OK, here we go… time to hire another Bears head coach; yay! Almost as bad as a QB, the Bears have been very bad at finding a good head coach. Looking back in history, there ain’t a whole lot to speak of.
Of course, it starts with Papa Bear, who was at the helm for 6 NFL Championships (1921, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1946, & 1963); remember, there were NFL Championships before the Super Bowl. This is extremely important to understand, especially since 8 of the 9 championship titles the Bears have won came during this pre-Super Bowl era. Ralph Jones was at the helm in 1932, while Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos combined (?) to lead the Bears to their 1943 title. Of course, the only Super Bowl in 1985 came with DA Coach, Mike Ditka in charge. Don’t know about those other 3 guys, but as far as Bears coaches go, it starts and ends with Halas and Ditka.
Honorable mention should to go Lovie Smith, who lead the Bears to their only other Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Everybody knows he got fired after a 10-6 season, a season we’d give our left nut for at this point. I too am guilty of not really liking Lovie during his tenure, but looking back, shit, he was pretty decent. Looking back at every other coach since Ditka… Lovie really stands out.
Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron, Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, and Matt Eberflus (not sure if you want to count Thomas Brown, but he fits right in with this list) make up the other guys since Ditka. Only Matt Nagy had a winning record out of this group of misfits, and that’s only because of the 12-4 year; damn Cody Parkey. Who knows would could have happened in that magical year if it wasn’t for that dipshit. After that year, the league caught on; Nagy’s record in his last 3 seasons was 22-27.
Who will be the next lucky guy on this list? Watching the whole Kevin Warren/Ryan Poles dynamic from the sidelines, I’m not sure “lucky” is the word. Secondly, you get what you pay for, ok? If we’re going to try to do things on the cheap, like performing virtual interviews instead of flying out to meet a guy, shake his hand, and look him in the eye, then we’re going to get another guy that will fit right into that list. I don’t want to put any more pressure on the guys doing the hiring (who is making this decision again?), but this may be the most important hire in Bears history. With Caleb Williams on the roster, our first potential franchise QB since Sid Luckman, there is an opportunity to really accomplish something. You’re not there with Caleb yet? OK, fair enough. What I’m saying is, bring in a guy that can help Caleb get the most out of his talents; do that, and we will see wins… do it well, and we will see a Super Bowl.
Bring in a guy that surrounds himself with smart people too. Not only should the Bears not be cheap with the head coach, but let him bring in some offensive and defensive experts too at the coordinator positions; this should be a group effort. Ditka, Ryan… that worked. Let our head coach be the head coach. Let the coordinators do their jobs. Hire a team that will get the most out of this roster; don’t stop adding to this roster by the way, ahem, especially in the trenches. Who do I want? That’s a question for another day, but quick answer: someone who will be coaching us when we win our next Super Bowl. That work? Bear Down!
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