DABEARSDABOMB

Given the clowns we've had involved in our offenses the past decade, it is hard to argue against one of the top young offensive minds in the league. Either would be an upgrade, however, one doesn't come with a history of being volatile and difficult to work with. I am okay with either but would prefer Gase.

I think he is a really good OC but the character issues are definitely a concern and its why I'd prefer Gase. Manning raves about him, which says a lot and he's an extremely bright mind. I also trust Fox's judgement at hiring guys and if he ends up missing, I am sure he will be quick to correct things and be able to identify the right people. Dude has connections galore and has a reputation of picking the right assistants and getting his assistants HC jobs which will only help you be able to attract top assistants.

Good article with some quotes from Delhomme on Fox. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post...igh-on-john-fox

@ClaytonESPN says the #Bears could get Fox & Gase w/ the #49ers not hiring Gase.

With all the talk of Shanny, the Niners just surprised everyone and hired someone not named Gase to be their next HC. Falcons supposedly focused on Quinn and Broncos looking at Kubiak. That would leave Gase without a job. I presume Fox figured Gase was going to get the job in San Fran, so does he now go with Gase (instead of Shanny)? I guess it comes down to where Gase fell in terms of the split in Denver.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/...-as-head-coach/ Very interesting. This means Gase is still out their. If Denver goes with Kubiak, maybe Gase reunites with John Fox as OC.

Yep, both would be good hires, imo. Only concerns I have with Kyle is whether he has matured. He was known to be a real primadonna with the RedSkins. Supposedly he is brilliant though but tended to be a make a mountain out of a molehill kind of guy. The key is has he matured by spending a year away from his dad or not. If he hasn't, I'm going to presume Fox will set him in his place real fast. Fox doesn't take shit from no one.

Evidently Austin plans on bringing the Ravens LB coach, Ted Monachino with him to be the DC.

Mort indicated that Austin's interview yesterday went very well. I think it is either Fox or Austin. He is garnering comparisons to Mike Tomlin. Falcons have a 2nd interview with him today, however, are reported to be leaning towards Quinn (if they are willing to wait).

I don't think the two people are necessarily the same people. However, say what you want, but no one had Pace as a real candidate, let alone the guy, except him. That leads me to believe he has a good source. Does that mean he is right, who knows. Supposedly the Bears had already had some preliminary money talks with Fox already, so presume everyone is on the same wavelength and this is more of a meeting of the minds to make sure everyone is on the same page and that we can work with each other, as well as time to talk shop and what Fox's scouting reports were on the Bears (from afar), etc. I love the fact that Fox is a no-nonsense kind of guy too.

The more that is coming out on the Elway situation, it sounds like Fox was the smart one. He thought Manning was done and adjusted and significant strides were made in the ground game, etc. Elway has a differing opinion and we will see what happens but I don't blame Fox one bit and I also commend Fox for how he handled the entire situation. It sounds like Elway is an extremely difficult man to work with. And I think it also says something that all of the top assistants are heading elsewhere too.

This is purely a rumor at this point, but thought it deserved its own thread since this comes from the same person who reported the Pace to be the GM (and that person scooped everyone). The individual went on to indicate that Pasqualoni might be the only assistant who returns (and that he will be interviewing with Fox tomorrow for his job). I guess we will wait to find out if it is in-fact true but thought I'd share. If it is true, fantastic. I think with Fox the organization knows it has a coach that can win, hire good assistants (on both sides of the ball) and develop talent. Now that Pace has found the coach (hopefully it is in fact Fox), he can move on to the next order of business, which is providing Fox with the right talent.

@AaronLemingNFL: It's not like I'm "breaking" much here but I will say that I have been told John Fox will indeed be the next HC of the #Bears This is from one of the first people who reported Pace to the Bears.

4 out of 7 years his offenses have been top 10 in yards. 3 out of 7 years his offenses were top 5 in yards. That is with RGIII and Matt Schaub at QB. I'd say that is pretty good.

One thing I'll give Kyle credit is he didn't exactly have a lot of talent to work with and if I look at the offensive rankings and consider who his QB was, I'm largely impressed with the general performance of his offenses. He is widely regarded as being an extremely bright offensive mind and I do in general really like the Shanny style offense (Shanny (Sr. / Jr.) and Kubiak). Heavy emphasis on the running game, bootlegs, play action, etc. I think the general perception against Kyle if you are a Bear fan is I think everyone hears Shanny and thinks we are catering to Jay. However, when you take a step back and consider his accolades and the general views of him around the league (including fact that he was considered for a HC job this year), he would be a pretty big upgrade over most of the offensive guys we have had during the past 10 years.

Kyle Shannahan 2014 = Cleveland 2013 - 2010 = Washington 2008 - 2009 = Houston Pts 2014 27 (Hoyer) 2013 23 (Griffin) 2012 4 (Griffin) 2011 26 (Grossman) 2010 25 (McNabb) 2009 10 (Schaub) 2008 17 (Schaub) Yds 2014 23 (Hoyer) 2013 9 (Griffin) 2012 5 (Griffin) 2011 16 (Grossman) 2010 18 (McNabb) 2009 4 (Schaub) 2008 3 (Schaub)

Rankings (Not near as good as I remembered): 2014 = Bills (DC) 2009 - 2013 = Lions (HC) 2002 - 2008 = Titans (DC) PTS 2014 4 2013 15 2012 27 2011 23 2010 19 2009 32 2008 2 2007 8 2006 31 2005 29 2004 30 2003 13 2002 11 YDs 2014 4 2013 13 2012 23 2011 8 2010 17 2009 31 2008 1 2007 16 2006 26 2005 29 2004 27 2003 4 2002 11

I think Thursday is the deadline.

Everyone knows he's the most talented QB at OSU (from an NFL perspective), however, it doesn't mean that talent overcomes the production that they got out of the 1st two QB's. Mel Kiper has said if he had done this over a full year, you are talking about a guy that potentially is the top QB selected (ahead of Winston / Mariotta). The tools on this kid are extremely rare and impressive. No idea if he has football IQ but it was impressive how he continued to look downfield when he scrambled and made some big-time throws. I think you keep Jay for a year or two while Jones is groomed and it is a perfect scenario. If it works, great, if not, you have time and can and should be competitive with Jay (as you focus on building up your defensive talent and improving the oline).

He'd have to sit out a year, which would put him even further behind the 8 ball and basically mean he'll have one year of eligibility (I think he has already used up his RS).

At this point, if something goes wrong, it would appear that Maronne or Austin would be the Bears choices. I don't think there is a chance in hell Quinn takes our job over the Atlanta or Denver jobs. It would seem to me that at this point, we better damn well like John Fox and be willing to spend the bucks.

Also...Chicago media is dropping the ball. How the heck did no one know Maronne was interviewing until after the fact.

I wonder if Maronne ends up being our OC (after Fox gets hired). Otherwise he'll just be on the sidelines. Looks very unlikely that he is going to get a job (unless he ends up in Atlanta). Raiders haven't been on his radar and now with the Niners hiring Gase, Jets hiring Bowles, and the Bronco's focused on Kubiak, there really are zero places for Maronne to go. I think Fox as the HC with Maronne as the OC and someone like Schwartz as the DC would be amazing.

Fox is interviewing today. Bears interviewed Austin and Marrone yesterday.

Evidently John Fox was pushing the Bronco's to run more (which we saw during the 2nd half of the season) and it upset Gase / Elway / Manning. However, it was that running that impressed me about the team because they weren't going to beat anybody the way Peyton was playing down the stretch.