Chisoxfn

Fabulous news - get better Derrick Jones!

This is the advantage the Bears have. Right or wrong - Bears have facilities and they have ownership that has actually shown patience. That has to resonate - even if draft capital is a bit low and roster is meh (with huge dependency obviously on Fields). But a clear lack of real playmakers (outside of Roquan).

I think he's been out like 7 or 8 days thus far from COVID. He entered protocol on the 5th of January. Prior to that he had been out due to the foot injury (after briefly coming back from a hamstring injury). The good news is - the extra rest should help his body. There were some reports that he's been able to cardio and physical work in his house, which gave me the impression he either had no symptoms or extremely mild symptoms. That said - I think Friday is exactly 10 days so I presume he has to go through some increased stress levels, etc, which is why he won't play Friday against Warriors. Any news on yesterday's injury. Is it a couple week thing or a dreaded season ender?

What happened? I went to read with my kids came downstairs to watch the end thinking it would be good and it was a route. I’m not going to worry - if anything let this teach the team a lesson. Hopefully Jones injury is not as bad as it looked. Need to get Caruso back this week (sounds like it won’t be for Golden State) and ideally get Javonte back end of next week.

Will have to check these out.

It is impressive that he got 35 TD's out of Blake Bortles in a single season. I had no recollection of Bortles having that type of year.

He could be - but I am not hiring him. Anyone can look smart working with Rodgers.

What I really want to see is the Bears hire 2 of the names on this list. Obviously - first get the GM - than based upon who they've gotten to know, give the GM authority to add more firepower to the room (aligning to the GM's vision of course) - but use these meetings to open the door and create upward mobility. I still say the goal should be to upgrade the overall front office capabilities and that is more than just the GM. For example - maybe Khan is so upset you hire someone else but based upon initial meetings and the right pathway forward - you are able to offer him a lucrative position that puts him closer to where he wants to be (and gets him away from the Steelers).

So is it good. Its been on my list for a while but haven't yet dove into it.

I was listening to Dan Patrick after I dropped kids off at school this morning. He had Lepatard on who was adamant that Miami is hiring Harbaugh. Said its just an act the statement that he won't lure him. Said Harbaugh is going to NFL and if he is leaving, Ross wants him to run his team not someone elses team and will basically give him a blank check. Not sure how connected or not Lepatard is (spelling?) - but hadn't seen it really reported anywhere. It is Miami so I presume he has pretty good connections given its his backyard.

The NBA should have just cancelled like 5 games per team. Putting this much basketball in a short stretch on (all) of these teams is just insane. That or extend the season by 2 weeks - doesn't matter to me. But the outcome they chose, in my opinion, was the absolute worst.

This is exactly the bounce back game I want to see from Bulls. Hopefully starters can sit out the 4th. Will be huge heading into a back to back. Plus tough games coming up with Nets and Warriors. I think Caruso is expected back tomorrow too.

No - If they were going to hire him as a president, they would have just done it.

Yeah - Harbaugh is going to win in next week regardless. Either he stays at Michigan (because its his dream job) but gets a nice bump up in pay to do it or he gets an increase to go back to the NFL (if that is what his preference is). Either way - he's sitting pretty.

Ed Dobbs is a really good front office name. Read some pretty good quotes / pieces on him. His resume / track record is pretty good with his time at the Colts and previous 10 years with the Seahawks, two very good orgs which have done a real excellent job drafting, etc.

What would it take to get Harbaugh. 7yr deal worth $75M or something like that? 5yr 60M? Or am I way overshooting. I think he only makes like $4M at Michigan. Could you get him more at a 7YR $45M. 5YR 35M?

So mid-season I was doubting Daboll; I had said - I want to see how he handles adversity. How he handles the league making adjustments to his offense, etc. What we saw with Nagy was the league adjusted and he had no idea how to adjust back. Daboll showed me he can adjust during the 2nd half of the year and that starts to make him a heck of a lot more attractive to me. Moore is interesting - he clearly seems to be bright and innovative - but like Bmags mentioned - he has weapon(s) galore, so I don't know what to think of him. If you take him - you just got to buy all of his intangibles and other skillsets and assume he can escalate and bring it like McVay. Given how much he's been around the game for a young age, the position he played in college, I wouldn't put it past them. If they are going offense - I prefer these two to Leftwich. I discount anyone working with Brady and Arians as an offensive genius. I have no idea how to evaluate Leftwich (interviews would be pretty huge here). With Andy Reid I worry less cause his coaches (despite Nagy's flop) have a pretty good success rate when they move on. I don't know what to think of Arians disciples. That said - Leftwich is facing real adversity as a play caller late in the season - so he has a shot to show how he innovates here, but again, hard to know what is him driving it vs. Arians. Note: Harbaugh remains my strong preference while my preferred defensive candidates remain Quinn & Bowles (Colts DC is also intriguing - I need to read up on him).

