GM Ryan Pace has a delicate situation on his hands. It’s clear to almost everybody that he is safe from the likely changes that will be coming to the Chicago Bears power structure in 2018. Head coach John Fox and his staff are almost certainly gone what with a third-straight losing season just one more defeat away. By the start of January the search for his replacement will truly commence. At that point it will be a challenge for Pace to do two things: placate the fans and placate his owners. So here’s why David Shaw should be a prime target.
Those who aren’t familiar with the name, here’s a quick recap. Shaw is the head coach at Stanford University and has been since 2011. He’s a disciple of Jim Harbaugh, Jon Gruden and Bill Walsh. For the past few years NFL experts have wondered when he finally make the jump to the pro level.
Chicago not only could be a prestigious position for him, he also could be exactly what the team is looking for. Why? He manages to strike that balance between the peasants and the aristocracy. So what do both sides want?
The fans want:
History with quarterbacks
Shaw actually has a history coaching several different offensive positions. He handled tight ends early in his coaching career at Western Washington before taking over wide receivers later in Baltimore. However his main position has been quarterbacks since 1997. Despite three different (and average) quarterbacks his first year in Philadelphia, the Eagles managed over 4,000 yards passing.
From there he traveled to Oakland where he took charge of turning journeyman veteran Rich Gannon into an All-Pro between 1998 and 2001. Eventually this landed him a job as offensive coordinator at Stanford where he personally oversaw future star Andrew Luck. Even after that run was over, Shaw got production from lesser talents like Kevin Hogan and Keller Cryst (94 TD passes to 35 interceptions).
Young
Shaw has already been a head coach for seven seasons in college football and yet he’s still only 45-years old. His best may be yet to come. The man could conservatively coach the Bears for a decade and still only be 56 by the end of the 10th season. If he did well he could continue into his 60s like Fox, Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and others have. That’s stability personified.
Aggressive mentality
Given the fact that Stanford plays with an old school tendency meaning running the ball and playing good defense, people will automatically think this means Shaw is conservative by nature. All they’d have to do is watch the end of the Pac-12 championship against USC on December 1st. Down 24-21 to start the fourth quarter, Stanford was right on the goal line, one yard between them and the lead.
Having been stuffed to force a fourth down, Shaw easily could’ve tied the game with a field goal. Instead he went for the touchdown and the lead. Unfortunately the play was stuffed. On the next series the Trojan engineered a brutal 99-yard drive to extend their lead to 31-21. Shaw said after that he had no regrets about the call, nor should he. The man played to win the game. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.
The owners want:
Toughness
One of the things that bothered George McCaskey the most after the dismal 2014 season was seeing how soft his team had gotten. The Bears were always known for being one of the toughest, most physical franchises in the NFL. Upon hiring a new regime he made it clear that was one of the stipulations he wanted. To be fair Fox at least fulfilled that part of his job. Chicago is a much tougher team now than they were three years ago.
The good news is Shaw will further on that tradition. A staple of his Stanford teams is their physical and mental durability. It’s one of the priorities he shows when recruiting and one of the things he preaches constantly year after year. It’s a big reason his teams are able to hang in such a power conference despite picking from a more limited talent pool due to the university’s strict academic standards.
Steadiness
Look back through every coach the Bears have hired since the McCaskey family took over. They all tend to share at least one trait in common. Every man was not known for having a boisterous, loud personality. In other words they weren’t Mike Ditka. They wanted a coach with a more reserved demeanor. Somebody who was even-keel, doesn’t show a ton of a emotion. Sure they must be competitive, but there’s no reason to flaunt it for the cameras.
Lovie Smith in many ways was their ideal. A conservative man from Texas, he never betrayed his emotions in front of cameras. Whether the Bears were winning or losing, he was the rock that stood tall amidst the waves and wind. One could call Shaw the offensive version of Smith. On camera he comes across as calm, sturdy and not prone to screaming and yelling much at all.
Behind the scenes? He has no shame about showing his passion for the game nor his competitive spirit to his players.
A rigid mentality towards the media
One thing that has stuck out about the Bears’ most recent coaching hires is their interview process. Among the things they do is see how each coach does speaking in a setting with the media. It’s clear the ownership expect a certain kind of approach towards this. Don’t forget this team has consistently had some of the most rigid media policies in the entire NFL. Why this is remains a mystery. It’s not like it has done them any favors.
Nonetheless Fox, Marc Trestman, Smith, Jauron and Wannstedt have all adhered to this policy. They’re friendly to the media, but not open. He never goes on tirades and has never been caught making a quote that made himself, his team or his university look bad. He’s like a good diplomat. He can say all the nice things without giving any useful information.
That is ideal for the Bears elite.
