It is a fact that the Chicago Bears are one of the premier franchises in the NFL, in terms of history, fan base throughout the nation, and also the fact that LA has no franchises and NYC has 2 to dilute their fan base. So a decent case could be made that the Bears are up near the top if not the top in terms of NFL impact by virtue of their decisions.
Thus it is a bit sad that we aren’t really going after any top flight offensive coordinators. We aren’t trying to “wrest away” anyone from any other team, or pull any big guys out of college.
The latest candidate to stumble through the turnstiles at Halas Hall is Chudzinski (I would hope that he gets it just for his name, if I were a late night comedian). Here is a link to a Chicago Tribune article about his upcoming interview.
Chudzinski served as the Chargers’ assistant head coach and tight ends coach last season… He was operating on a one-year contract in San Diego, which makes him a virtual coaching free agent. The Bears still had to receive permission to interview him because he is tied to the Chargers into February, however. It is believed the Chargers want him back, but it is unlikely they would offer him total control of an offense as the Bears could.
Basically this describes the heart of the matter, the Bears are talking to him because he is cheap, hungry and available. I like this a bit better:
People who know Chudzinski well refer to him as very bright, hard working and well versed in his offensive system. There is no question the 41-year-old has significant potential. Chudzinski is known for using formations and personnel groups to create mismatches.
Formations and personnel groups to create mismatches? Wow that’s news to Bears fans. You mean he just won’t run the same 5 plays, regardless if they work or not, and regardless of the capabilities of the players on the field?
If Chudzinski doesn’t work out, the Bears still could turn to Bengals quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese or former Rams head coach Mike Martz.
Yes that is our dynamic cast of characters to choose from, since other candidates have spurned us by moving quickly to other teams. Who could blame them? Since we didn’t change anything at the top and Lovie’s slow grip will still be on the team (maybe he will help in calling plays, like he did with our defense, right?), it would be a hard sell unless you were already a crony of Lovie and crew (like Martz).
Well we got Mike Tice to be the O Line coach, which wasn’t a bad signing except for the fact that it was BASS ACKWARDS and typically you get an OC hired BEFORE filling in his staff THAT WILL BE WORKING UNDER HIM. I can see it now – whoever we have as OC says “hey, I didn’t hire the line coach, not my fault…”. But then again, we are used to the Bears doing things backwards, aren’t we?
Let me just say this right now for the record…
Wait Til 2012.
Cuz that’s the next time this floundering franchise will actually be able to do something reasonable. That’s when Lovie’s contract runs out. That’s when we get some draft picks back. That’s when a buncha guys’ contracts run out. Hopefully, that’s when Angelo and Phillips are fired (cuz there ain’t NO way they’re stickin around after this decade).
Oh yeah. In other news, my top pick for Bears Offensive Coordinator was signed three days ago as the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills without even getting a call from the Bears for an interview. This is pathetic. The guy put together one of the most remarkable offensive seasons that the NFL has ever seen with a buncha guys who are unemployed at the moment, the Bears are looking for a new offensive coordinator, and they don’t even call this guy to schedule an interview!
I’ll see you guys back here in 2012.
Doshi, what you said is so true, I completely agree with you. Knowing Lovie’s strategy, one of his old “buddies” will be the pick for the new offensive coordinator. I wish I could be more optimistic, but unfortunately, I can’t.