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It very well might be that he has concerns over certain structural matters in New York. It isn't like he has the job in Chicago yet. He can think he has it but bottom line, until the process is over and he is extended an offer, he doesn't have the job.

Greene and SMC won't even be on the team next year and Bostic has been pretty questionable as well. Jones is about the only thing I'd project and even than we are talking about a guy who was undrafted. Our LB corps is pathetic.

By and large, I don't like the idea of Bama DB's. Saban has a knack for scheming around them to put them at their very best. He knows their weaknesses incredibly well and can typically limit their exposure in the collegiate game. That isn't the case in the NFL where you are going against far more talented players. Too high of a bust rate, imo, out of Bama DB's for this very reason. That isn't to say there aren't good ones their, its just harder to identify through film the good ones from the not so good ones.

I guarantee they interview him and they clearly have a comfort level (which is so key in the grand scheme of things). I still think Bowles is a guy they'll put the press on, but it will probably be too late and it will take a heck of a sell job by Ballard, imo. I think Bowles is pretty much signed, sealed and delivered to the Falcons. I think once Ballard is in, we'll see him potentially branch out to some other guys who he might be comfortable with as well (on top of the existing list). I expect that it will be at that time, that you might see some experienced coaches brought in. Right now i think the Bears are focused on the hot assistants and at least having connections with them as timing is a little more critical in their regards, especially for teams still in the playoffs. Accorsi and Polian are both very high on Ballard. I also think the most interesting part of these young coaching candidates is who they have tabbed to be their coordinators.

Take it for what it is worth. Clearly the Bears and Ballard are interested. I think the Bears are lined up to meet with Ballard on Wednesday and are meeting with some other GM candidates today / tomorrow. My guess is by Friday Bears will introduce their new GM, if not sooner.

I think the issue is, as Dilfer / Steve Young have pointed out, by all accounts, he's smart and doing everything right Monday - Saturday. However, in game situations, he doesn't display the in-game smarts. I think it is more that his quick-twitch reflex decision is not smart where as his film decision is smart. By all accounts the last two years he has really changed how he has handled his business (prior to that he didn't do what it took on Monday - Saturday and relied more on his pure skills)...however, the results on the field haven't necessarily translated. Could it...certainly, but I think the better question is, whether we are comfortable with Jay in the lockeroom and who he is and are okay managing him. If you do that, I think you have a guy that on the right team is a top 5-10 QB. If you don't, than sure, he could spiral out and be a 15-20 QB. How the Bears handled him this past year and what happened with Trestman was just an utter disaster though. I've heard numerous people talk about how you could call every play the Bears would run from the press box, based upon the formation, distance, and downs. That is truly pathetic and that is 1000% on our coaches. I also think the crappy oline played a part but I also think we ruined Jay by not investing in his protection early in his career. By the time we did it, he had already been ruined by years of running for his life (kind of like how the Texans ruined David Carr).

I agree; Lovie had a lot of the right skills as a HC, however, one skill that he seriously lacked was the ability to spot / hire the right guy on the offensive side of the ball. I think part of this might have been situations he essentially put himself in (whether it was short leashes with certain coordinators / situations he was in because he was viewed as a lame duck, etc). Bottom line, he had a long time and whiffed on a lot of OC's. I also think the reason we consistently saw the offensive side of the ball ignored was because Lovie had significant say in terms of who we drafted / signed, basically to the point where he had final say on roster decisions (despite having a GM on board). That might have ultimately been what did Lovie in because with the right investment in an oline, Jay / Martz might have ended up working out.

I wouldn't want him as a GM, but involving him in the front office is a brilliant idea and would be a great move.

He'd be more than solid. He'd be phenomenal. I think Rex can be a good HC, he just needs to get a Gary Kubiak or someone of that ilk as his OC to come with him. Bottom line he needs to be able to hire the right guy who he can trust and have a front office who will help ensure that coordinator / assistant HC gets paid.

Runner up a half dozen or so times. I don't know how much it was more on him not having time to prepare for his interviews or what. He's extremely bright and has a great background. The laziness rumors that were out there (Hub was original source I believe), pertained to his preparation for interviews and how focused he was on the next job (not on how he handles his current position). Basically, he's so focused on what he does day to day, that he doesn't spend near the time preparing himself for other opportunities, which I can understand (I worked in a profession for a long time that took 80+ hours a week of work, etc, and when clients needed something you jumped...it was always hard to make time to look at other opportunities because the second you focused a bit on yourself, your performance in your current role could take a hit, etc). Note: Hub Arkush was on the radio last week and commented that the Ross reports were misinterpreted to mean he was lazy on the job, instead of him not necessarily being very proactive in terms of the interview preparation / interview process. Evidently he is very comfortable in New York.

