So far, 15 names have been revealed to the public that the Chicago Bears plan to interview for their head coaching job. That is a lot. However, due to rule changes by the NFL, the process has been intentionally slowed down to force teams to take their time. As a result, it appears the Bears brass have decided to use that to cast a wide net in hopes of uncovering somebody unexpected. Unfortunately, this can sometimes lead to certain interview requests that confuse the fanbase. That is where Mike Kafka comes in.
A couple of years ago, the young assistant coach was generating serious head coaching buzz thanks to his success in Kansas City. It peaks in 2022 when he helped the New York Giants make the playoffs as their offensive coordinator. However, things bottomed out over the past two years, with the offense finishing 30th and 31st in points scored over the past two seasons. Why would the Bears ever want to consider making him their head coach with that hanging over his head? Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog shed some light on the actual reason they’re doing it.
“Mike Kafka. I saw a lot of fans getting worked up over this interview. But sometimes personnel guys give their friends head coaching interviews to raise their profiles. That’s what is happening here.”
Mike Kafka is basically getting a favor from Ryan Poles.
Remember, the two worked together for five years with the Kansas City Chiefs, Poles as a director of player personnel and Kafka as an assistant coach. Both left in 2022. It appears the coach asked the GM a favor to help raise his profile after two tough years in New York. The Bears don’t lose much by giving him an interview, even if it’s not serious. It seems to have worked. Shortly after the news dropped, the New Orleans Saints also asked to meet with him. If nothing else, fans can calm down about the situation.
Mike Kafka isn’t even close to being a favorite for this job. Poles may love and respect the man, but he’s also not naive. He cannot tie his future as GM to somebody with such a dubious recent track record. The last time he went with his gut, it resulted in Matt Eberflus. This isn’t the time to be selfish. His responsibility is to hire the best possible candidate, and nothing suggests that is Kafka right now. Maybe his time will come in the next couple of years, but the Bears seem focused elsewhere.
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My position is that it’s time to do something that brings them into this century. The Lions got it right so that gives me hope that if the bets go with a safe pick that it could conceivably work. I just don’t want to take a chance on any of these candidates to get the offense right. There is no history of that being the case with any of them. Vrable handed the ball off to Henry and it was brilliant because he kept it simple for Tannehill. Simple is good for low level ceiling QB. Simple in year 2… Read more »
@Krisanthony @JFK was AFK On a related note, one rumor is that wherever Ben Johnson lands, Lou Anarumo (recently fired by Cincinnati) may be the front runner to be his DC. They coached together as position coaches in Miami for maybe 6 or 7 years. Not sure on the guy’s persona and mindset, but he did pretty well in Cincinnati before they dismantled the entire secondary to pay the offense, and he does run a 4-3 which means the Bears wouldn’t face a total rebuild like when Pace and Fox arrived. Other than that, he’s not part of any well… Read more »
@Arnie, excellent point on Kafka basically riding the Andy Reid Bandwaggon al la Nagy and Bienemy. No secret that Andy is the show and he gives his guys the sexy titles like OC to suggest impression that those people were the big reason for the KC offense.
Johnson is a different breed. No reason needed to question his role in developing the best offense in the NFL over last 3 years. Sure, Campbell likely demands certain aspects in game prep each week, but it’s been Ben that has applied and made that engine hum.
Good Lord Lambert don’t try so hard to sound stupid. No, the real reason was not leaked as your always hyperbolic and moronic headlines suggest. It was a blogger that said the obvious without any personal knowledge. But yes, guys get propped up for interviews all the time. Nothing groundbreaking or leaked happened.
Off topic since it might not get posted here, SF is gonna offer the DC job to Salah.