Potential Head Coach Candidates

[DABEARSDABOMB]

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/6-bears-head-coach-candidates-if-matt-nagy-fired-including-ryan-day

Thought it might be good to start putting a thread together on our general thoughts on who might be a good candidate.  Below article from NBC sports seemed like a good starting point. I think the big thing to me is - I think I've gained an appreciation for experience, finding a coaching candidate who has seen the rodeo and understands and has showed a skillset to consistently evolve in the league. 

When the Bears went with Nagy - I really couldn't argue the hire. Pace went the way the league was going and found a young, innovative, up and coming mind who had the personality to succeed as a head coach.  I think Pace got MANY of those traits right - however, what we didn't yet know was how said individual would handle adversity and be able to adapt. The biggest issue with Nagy has been his inability to make adjustments and continue to meld his offense so that it stays ahead of the league.  

Once the league got the book on what Nagy did - he basically just kept doing the same (but slightly different). He struggled to create a vision / style that went with the team because quite frankly, in his early coaching tenor he hadn't had to go through those challenges. Where he missed was he didn't have the right coaches around him (or trust in those coaches) nor did he have the right skillets (at least not yet) to lean in and pivot and make appropriate adjustments. 

With that in mind - I think of Joe Brady & Daboll as two people who have yet to show any ability to make real adjustments. Brady is so raw that we really don't know what he is at the NFL level and Daboll, as awesome as his work was with Josh Allen - we have seen the league make adjustments this year and have not YET seen him adjust back.  I think it will be interesting to see how he finishes the season - if he can work with the offense to make the necessary adjustments - HE IMMEDIATELY jumps to the top of my list. 

Other people who fit on my list are Greg Roman - who clearly has demonstrated an innovative way to consistently stay ahead of the league in his ability to optimize the run game, which I think is a really good asset when it comes to developing a young QB. He also has twice shown an ability to adapt offenses around raw, athletic QB's (Kap & Jackson).  I don't know whether he has the other traits - but he has also had a chance to work with two elite head coaches (Harbaugh's) which at the very least is a plus.  

I also am good looking at Dave Toub as well as other defensive coordinators that we think are seasoned and have right fit/personality (Leslie Frazier getting a 2nd chance wouldn't be terrible). The other spot I have no interest in is going to the college ranks.  From Ryan Day to Fitzpatrick (Northwestern) - I just see the risk as too great.  

A few other names that I don't know what to think of, but I could get on board with:

Byron Leftwich - Seemed to do a lot to blend the Arians style with Brady.  Liked what he did there - but its still Brady so I don't know what to really think of Leftwich.  

Eric Bienemy (Chiefs OC) - Like that he has more experience than Nagy and I still believe heavily in the Andy Reid tree/system.  The plus is there is consistency/similarities that come with Eric, but that is also a potential downside element.  

Todd Bowles (Bucs DC) - Not much I don't like with Bowles. He may be my favorite candidate.  He has had innovative, aggressive defenses everywhere he has been and in hindsight, his tenure with the Jets (given their personal & fact they are the Jets) was a lot better than he initially got credit for. I think he's learned a lot in his subsequent ventures as well and has clearly shown an ability to adapt and evolve in the league and has gotten to spend the past few years working with an offensive guru in Arians, so I think he's positioned to understand what it takes to find the right OC.  

Josh McDaniels - So this is hard for me to write. The way he did the Colts rubs me the wrong way and I can't forgive it and there is the Cutler fiasco. But this is a guy who has shown an innate ability to adjust his offense to reflect various personell and is doing an amazing job positioning a young QB to exceed.  His resume is fantastic - but the intangibles get in the way and as much as I love his performance and how good he can be, its the personality that is making me have an ugly face as I type this.  

Sean Payton - Obvious answer - but if he is interested - I'd give him a blank check to drive change

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Like all that you put up (except McDaniels...in my mind he's just a prick and can't get over that fact).  Anyhow, of the others I like Daboll and Frazier as my current front-runners.  I like what you said about Bowles and agree he was given a raw deal with NYJ.  His defenses are always really aggressive (my favorite style) and he's got enough time in the NFL to know who to put in play as an OC.  Maybe this is a place where someone like Day makes his NFL debut?  

