People are growing annoyed with the Chicago Bears coaching search. Most of it stems from how large it’s becoming. They’ve now hit the 20-man threshold for interviews, which many around the league believe is way too many. It indicates the team has no sense of focus or direction. They are wandering in the wilderness, hoping to stumble onto their answer. Do GM Ryan Poles and team president Kevin Warren have any concept of what they’re doing? A source updated SM on what’s been happening behind the scenes.
Poles remains steadfast in his pursuit of Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The two hit it off in their interview last week. Johnson is said to be comfortable working with the Bears GM and loves the idea of developing Caleb Williams. Warren, on the other hand, would prefer a head coach with experience. While he isn’t set on hiring anybody specific, he is believed to be a massive fan of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. That is why the Bears requested an interview. It’s also why a huge portion of their candidate list is former head coaches.
Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren are gathering information.
If Johnson is their primary target, and this indicates he is, then they have nothing else to do but wait. The offensive coordinator is still in the playoffs with Detroit. As long as that remains the case, they won’t be able to hire him. That leaves the Bears with two choices. They can either sit on their hands doing nothing or fill the time by meeting other coaches. It wouldn’t just be about the head coaching job. They can also float the idea of prominent assistant jobs and gather data on how other successful organizations operate.
There is no such thing as too much data. The more the Bears learn, the more informed their decision will be. Presuming George McCaskey wasn’t lying and Ryan Poles is leading the head coach search, it feels like Johnson is the guy. However, if the Bears miss out on him for whatever reason, Kevin Warren has made it where they will be prepared to pivot if necessary. More answers should arrive once the Bears move to their second round of interviews, which will include four to six finalists.
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@Dr. Melhus This is just my opinion, but one of the problems the Bears have on defense with the Eberflus/Lovie Tampa 2 thing is that they generally try to rely on just the four down lineman for pressure. Further, to be really effective, it requires at least one serious threat at DE and the unicorn 3T that are extremely rare and hard to find. Most teams, that have much more defensive success and consistent pressure on the QB almost always rush 5, not 4. The reason is because you don’t need studs at multiple positions, you can build it with… Read more »
@Unluckyirishman76: When he was drafted, I suggested that they convert Sewell into an edge rusher. Presumably they have looked at that, and maybe the new defensive staff will do so again. Then we can have Sewell vs. Sewell twice a season when the Bears play the Lions. @gusto: Doing multiple interviews isn’t extra analysis, it’s extra data. Given the new science of data analysis and the research into large data sets, which led into AI and large language models, people know how to handle large data. Finally, to address the article, it’s likely that if Freeman takes the interview, he’ll… Read more »
Like we used to say at work, “over analysis = paralysis”!!!!!
Maybe if BJ becomes our coach he will switch our Sewell into an olineman and run his offense thru him like he does his brother. (Im not serious for those who cant take a joke)
@David —
If you “allow” someone slap you around; and you “allow” someone to treat you like a little bitch — guess what?
You’re a little bitch!
If an NFL GM can’t stand up for himself — he cannot ever help an NFL team.
If any of these silly rumors are true — when does Ryan Poles finally stand up?
The players are the first to know.