John Fox is out. Fans now eagerly await the Chicago Bears coaching search to get going. Already reports have surfaced about interview requests. Early indications are that GM Ryan Pace has a direction in mind. Josh McDaniels? Pat Shurmur? John DeFilippo? All are offensive gurus with strong backgrounds at quarterback. It’s clear Mitch Trubisky is the driving force behind this search.
There’s of course nothing wrong with that. The Bears have too long a history of failing to devote their efforts properly towards that position. At the same time it leaves them open to a serious danger. Remember that they tried to do the same thing in 2013 when Marc Trestman was hired. Unfortunately that resulted in the utter collapse of the defense to easily the worst unit in franchise history.
The lingering fear with this search is if the Bears go the offensive route again, will this good defense be ruined? It’s why so many people are nervous regarding the fate of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. This unit is his baby and he’s done great work with it. The problem is he’s a free agent in 2018. Could that mean he’s gone?
Not necessarily.
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Candidates in Chicago Bears coaching search angling to keep Fangio
Word is that Fangio’s exploits haven’t fallen on deaf ears. According to Adam Caplan of SiriusXM and ESPN, he’s hearing that several top candidates for the Bears job are highly interested in keeping the veteran coordinator in place.
Word is there may be some head coaching candidates who want to keep him as DC. Will be interesting to see what happens here. Well respected coach. https://t.co/TAx7nAcreL
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) January 2, 2018
Make no mistake. This is the dream scenario for Bears fans. A quality offensive head coach comes in to fix that side of the ball while Fangio gains full autonomy on defense. Thus one problem gets solved without creating another. The problem is there’s just no way to tell if they can pull it off. It’s not that the Bears aren’t willing to bring Fangio back. Word is they’ve tried a number of times to extend his contract. So far no success.
Part of this is because nobody knows for sure what Fangio wants. Does he want to stay? Does he want to leave? It’s possible he didn’t want to sign an extension until he knew who the next coach might be. On the other hand prior rumors hint he may want to return to the west coast.
History says it will take a respected name for Fangio to stay
One interesting thing to note is Fangio’s statements regarding his enjoyment working with Jim Harbaugh. For those who forget, they actually started together at Stanford in 2010. Then Fangio followed the head coach to San Francisco in 2011. So what was it about Harbaugh that drew such interest from the coordinator? Namely he was an offensive guy but took a deep interest and appreciation of the defense.
Therein may lay the secret to keeping Fangio. The Bears must find an offensive coach who displays a proper appreciation for what’s done on defense and doesn’t just pass the buck to somebody else. That’s the exact problem that developed with Trestman. It was obvious he had no concept of defense. It would explain why the Bears failed to keep Rod Marinelli back in 2013.
Maybe they can avoid that same situation this time around.