I look similarly at Daboll as I do McVay.  A few weeks ago McVay looked like he'd lost the edge on the rest of the league where despite signing big names to make a 'win-now' push he started stringing together losses.  Then after last night's performance both the defense and offense stepped up and made the Cardinals look like an 'also-ran'.   I have faith that Daboll's had enough 'been-there, done-that' experience he'll figure out how to adapt.  If he doesn't, I'm with you....he's not the first on the list.  

[AZ54]

I've already said I like Frazier and feel he should be on our short list. 

I agree on Brady and Daboll.  To be honest I never heard of Joe Brady but I'm guessing it's this guy:

                Panthers fire offensive coordinator Joe Brady with offense in tatters.

So ah, that's gonna be a no to Joe. 

You put some good names out there and the one I haven't thought about was Greg Roman and what he's done in Baltimore.  Lamar Jackson is just an insanely gifted athlete but he's still not the best passing QB.  What Roman has done to completely fit the offense around what Jackson can do, and then as he's improved to add more pieces to it is impressive.  I don't want Fields running around like Jackson does because he'll get injured, like Jackson is each season.  However, I'd want to interview Roman to see what his plan would be for Fields and how he would have utilized the talent we have on the roster this year.  

I agree with you on the college coaches.  It rarely works but  if I felt the team was a complete rebuild I might be more inclined to take that risk.  IMO we are ready to compete with just a few more pieces.  In this case I prefer someone who knows the NFL scene.   I also prefer the experienced NFL coach because I think it helps bring in a talented staff.   

Don't care about the guy in GB.  All I needed was to see what he did with Love at QB, not what he did with Rogers.   By that standard look at what Roman has done with a UDFA QB after Jackson was sidelined in Baltimore and his offense is still productive even if it hasn't been pretty.    

Bienemy I'm not too interested until I see more.  Again coaching with elite talent isn't that hard to do.  Not sure there's enough on his resume as an OC yet to make me think he's got 'it".  

Josh Daniels...  hard no.  No reason to take the risk with other quality candidates who are more trustworthy.   

Leftwich...same, pass.  

Todd Bowles.  I liked him as  our HC years ago and we didn't get him.  Still like him, loved what he did as DC in AZ.  I actually thought he did well to start off with the Jets but eventually you can only do so much.  Others have gone on to fame and fortune after working for the Jets (hello Pete Carroll).  I'd really like to see him on the interview list too.  

Sean Payton is kind of a no-brainer but also seems more like a request to Santa than anything grounded in reality.  

----

That gives me a small list with just two defensive guys and one offense.  

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

I remember mentioning Kyle Shannahan years ago for a HC search because of his adaptability as an offensive coordinator. He designed an offense for RG3 that was pretty exciting for a short time.  He couldn't coach RG3 to slide though.   Now i look at Greg Roman as that coordinator.  I just want to have an offense that works and a QB that becomes great.  

[ParkerBear7]

On 12/14/2021 at 2:23 PM, DABEARSDABOMB said:

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/6-bears-head-coach-candidates-if-matt-nagy-fired-including-ryan-day

Thought it might be good to start putting a thread together on our general thoughts on who might be a good candidate.  Below article from NBC sports seemed like a good starting point. I think the big thing to me is - I think I've gained an appreciation for experience, finding a coaching candidate who has seen the rodeo and understands and has showed a skillset to consistently evolve in the league. 

When the Bears went with Nagy - I really couldn't argue the hire. Pace went the way the league was going and found a young, innovative, up and coming mind who had the personality to succeed as a head coach.  I think Pace got MANY of those traits right - however, what we didn't yet know was how said individual would handle adversity and be able to adapt. The biggest issue with Nagy has been his inability to make adjustments and continue to meld his offense so that it stays ahead of the league.  

Once the league got the book on what Nagy did - he basically just kept doing the same (but slightly different). He struggled to create a vision / style that went with the team because quite frankly, in his early coaching tenor he hadn't had to go through those challenges. Where he missed was he didn't have the right coaches around him (or trust in those coaches) nor did he have the right skillets (at least not yet) to lean in and pivot and make appropriate adjustments. 

