Chicago Bears fans want to see changes at the top. That means a new GM and new head coach. Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy had their chances the past three years and the team has only gotten worse in that time. The problem is many fans are nervous about this idea. Not because they don’t want change. More because they fear the guys in charge once again making the decision on who the replacements will be. Team chairman George McCaskey and team president Ted Phillips.
There are plenty of reasons why their attempts to find the right guys for both jobs haven’t come to fruition. Their lack of true football knowledge. Not evaluating the right people. Ironically, this is a problem that McCaskey’s older brother Michael had during his time running the organization after George Halas died in 1983. It wasn’t until he hired Jerry Angelo in 2001 who in turn hired Lovie Smith in 2004 that the team finally seemed to become a viable contender.
Nobody understood what had happened at the time.
The Bears may have actually started a trend back then that didn’t start to take hold until the past couple of years. The idea of pairing a head coach and GM who have worked together in the past. This idea first became a thing to the public when the Buffalo Bills hired Brandon Beane as GM in 2018. Beane had worked for years in Carolina, the same place Bills head coach Sean McDermott had worked as a coordinator. Their success together since speaks for itself.
People forget this was the case for Angelo and Smith too. Angelo worked as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers director of player personnel from 1987 to 2000. Smith became the Bucs’ linebackers coach from 1996 to 2000. So they grew familiar with each other during those five seasons together. When Angelo finally got his opportunity to hire a new coach in 2004, he knew he wanted Smith. Somebody he trusted and respected.
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Chicago went 11-5 in their second year together and reached the Super Bowl in their third. In total, they had five winning seasons as a pairing.
Possible GM/coach pairings the Chicago Bears can exploit
The good news for the Bears is there are a number of top head coaching and GM candidate pairings out there just waiting to be exploited. It is a matter of McCaskey determining which of them would be the best fit for the organization. Here are a few he should look into.
Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll (Buffalo Bills)
Daboll is one of the top candidates expected for the 2022 head coach hiring cycle. His Bills offense is among the best in the NFL again this season with quarterback Josh Allen playing like a star. The coach is well-traveled and experienced, having learned from the likes of Nick Saban, Bill Belichick, and McDermott.
Schoen is the Bills’ assistant GM, the right-hand man of Beane, and has played a big part in that organization constructing one of the best all-around rosters in the league. He came up as a scout in Carolina before being lured to Miami by Bill Parcells who became a quick fan. He’ll know the exact sort of personnel required to make Daboll’s offense work.
Will McClay and Kellen Moore (Dallas Cowboys)
While Daboll is the experienced and most “ready” candidate in the eyes of most, Moore is probably the hottest. He is that Sean McVay-type of guy. A bright offensive mind who is only 33-years old. He has helped transform the Cowboys offense into the best in all of football. The fact he got a productive outing from Cooper Rush recently only helped his case.
McClay might be one of the most sought-after GM candidates of the past few years. He’s had a hand in the Cowboys selecting several top talents including Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and now Micah Parsons. The problem is he is quite comfortable in Dallas and has been reluctant to leave. Perhaps pairing with somebody he knows in Moore could sway him.
Byron Leftwich and John Spytek (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Probably the most difficult head coach candidate to evaluate is Leftwich. One can’t argue with the success of his offense lately. However, people aren’t sure how much of it is him and how much is having Tom Brady at quarterback. To be fair, Leftwich did pretty well with Jameis Winston at QB too, so he deserves more credit. Remember he was a former QB himself.
One person who knows the requirements of making his offense go is Spytek. He’s been the right-hand man of GM Jason Licht since 2018. During that time, Tampa Bay assembled a Super Bowl-winning roster. Sources say Licht has several admirers at Halas Hall. So it would be interesting if the Chicago Bears might pursue his closest understudy.
