Ryan Poles updates latest on Bears head coach search |
CHICAGO - General manager Ryan Poles has made some really good decisions and some really bad decisions. I think it is fair to say that hiring offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was one of those mistakes; leaving that decision in the hands of former head coach Matt Eberflus would be another mistake.
Now, Chicago is looking for a head coach once again and they have had over a month since firing Eberflus to create the list of candidates. “In terms of our coach search, we’ve taken the last month or so to prepare our process. We’ve taken time to look back at the past processes to make sure that we’re making changes and adjusting so that this is (an) absolute success. We’ve been in information-gathering mode, looking at data, research, making countless calls to make sure that we have everything we need to make a sound decision,” Poles said. “We’re looking for clear vision, a developmental mindset, really good game management and obviously a plan to develop a quarterback is going to be a key part of that as well. We’re going to cast a wide net. It’s going to be a diverse group. There’s going to be different backgrounds from offense, defense, special teams, college, pro. We are turning every stone to make sure that we’re doing this the right way. We believe that’s going to be really, really important. There’s going to be some names that you don’t expect, that are going to surprise you because we are digging deeper than we ever have before.” He was not kidding when he said there would be some unexpected names. The Chicago Bears have requested to interview 15 different prospects so far, just recently completing their interview with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. They still have 14 other candidates to interview, highlighting Poles’ statement that they are not going to rush the process. “In terms of timing, we’re going to move with urgency, but we are not going to rush the process (because) we want it to be a sound process,” Poles said. “In terms of the interview panel, it’ll be (Chairman) George (McCaskey), (President and CEO) Kevin (Warren), (director of football administration) Matt Feinstein, (senior director of player personnel) Jeff King, (executive vice president of people and culture) Liz Geist and obviously missing (assistant general manager) Ian (Cunningham). I think it’s really important to allow Ian to go through his own interview process if that pops up. If it doesn’t, he will be in that group as well as we move forward.” Having a list of 15 people to interview, especially when you have over a month to narrow down the list, is rather unusual. Besides Vrabel, the other coaches Chicago has requested to interview are Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady; interim head coach Thomas Brown; former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll; Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores; Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn; Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson; New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka; former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury who also worked with Chicago’s quarterback, Caleb Williams, with the University of Southern California; Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, although the Cowboys will not allow the Bears to interview him; Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken; Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing; former Stanford head coach David Shaw; former Atlanta Falcons head coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Their vast search shows Poles’ belief that a good head coach can come from various backgrounds, necessitating such a large search. “Good coaches come from different places, different backgrounds … If you’re (a) first-time head coach, what can we put in place for you to help support you? What do the coordinators look like? Are they former head coaches? You have an adviser that’s a head coach that’s at your right side to pick up some of the blind spots,” Poles said. “If you have been a head coach before, (there’s) a lot of value because (you’ve) already experienced those. You’ve been around it and you have the playbook and the blueprint on how to counter things when they go away from you or when you have success, how do you make sure that everyone stays humble and they continue to work and get better?” Once the Bears have their head coach in place, their focus can shift toward looking at free agency to address the numerous gaps in their roster. The offensive and defensive lines would be a good place to start.
