If there was one thing that has proven true over the past decade, it’s that the current Chicago Bears brass cannot identify quality head coaching talent. George McCaskey assumed control as team chairman in 2011, taking over for his late brother Michael. Since then, he has hired Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, and Matt Eberflus as head coaches of this franchise. Collectively, those four men have produced one winning season since 2013. The current approach they’ve maintained isn’t working.
Two coaches past their primes. Two coordinators propped up by the talent they coached.
So that leads to the obvious question. Presuming Eberflus is fired after this season, what do the Bears do? It was here where a fellow occupant of the city offered a roadmap. Big news dropped on Monday that the Chicago Cubs had reached a lucrative five-year deal with former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell. Many view the 53-year-old as one of the best in baseball, leading the Brewers to a winning record in eight straight seasons, including six playoff appearances and three division titles.
This isn’t the first time the Cubs have done this, either. In 2015, they lured two-time Manager of the Year Joe Maddon away from Tampa Bay. A year later, they were World Series champions.
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The Chicago Bears absolutely should consider this course of action.
If they don’t want to jump back into the unknown next spring, they need to see if there is an opportunity to lure a big name away from another team. Finding one such name is difficult. NFL coaches don’t typically reach the end of their contracts. Either they get extensions, or they get fired. That means if the Bears want to make this happen, they would have to trade for the desired coach. There is a long history of this happening across the NFL, and it’s often proven successful.
New England traded for Bill Belichick in 2000. Everybody knows what happened after that. Tampa Bay traded for Jon Gruden in 2002 and won the Super Bowl that same year. Tampa Bay did it again in 2019, trading for Bruce Arians in 2019. A year later, they won another Super Bowl. This year, the Denver Broncos traded for Sean Payton. After a tough 0-3 start, they’ve now won three of their last five. The method is proven. It is only a matter of whether the Chicago Bears are willing to pay the price and if the desired target is interested. Here are some names worth considering.
Sean McVay
It feels like the Los Angeles Rams are approaching a rebuilding phase. Aaron Donald has reached the twilight of his career. Matthew Stafford doesn’t have long left at quarterback. That roster needs a lot of work. It’s possible McVay may not wish to stick around for that. Chicago will likely have one of the top two picks in next year’s draft, giving them a prime chance to grab a quarterback. McVay could swoop in and get this team going immediately.
Mike Vrabel
Few guys are better at coaching up players on an individual level than Vrabel. He’s also a terrific motivator and great at in-game adjustment. He’s been the subject of trade rumors multiple times over the past year, so there is at least a rumbling that he might be out of Tennessee in the near future. His style is perfect for Chicago, and he’d immediately clean up a lot of the mistakes that plague this team.
Ron Rivera
The former Bears linebacker and defensive coordinator has enjoyed consistent success as a head coach for years. He made the playoffs four times in Carolina, including a Super Bowl run in 2015. In Washington, he’s never won fewer than seven games and is 4-5 with Sam Howell at quarterback. People dog on him a lot, but there is no denying Rivera can coach. Bringing him home to Chicago would be a tremendous story and probably cheaper than the other two.