With that in mind - I think of Joe Brady & Daboll as two people who have yet to show any ability to make real adjustments. Brady is so raw that we really don't know what he is at the NFL level and Daboll, as awesome as his work was with Josh Allen - we have seen the league make adjustments this year and have not YET seen him adjust back.  I think it will be interesting to see how he finishes the season - if he can work with the offense to make the necessary adjustments - HE IMMEDIATELY jumps to the top of my list. 

Other people who fit on my list are Greg Roman - who clearly has demonstrated an innovative way to consistently stay ahead of the league in his ability to optimize the run game, which I think is a really good asset when it comes to developing a young QB. He also has twice shown an ability to adapt offenses around raw, athletic QB's (Kap & Jackson).  I don't know whether he has the other traits - but he has also had a chance to work with two elite head coaches (Harbaugh's) which at the very least is a plus.  

I also am good looking at Dave Toub as well as other defensive coordinators that we think are seasoned and have right fit/personality (Leslie Frazier getting a 2nd chance wouldn't be terrible). The other spot I have no interest in is going to the college ranks.  From Ryan Day to Fitzpatrick (Northwestern) - I just see the risk as too great.  

A few other names that I don't know what to think of, but I could get on board with:

Byron Leftwich - Seemed to do a lot to blend the Arians style with Brady.  Liked what he did there - but its still Brady so I don't know what to really think of Leftwich.  

Eric Bienemy (Chiefs OC) - Like that he has more experience than Nagy and I still believe heavily in the Andy Reid tree/system.  The plus is there is consistency/similarities that come with Eric, but that is also a potential downside element.  

Todd Bowles (Bucs DC) - Not much I don't like with Bowles. He may be my favorite candidate.  He has had innovative, aggressive defenses everywhere he has been and in hindsight, his tenure with the Jets (given their personal & fact they are the Jets) was a lot better than he initially got credit for. I think he's learned a lot in his subsequent ventures as well and has clearly shown an ability to adapt and evolve in the league and has gotten to spend the past few years working with an offensive guru in Arians, so I think he's positioned to understand what it takes to find the right OC.  

Josh McDaniels - So this is hard for me to write. The way he did the Colts rubs me the wrong way and I can't forgive it and there is the Cutler fiasco. But this is a guy who has shown an innate ability to adjust his offense to reflect various personell and is doing an amazing job positioning a young QB to exceed.  His resume is fantastic - but the intangibles get in the way and as much as I love his performance and how good he can be, its the personality that is making me have an ugly face as I type this.  

Sean Payton - Obvious answer - but if he is interested - I'd give him a blank check to drive change

What are your thoughts  about Kellen Moore?

[AZ54]

5 hours ago, ParkerBear7 said:

What are your thoughts  about Kellen Moore?

After seeing some here talk him up I decided to watch some of the Cowboys game a week ago.  McCarthy was out.  Dallas was up by one score and had the ball with 4 min left.  Moore called 3 passes in row, one to the sideline out of bounds, 2 incomplete and they punted giving the ball back to the other team with all their timeouts and over 3min on the clock.  I thought about all the Bears fans complaining about Nagy's game management.  In those 3 plays and 20s he was off my list.    

[Stinger226]

Everything is speculation who would be good and not. Who thought Kingsbury would do well, I sure didn't. Nagy was king of the hill after 2018 and look where he is now. Its tough finding a Tom!in type. I think Todd Bowles that had previous head coach  experience would be less risky.

[adam]

28 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

Everything is speculation who would be good and not. Who thought Kingsbury would do well, I sure didn't. Nagy was king of the hill after 2018 and look where he is now. Its tough finding a Tom!in type. I think Todd Bowles that had previous head coach  experience would be less risky.

For Kingsbury, it helps when you have a top 5 defense, a WR Corps of Hopkins, Kirk, Green and Moore, Murray at QB and Ertz at TE. Having coached Murray is obviously a huge bonus. You can implement things that are 2nd nature to him which very few HCs get to do. 

There seems to be 3 options, a HC who brings in an OC and DC and they run their own schemes, a HC who is offensive-minded with his own offensive scheme, or a HC who is defensive-minded with his own defensive scheme. The trend seems to be going towards the offensive-minded HC with his own scheme.

