Bears Go On the Cheap in hiring New GM and Coach

 January 27, 2022

After an exhaustive search that lasted less than three weeks, the Bears hired a new GM and head coach. I get a queasiness in my stomach as the Bears get another Ryan as their GM and another Matt as their coach. I think the Bears probably thought this was a cost cutting move as they will only have to change the last names on the parking places and name plates.

The Bears interviewed many people for the GM position. All had the credentials to ascend to a GM role. I have to give the Bears some credit for making a minority hire in Ryan Poles. Like his predecessor he is very young at age 36. This leads me to believe he came cheaply.   He will be in charge of the next draft where they don’t have a first round pick. And he has an uphill battle to fix this team, so I will cut him some slack.  

I don’t know how in two days Poles could say it was his choice to hire Matt Eberflus. He was chosen over two candidates who had previously coached Super Bowl champs. It is not a good thing to thrust a coach on your new GM. Do you think it may have anything to do with money? 

What is amazing is that with one of the worst offenses, all final candidates were defensive coaches.  QB Justin Fields is the center of this franchise and needs the right coach to maximize his talent. It will be very interesting to see who the Bears bring in as their Offensive Coordinator. One name being floated is Eagles Offensive Coordinator Kevin Patullo. This is so “Bears” as his passing attack was ranked 25^th.  

The upside of Eberflus is he is an excellent defensive coordinator. He has a lot of work to do. The Bears, with the exception of Jaylen Johnson, have no secondary and no pass rush.  He may want to consider reverting to a 4-3 defense. A  healthy Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn would be one of the best trios around. He is supposed to be very good at planning and figuring out opponents' schemes. However, it is much harder to install offensive schemes. 

I know this is not a ringing endorsement. However, as a Bear fan I really hope this works out.