The Chicago Bears coaching search is 48 hours away from commencing. John Fox will oversee his final game for the team in Minnesota on Sunday. Regardless of the outcome, expectations are he’ll be fired the following Monday. At that point GM Ryan Pace will begin the hunt for his replacement. As to who that will be? There is only speculation.
Some sources think they’ll target the top young offensive mind available, searching for perhaps the next Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan. Others wonder if they’ll try to find a coach who’s connected to the franchise. Dave Toub appears to be the hottest name of late in that regard. Then again this team has proven over the past few years to be quite unpredictable.
Could another such moment be coming? Based on the latest rumors, it’s possible.
Bears coaching search may be coveting Jon Gruden
There are plenty of well-known names on the market who remain wild cards. Jim Harbaugh is arguably the most popular among Bears fans. It seems though that another might actually be in play for the organization. A source offered an interesting note on what’s been happening the past 24 hours.
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“Bears meeting with Jon Gruden. They’ve been meeting since noon. Three plus hours.”
This information by itself is a little inconclusive. However, there is a fascinating element that threw gasoline on the fire. Mere minutes after receiving this information, news leaked out that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were keeping head coach Dirk Koetter for the 2018 season. This after rampant belief the team was on the cusp of bringing Gruden back. So something changed.
“Growing Sense” Jon Gruden Returns As Buccaneers’ Head Coach https://t.co/ADVrSQrTvR pic.twitter.com/8gflUWxoBh
— NFLTradeRumors.co (@nfltrade_rumors) December 29, 2017
Apparently it had nothing to do with the team changing their minds. It was actually the man himself who chose to back off the job.
“Gruden turned down Bucs. They had no interest in other candidates than him.”
That would explain matters. Once Gruden declined their offer it would make sense for them to declare the job no longer available and would be keeping Koetter. Could this be an indication the Bears might have an inside track to landing the former Super Bowl champion? It’s too early to tell but the source did leave one last nugget to chew on.
“Gruden has long loved Trubisky.”
Gruden brings lots of credibility and unknowns to the job
There is certainly a lot to take in with this. As stated before it’s very early in the process. Meeting with Gruden and hiring him are two different things. Nonetheless what exactly would the Bears be getting were it to happen? Well first and foremost they’d collect a man who’s been all the way to the top. Gruden won the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay back in 2002, so he’s seen the blueprint before.
He has a deep offensive background, having learned under the likes of Mike Holmgren. In his time as a coordinator and head coach he produced a top 10 offense six times. His biggest area of expertise lay at quarterback. Rich Gannon developed into an All-Pro under his watch in Oakland and Brad Johnson had his career-best season as well under him in Tampa. Jeff Garcia also went to the Pro Bowl with his help.
One thing Gruden has yet to do though is develop a young quarterback himself. He never really had the opportunity in Oakland or Tampa Bay. Mitch Trubisky would certainly represent the sort of challenge he’s always coveted. No doubt his chances to come back won’t last much longer. He’ll be 55-years old next year.
The setup the Bears offer with Trubisky and that solid defense might be the best chance he’ll ever get.