[adam]

I don't know if anyone watched TNF, but the Chargers went for it on 4th Down inside the 5 twice and another time within FG range and didn't convert any. 

The first one happened on the first drive of the game after a long kickoff return. Then they did it again to end the half knowing that KC was getting the ball in the 2nd half. This time from the 1. 

Then after KC opens the half with a FG, LAC does it again. Goes for it on 4th and 2 from the 28 and they don't get it. 

If they kicked one of those FGs, they win the game. I understand being aggressive, but at some point it has to be balanced with some sanity. Staley has been praised for his coaching, which is awesome and refreshing, but this decision-making reminded me of Nagy, except Nagy would've punted from the 28. 

[AZ54]

18 hours ago, adam said:

I don't know if anyone watched TNF, but the Chargers went for it on 4th Down inside the 5 twice and another time within FG range and didn't convert any. 

The first one happened on the first drive of the game after a long kickoff return. Then they did it again to end the half knowing that KC was getting the ball in the 2nd half. This time from the 1. 

Then after KC opens the half with a FG, LAC does it again. Goes for it on 4th and 2 from the 28 and they don't get it. 

If they kicked one of those FGs, they win the game. I understand being aggressive, but at some point it has to be balanced with some sanity. Staley has been praised for his coaching, which is awesome and refreshing, but this decision-making reminded me of Nagy, except Nagy would've punted from the 28. 

Saw that game.  Announcers kept saying how Mahones won the game.   I kept thinking how Brandon Stanley stole defeat from the jaws of victory.  He had 9pts on easy FG.   If you want to give them 2 out of  3 then he has +6 pots but still never goes into overtime.  
 

FWIW Mahones looked bad.   He’s not thinking straight.   Missing easy throws.  Bypassing easy passes and holding the ball too long.  Maybe he’s more focused on his next commercial because something has changed from how he’s played in the past.  

[adam]

2 hours ago, AZ54 said:

Saw that game.  Announcers kept saying how Mahones won the game.   I kept thinking how Brandon Stanley stole defeat from the jaws of victory.  He had 9pts on easy FG.   If you want to give them 2 out of  3 then he has +6 pots but still never goes into overtime.  
 

FWIW Mahones looked bad.   He’s not thinking straight.   Missing easy throws.  Bypassing easy passes and holding the ball too long.  Maybe he’s more focused on his next commercial because something has changed from how he’s played in the past.  

If not for Kelce and Hill, I can't imagine what Mahomes would look like. He threw for 410 yds and 3 TDs on 31 completions. 22 went to Kelce/Hill for 339 yds and 3 TDs. So the rest of the offense outside of those two players had 9 receptions for 71 yards. Also, a ton of yards were after the catch and/or on a broken play. KC's receivers actually try to get open after a play breaks down.

I just don't know why teams don't bracket Kelce and Hill. Have a guy underneath and over the top on every play. Make Mahomes beat you with Pringle and Hardman (who had 5 receptions for 33 yards). 

[Uncle Buck]

Dave Toub seems to come up in a number of conversations about the head coach position. The league is full of older coaches who never seem to land the big job; I wonder what has been in the way of him landing the head coaching position? Is it because he’s a special teams coordinator? There’s been examples of coaches from that role making it. Just wondering what’s been in Toub’s way; bad interviewee, resume not impressive enough? 

[Mongo3451]

Fangio is available now.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

43 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

Fangio is available now.

Fangio was behind the 8 ball in Denver.  Elway is about as bad an exec as Pace.

Harbaugh HC and Fangio DC would be pretty sweet.  

[DABEARSDABOMB]

10 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

Fangio was behind the 8 ball in Denver.  Elway is about as bad an exec as Pace.

Harbaugh HC and Fangio DC would be pretty sweet.  

I am fine with Fangio the Dc, but Frazier, Quinn, and Todd Bowles are all much better head coach candidates (who posses strong defensive backgrounds). 
 

Desai is actually pretty good too - would be quite happy if next head coach ultimately decides to retain him. 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

30 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

Desai is actually pretty good too - would be quite happy if next head coach ultimately decides to retain him. 

You’ve seen his DBs play right?  That’s where he was before he became DC.  

