DABEARSDABOMB

At this point, I presume all of this is postering for some extra cash or years or a need to not just say yes right away. Its happening people!

Supposedly he is headed back to Denver with a contract on the table.

John Fox's interview has reportedly ended and he has left halas hall (per Jeff Dickerson). Hopefully Fox is getting dressed before they grab dinner and celebrate!

Look I don't disagree that Culter wasn't a horrific fit for Trestman's offense (Quick reads, short passes, etc is not what you would call Jay's skillset) but lets not act as if he didn't have success last year either (in fact last year Jay looked a lot better than Claussen). Claussen wasn't going to start and McCown's numbers would have been a lot more pedestrian if Alshon doesn't make a ton of circus catches anyway. It also doesn't excuse the fact that everyone knew what plays were coming. That has nothing to do with Jay and literally puts you behind the 8 ball to start (no matter who the heck your QB is).

Mike Martz says that Gase is one of the 3 brightest offensive minds in the NFL. I think Martz knows offense and is a genius and I still wonder how we would have finished that year with Martz had Cutler not gotten hurt. That was the most fun I had watching any Bears offense. Unfortunately it didn't last and Cutler send him to the door. I'm taking Gase if given the choice, but think either are good choices, although I think Shanny has a higher likelihood of irritating people and getting canned in a year.

It worked the year before with the person who had the "same name" that won't be mentioned. I think it had a lot more to do with the league getting film on our offense and us not being able to make the necessary adjustments. When you listen to experts talk about the amount of study and time spent watching film (especially in this new era with tech feeds and the additional angles and everything that is available) and they talk about how much smarter opposing teams defenses are today vs. years past (and vice versa with offenses being smarter too). I think it is more that when Trestman was last calling plays in the league, you didn't have near as much film study (coaches did it, but not near as much where you have players doing it, etc...it used to be coaches and the QB who watched film...now a hell of a lot of players are in the film room all the time and watching film from their couch on the ipad where they can view multiple angles, etc.

You said it far more eloquently than I did.

We couldn't figure out how to beat a zone defense. The idea of bringing Trestman back is laughable. Everyone in the league knew what plays we were running. What Trestman did worked 10+ years ago but doesn't work today. I'm not saying the overall system didn't work but the way we ran it and the predicability of the play calling was a complete and utter disaster (let alone the leadership qualities). If I was another team, I wouldn't mind hiring as an OC because I think their are a lot worse OC's out there but I wouldn't bring him back in a million years. Not to mention the fact that outside of a couple people, I don't think many people respect Trest so him doing anything in here would stupid for him to ever consider because he'd already be at a disadvantage.

Really you want the OC who was a disaster at Nebraska, is notoriously difficult to work with, runs a similar system (and who replaced Trestman in Oakland), and the guy who when we had playcalling duties removed this year in Dallas (only to see the Cowboys focus on the running game with Linehan calling plays and that was a large reason for why Dallas actually won this year). To be frank, that sounds like a horrendous hire as an OC.

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)