players.

LOL!

Now this agree with 100%. Having real dollars not going to Cutler who certainly hasn't earned his $$$ so far is something that immediately benefits the team. I'm just not sure where the $12 million is coming from. I guess if someone else pays him the guaranteed money it drops off our cap. That must be it. As to us being "freaking serious" I most certainly am. If you bring in a coach, whether it be Harbaugh or someone else, in this league they damn well better be able to assess a QB, make a decision and then get the MOST out of him. If you don't believe in your new HC candidate that much, you probably ought not hire them. I'm not saying keep Cutler, I'm saying that decision belongs to the next Head Coach.

I'd figure out who my HC was going to be and have him make decisions on Cutler. Anything else and you're doing to him what's been done to the last few Bears coaches. Let the football guy make the football decisions. Period! And if it's Harbaugh, I'll bet he can get a lot better out of Cutler than we've seen. But it's his call.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the cap hit is the same whether we trade or cut him so I doubt this happens.

Trestman has a 4 year deal and you can make the case that Emery hasn't done a bad job. I expect both back although I'm not saying they definitely deserve it. Just not sure what excuse they'll give us.

I think there's a better chance of them selling the team than fixing this one. And there's very little chance they sell the team.

I don't know if he should be fired or not. I'm certainly not satisfied with the team he AND EMERY have put together. This offense is pretty average and the ST's and D sucks. If I were in charge and money wasn't an object, I'd blow it up. Not sure the Bears will want to kill Trestman/Emery after just two seasons. Not sure how many years they have on their contracts and I know the Bears won't want to move (based on history) unless there's no more than one season they have to "eat".

I might go after Harbaugh and try to keep him from going to the Wolverines.