[AZ54]

39 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

I am fine with Fangio the Dc, but Frazier, Quinn, and Todd Bowles are all much better head coach candidates (who posses strong defensive backgrounds). 
 

Desai is actually pretty good too - would be quite happy if next head coach ultimately decides to retain him. 

I'm good with Desai sticking around.  

[DABEARSDABOMB]

24 minutes ago, Alaskan Grizzly said:

You’ve seen his DBs play right?  That’s where he was before he became DC.  

Yeah - Johnson is good and other than that they had zero talent. He is a good, up and coming DC. 

[adam]

4 hours ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

Yeah - Johnson is good and other than that they had zero talent. He is a good, up and coming DC. 

Just odd that he randomly quits on some plays.

[BearFan PHX]

we had the leagues newest sweetheart defensive coach on our staff as OLB under Fangio. Brandon Staley. He saw how Fangio beat the Rams, and then followed Fangio to Denver, became DC at LA Rams (ironically) and used the same system there to make them #1, and then got the HC position at the Chargers, where he is still building.

Staley's scheme is all the rage in the NFL and we run it too. 3-4 with the DL bunched inside playing almost two gap so they can stay in a 2 high safety look to limit the big plays without sacrificing too much  stopping the run. It seems to be working against the high powered offenses.

Anyway, we had him, didnt see him, or promote him. Fangio saw him. We could have made him DC instead of Desai, and gotten the brilliant innovator.

I dont think our corporate structure has any idea what they are doing. I think it may be worse than we even suspect.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

1 hour ago, BearFan NYC said:

we had the leagues newest sweetheart defensive coach on our staff as OLB under Fangio. Brandon Staley. He saw how Fangio beat the Rams, and then followed Fangio to Denver, became DC at LA Rams (ironically) and used the same system there to make them #1, and then got the HC position at the Chargers, where he is still building.

Staley's scheme is all the rage in the NFL and we run it too. 3-4 with the DL bunched inside playing almost two gap so they can stay in a 2 high safety look to limit the big plays without sacrificing too much  stopping the run. It seems to be working against the high powered offenses.

Anyway, we had him, didnt see him, or promote him. Fangio saw him. We could have made him DC instead of Desai, and gotten the brilliant innovator.

I dont think our corporate structure has any idea what they are doing. I think it may be worse than we even suspect.

I think Bears actually tried to retain Staley but he wanted to go with Fangio where his loyalties were. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

53 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

I think Bears actually tried to retain Staley but he wanted to go with Fangio where his loyalties were. 

Well - Staley just called the dumbest time out in the history of sports there. He is now right next to Chris Weber. 

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

I think Bears actually tried to retain Staley but he wanted to go with Fangio where his loyalties were. 

well that would be a better sign!

 

[Stinger226]

5 hours ago, BearFan NYC said:

we had the leagues newest sweetheart defensive coach on our staff as OLB under Fangio. Brandon Staley. He saw how Fangio beat the Rams, and then followed Fangio to Denver, became DC at LA Rams (ironically) and used the same system there to make them #1, and then got the HC position at the Chargers, where he is still building.

Staley's scheme is all the rage in the NFL and we run it too. 3-4 with the DL bunched inside playing almost two gap so they can stay in a 2 high safety look to limit the big plays without sacrificing too much  stopping the run. It seems to be working against the high powered offenses.

Anyway, we had him, didnt see him, or promote him. Fangio saw him. We could have made him DC instead of Desai, and gotten the brilliant innovator.

I dont think our corporate structure has any idea what they are doing. I think it may be worse than we even suspect.

He left with Fangio then was DC with Rams 2 yrs ago. So last yr would have had the choice of Chargers HC or DC with us? I think he would have chosen Chargers every time.

[BearFan PHX]

14 hours ago, Stinger226 said:

He left with Fangio then was DC with Rams 2 yrs ago. So last yr would have had the choice of Chargers HC or DC with us? I think he would have chosen Chargers every time.

no I mean when Fangio left we could have promoted him. It was probably too early, but the same was true of Desai.

EDIT - I forgot about Pagano. and of course I would have signed Pagano over a young Staley OR Desai at the time too.

Im just saying, guys come through our building, and I wonder if the leadership even knows it.