I thought he did a good job in Buffalo but I don't like the way he ultimately exited and don't think he's anyone that you run and jump at. I think there are better candidates out there. Let him go to the Jets.

I think we will interview Ryan before making a decision, but agree with you, that it won't be until we have a GM. We are focusing on the guys who you kind of have to line up to first.

If we don't meet with these guys now, than we pretty much have no shot with them. If we meet with them now and they make it to the superbowl, we can than meet with them again during the bye week (with our hired GM there). If not, you have to wait until after the superbowl. It really makes total sense.

The real question is, how much does it happen with other teams too. And I agree with you that he is in that next tier and you can win with him if you have a good team around him. I also think it is absurd to take a QB who is more turnover prone and ask him to drop back 50 times a game while rarely handing the football off. That was just absurd and put the QB in even worse position.

I think it turns out on the field. He just isn't a born leader and the combination of him and a head coach who wasn't, along with some difficult personalities, made for a horrific combination.

The question I have is who are these miscommunications on? Are they all because of inept coaching? Or are they also because of a QB who can't get on the same page with his players, etc. I think we were very undisciplined and a lot of that fell on Trestman but you can't ignore your leader. Poor coaching or not, I don't see near the miscommunications from a lot of the other QB's in the league. Yes, they have had more experience with systems, etc, but after so many years of seeing it, I wonder how much of this is on Jay. That is a rhetorical question as none of us know that answer. We aren't observing the practices and ultimately we don't know what the play call was and what the read was, either. We just don't have that sort of information. I was a Jay apologist for years and I still think all of the points were valid during that time. However, with as large of a sample size that is out there, I think if he had more "upstairs", we wouldn't see these issues. As Dilfer has said, some of the mistakes Jay makes, a high school QB would have been able to figure out.

Gamble and Ballard (along with DeCosta) are widely viewed as the three top GM candidates in the league. Getting any of the three would be the right move on paper. How it works out, who the hell knows. I really like Ballard's combination of scouting and coaching experience but also like Gamble's background as well. I would be curious what the issues were in Philly and I am sure he will be prepared to discuss that in any interview. However, if our consultant ultimately doesn't recommend him / add him to the list, I would obviously ask if I were the Bears brass and see why he isn't on there so that I understood and may meet with him and have Ernie meet with him, but the move I am making, while I have to be comfortable with it (if I'm in McCaskey's chair), I also want to make darn sure my adviser is also on board.

Clearly my top choice as well, unfortunately, he isn't going to leave his gig for another place. I respect him for it and understand it. He's in a known situation, paid well, and will get to grab the reigns of a franchise where he is comfortable with all of the people (and he has a timeline or is pretty aware of the timeline). To leave that for unfamiliar pastures when you have all of that isn't necessarily a wise choice.

I will continue to say that experience under JA is not a bad thing. JA had a good 5 year run here and than struggled once Lovie got more control (but still made some aggressive moves and helped build a team that made it to the superbowl). Oh and he was given a lot of credit for the Tampa Bay team that was a perennial juggernaut too. Angelo's overall career was extremely successful and to be able to learn from him is not the bad thing that many make it out to be. I'll continue to get ripped for saying it but that is fine.

Harbaugh's success is the reason I'm intrigued with Toub. Not that they are the same people but ST coaches have to deal with the most players on the roster in general and while Toub may not be a specialist in all areas, as long as he has the right philosphy and knows how to appropriate manage people and his staff and obtain the right level of respect and ensure that top notch talent wants to work with him, than he's the right guy. Those are the skills necessary to succeed as a head coach. Being a guru on one side of the ball is nice, but those other skills are far more key, imo.

I wouldn't take Hundley @ 7, but if he was there in 2nd, I'd take him all day long. Hundley's make-up is off the charts. Biggest issue is can he develop. Really didn't see a lot of him this year (in terms of steps forward). However, if you look at his tools he's a better QB than Mariotta in my opinion. Bottom line, only QB worthy of a top 10 pick in this draft is Jamison and that is a major question mark due to his overall make-up.

I am 100% okay with that.

Hundley is extremely intelligent and very talented. Has most of the IQ, but if we take him, we need a legit QB guru to help him with his footwork, etc. None of that Trestman bullshit. I think the Seahawks OC would be a solid fit for Hundley.

I certainly wouldn't take Petty with a high pick. I am completely against taking almost any spread QB very early because I think you are in for a world of hurt getting them developed, etc, unless they are extremely intelligent. I think the biggest thing I look for in a QB is their football IQ and leadership. Obviously they have to have enough arm, but I think it is those other tools that ultimately indicate whether you will succeed at the next level or not.

I like him and I also like their head coach. I think Art Briles would be a great out of the box hire.