I just don't like anything other than his actual results. I don't like what I've heard went down with him and the GM. Seemed like him more in the wrong than the GM. He has gone through DC's and OC's like crazy in his short tenure there. And quite frankly - I have very little thought of the BB disciples because I think what BB does is very unique to him and I think his assistants don't fully grasp that. McDaniels might be the one I'm willing to try and even than I start to throw up a bit in my mouth just thinking about it.

I actually like the fact that they didn't sign Baker to an extension. Shows me they are realist in their views before totally tying up their franchise. That said - I do feel like the Browns consistently underperform, but you are right, they have valid excuses in terms of having their QB play pretty dinged up / miss games this year. It is why finding a QB can be so hard. There are jut so many of them so no matter how smart you are as a front office / head coach, sometimes the reality is you can only do so much at QB. I do like how they have handled draft capital more recently, but some of their other moves and ability to evaluate the personality equation has probably been a miss. I just get nervous with getting anyone from an org that has such a history of suckitude. That said - if they really have turned the corner, you could be getting a great candidate who actually understands how to get rid of the stink.

To me - it all depends on how you structure your front office (to your point). Is the GM really kind of the "president" and your acting GM's are below you - with very experienced, highly paid, and obviously strong college & Pro scouting directors and maybe even an ultimate player personel director that serves over them...kind of giving you a structure like a president, gm, and directors (but just with different titles - obviously right comp and right empowerment). If you are going with him as the GM - than I do think you need to put that structure in place - make huge hires underneath him (or identify you have someone you really like within - maybe it is Champ Kelly, maybe it isn't). But if the Bears are looking at a more typical structure/unwilling to make that change - than I don't know that as a GM he will work well as I feel like they will be putting too much responsibility on his plate that probably doesn't fit his strengths. If I interviewed him - it would be really important to understand how he works with others, collaborates with others. I do like fact that he worked with some smart minds in San Francisco and at least have intrigue at the thought of different.

Might have missed it - but Rick Smith officially on GM interview list. Dan Quin added to HC list too.

This - I have always said Bears ownership is so hands off it has to be an almost ideal role for a gig. They also have committed funding in recent years so you have budget and freedom. You build a sustainable winner - and you literally are king of Chicago.

I am like you that I prefer the two candidates to be independent of each other. I realize one technically needs more power than the other - but you want them very well connected and able to collaborate. I also want the two parties to feel confident challenging each other and having the right tough questions. Disagreements can be healthy and it is those uncomfortable conversations (between HC and GM and with scouts) that likely will push people to the best answers/outcomes anyway.

Your presumption - I don't know that I would say that. Lets not just say because someone is old they are out of touch. My presumption from interviews I have heard is that Polian is still pretty connected to the game and I think he still understands what it takes at high level, especially when it comes to identifying talented individuals, etc. Polian has ran 3 organizations and led them to superbowl appearances. That is as impressive as it gets. So resume wise - they probably picked as good of a person as possible and it seems like they at least talked to Dungy (although wouldn't verbally confirm that out of respect to whom they discussed the process).

More of - they are human, just like any of us. If someone asks - hey can you help me find someone in x line of work (and it happens to be your line). You are probably going to start with recommendations within your network or start the process from there. You will also suggest - expanding - but reality is pool will likely be tainted by people you really like (which are due to your own personal connections). Just the facts. That said - Polian has been there enough - that I think teams now a days have like a ready to operate list (heck the league probably does) - than its just a matter of the teams looking at resumes and meeting with people and asking questions. That is where Polian is probably huge - seeing through the BS in responses, knowing how to ask the question that digs deeper and shows more clarity into the vision and thought-process, etc. But its more than obviously talking the talk - cause these people have resumes around what they have accomplished too (but obviously the skills of a GM are different than a personal guy too). But If Bears already had maybe a candidate or two in mind - I would expect a smaller list of candidates so they could fast track to their people (and if anything confirm their pre conceived biases).