Bears Coaching Search

Before I get into my plan for the offseason (which almost certainly won't be close to what the Bears actually do), I figure it would be wise to put my thoughts out there on the Bears coaching candidates. 

First, it looks like the Bears will NOT be getting Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, or Bill O'Brien....which I see as all being good things.  Reid is basically the bizarro Lovie Smith.  Always has a good/productive offense.  Goes thru defensive coordinators like Lovie did OCs.  Several successful years with no rings and only 1 trip to the Superbowl to show for it.  Kelly will be fun to watch coach in the NFL.  But Chicago is not the place.  He needs to go to a young team that needs the hope and enthusiasm that he brings.  He also probably needs a team with multiple uniform options.  O'Brien was an interesting candidate, given his experience in the Patriots offense, but Josh McDaniels/Charlie Weis appears to have been the masterminds there.  As for the rest...

- Keith Armstrong, Falcons special teams coach.  I'm not going to claim to know much about him, but he does satisfy the Rooney Rule right off the bat.  Falcons have a decent special teams unit, and he was the Bears ST guy from 1997-2000, so he does have a ton of coaching experience.  Going to assume this was a "token" interview and he's not a viable candidate.

- Joe DeCamillis, Cowboys special teams coach.  He's another very experienced coach, having been in charge of special teams for the majority of seasons since 1988.  Only 47 years old.  Well respected, but best known for being badly hurt when the Cowboys practice facility collapsed a few years ago.  Again, assuming this was a nice guy getting a chance to interview for his dream job.

- Pete Carmichael Jr, Saints Offensive Coordinator.  You see "Saints offense" as a Bears fan and you immediately think "YES, I want some of that in Chicago".  But Carmichael is far from a no-brainer hire.  In fact, plenty of Saints fans despise the guy.  This year was his chance to really shine with Payton leaving him all the playcalling duties.  And while the Saints still led the league in passing and put up plenty of points, his playcalling left a lot to be desired.  Saints fans cite his 65/35 pass/run ratio, and he took what was the 6th best running team in 2011 and took them down to 25th.  Granted nobody is Sean Payton, but I think Jr. lost some of his luster this year, and I question his ability to be the guy to institute a strong offense in the Windy City.

- Mike Sullivan, Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator.  It was reported tonight that Sullivan's interview went about twice as long as planned with the Bears.  While he is an offensive guy that has worked with Eli Manning, he was his QB coach the year he led the league with 25 INTs in 2010.  Sullivan did lead Josh Freeman to a strong middle of the season, but Freeman finished the year with 5 straight games under 56% completion.  He also had back-to-back 4 INT games in this stretch and got shut out against a Saints defense that allowed the most yards in NFL history from scrimmage.  He has a similar military background to GM Phil Emery.  And I'll go on record to say that if he is hired, Sullivan would be as underwhelming a hire as Emery was last year.  The Bears are the only team Sullivan has an interview schedule with.

- Mike McCoy, Broncos Offensive Coordinator.  May be my favorite candidate at the moment.  Him having several interviews this weekend justifies my desire for him to be the next Bears head coach.  I may be jumping the gun here, but I think he can be the Bears version of Sean Payton.  Like Payton, McCoy was a former CFL and WFL QB who dabbled in the NFL for a season.  Only 40 years old, but he's held various positions on offense, working with some pretty good offensive minds.  Most importantly for the Bears, he made beloved ex-Bear, Kyle Orton a 4000 yard passer on a team with no running game.  The next year, he took a Tebow led team with no passing game from 26th in rushing to #1 in the league.  The Tebow-led Broncos won 8 regular season games (several of them comebacks with Tebow throwing the ball) and 1 playoff game (on a beautifully designed play call).  This year, he's back to an elite passing team (with an elite QB), but has also remained balanced on offense with an average running game.  While having a strong offense led by Peyton Manning isn't a strange occurrence, you have to consider the fact that the Broncos young WRs (Thomas and Decker) didn't see the field much as rookies in 2010 and then basically lost a year of development with Tebow behind center in 2011. 

- Tom Clements, Packers Offensive Coordinator.  The Bears wanted Clements as OC a couple years ago before settling on Mike Martz.  That looks to have set the franchise back a few years.  Now could be the time to make it right by hiring Clements as head coach.  In 2010, the Packers denied the Bears permission to interview Clements as it would have been a lateral move.  Clements may be the QB whisperer.  He like McCoy, was a former QB.  He led Notre Dame to a national championship in '73.  He also played in the CFL.  His claim to fame is developing superstars at the QB position.  In 2007, he led 38-year old Brett Favre to his best season statistically since his 20s.  From there, he developed  Aaron Rodgers who took off from Day 1 as one of the top 5 QBs in the game.  If that's not enough, he even developed Matt Flynn, who played well enough to become filthy rich after just 2 spot starts over a 4 year span.  If McCoy is my favorite, Clements is a very close 2nd or even 1A. 

- Bruce Arians, Colts Offensive Coordinator.  My co-writer could tell you more about Arians, but he has as good of a resume as anyone on this list.  Seems to always be in the right place at the right time.  Was the first QB coach for Peyton Manning and was the WR coach for Pittsburgh when Roethlisberger broke into the league.  He also coached Tim Couch that one year he wasn't terrible!  Now Arians got to be Andrew Luck's first mentor at the NFL level.  Unlike the rest of this list, he was able to get some head coaching experience this year as Chuck Pagano missed time due to The Big C.  He's led some good offenses over the years, but also has had his playcalling questioned on many occasions.  But this year, took Luck to record breaking levels for a rookie, and was 9-3 in his first go-round at HC.  I have several concerns with Arians, the biggest of which being his age.  Arians is 60, and will turn 61 early next season. While he is only 3 years older than Clements, he has had health issues in the past and doesn't have a lot to prove as a coach.  I'd like a coach to be here for the very long-term, if successful, and Arians doesn't look to be capable of being around very long.  Plus being in Pittsburgh, I've heard a lot of negative about his offensive playcalling and philosophies.