It seemed like such an obvious move. The Chicago Bears were uncertain about the fate of Matt Eberflus going into the 2024 off-season. They were about to draft a new quarterback. Hiring a coach capable of developing him made sense. It would have to be somebody with experience who could also lead the team. The one name that stood out was Jim Harbaugh. After years as a Bears quarterback, he carved a path of constant success in coaching. Most recently, he won a national championship with Michigan before returning to the NFL. He wasn’t a stranger to turning around struggling former #1 picks, as Alex Smith can attest.
It just made sense. All the Bears had to do was make the call. Except it never happened. Harbaugh went to Los Angeles, where he took over the Chargers, and now he has them in the thick of the AFC playoff chase. People can’t understand why the Bears didn’t even consider it. Well, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, it wouldn’t have mattered. He has it on good authority that Harbaugh would’ve avoided the job even if it was offered because of a lingering cold relationship with Kevin Warren.
“I highly doubt Harbaugh would have been interested in working for the Bears after his time at Michigan. It has been widely reported that coaches throughout the Big Ten were not particularly happy with some of the moves Kevin Warren made when he was conference commissioner. Harbaugh found a landing spot with an established, elite quarterback, and that can be a real draw for coaches with the latitude to pick their destination.”
Warren angered Jim Harbaugh over the COVID situation.
Due to the pandemic, the former Big Ten commissioner intended to shut down the entire 2020 football season. Coaches and players were vehemently against this, not wanting to be robbed of a precious year of football. It led to an often contentious standoff. Eventually, the two sides worked out a deal, and a shortened version of the season took place. How Michigan’s season went probably made it worse in Harbaugh’s mind. They finished 2-4, the worst record he’s ever had at the college level. It almost got him fired.
Knowing the kind of personality Jim Harbaugh has, he probably attributed the late start to the season and lack of time to adequately prepare as reasons for this. No doubt that was traced back to Warren. The hopes of landing Harbaugh were likely destroyed once the Bears hired him as team president. So before people go blaming Ryan Poles for not being more aggressive on that front, let it be known he never had a shot anyway.
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Weren’t Poles & Flus hired before Warren?
This season was lost the moment Eberflus hired Waldron. Shane Waldron was a puppet OC in Seattle and the truth be told the offensive scheme he ran wasn’t of his making. It was Pete Carrol’s and the success was because of Pete Carrol’s scheme and simply using S Waldron as a mouthpiece to call the plays under Carrol’s direction and watchful eyes period.
What’s the real problem? left-wing nerd accountant McCaskey hired left-wing Kool-Aid drinking Warren who’s on the shutdown America team. That’s the real problem. Like hires like. The kind of guy to always make the wrong decisions when it matters most. That’s the Ole’ Bears. Coincidentally he’s not pursuing Arlington Heights, but corrupt lakefront or downtown Chicago for a stadium change. Kevin gets 3 TWTY Durrrs. How’d the shutdown turn out Kev? Oh what’s that? The masks were studied and didn’t actually stop anything at all? What’s that? The 6 foot rule was admittedly made up arbitrarily? What’s that? Everyone taking… Read more »
This article is a year behind, honestly.
Nobody’s fawning over Harbaugh anymore.