GoldenWarrior11
Heisman
Posts: 5,627
Joined: Jul 2015
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I Root For: Marquette, BE
Location: Chicago
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RE: Football Scoop: Jim Harbaugh Eyeing Exit Strategy
(10-23-2019 12:41 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote: (10-23-2019 12:00 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote: (10-23-2019 07:26 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote: (10-22-2019 03:18 PM)stever20 Wrote: (10-22-2019 02:46 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote: Too early to tell how many NFL jobs will open up. Washington is already open (not sure Harbaugh would want to deal with Dan Snyder). Stephen Ross wanted Harbaugh a few years ago in Miami, and there were reports Cleveland tried trading for him as well. Atlanta could open up (despite assurances that Dan Quinn is safe), as could the Giants, Jets, Steelers and - if last week is a preview of the remainder of the season - Bears. I can't envision Harbaugh going to a rebuilding job though; it would almost need to be a franchise that is built to win now, or in immediate term, and needs an edge to get over the top. Maybe a playoff team, or near playoff team, decides to make a change for Harbaugh.
If Michigan opens up, it would be rare to see an intraconference coaching raid, but P.J. Fleck is doing wonders at Minnesota and had experience building successful program at Western Michigan. Matt Campbell and Dave Clawson will be sought after names for jobs. I wonder if they will go after former head coaches like Bob Stoops, Bret Bielema (won in the B1G) or even Butch Jones (Saban assistants are getting all the top jobs these days).
Harbaugh with the Bears would be interesting. And I think would interest him.....
I could easily see Bielema taking Michigan. Would seem to be a good fit....
Matt Nagy is safe for at least the next couple of years even if the Bears have a losing record this season. I know we’re in a “What have you done for me lately?” world, but Nagy was NFL Coach of the Year last season and had turned around a franchise from a 5 win embarrassment to a 12 win division winner in a year. He’s bought himself a fair amount of equity with both ownership and the fans regardless of what happens for the next couple of years.
Plus, if you look at entire 100 year history of the Bears, the only “established” head coach that they have *ever* hired was John Fox... and that was an unmitigated disaster prior to Nagy coming in. Otherwise, the Bears have always hired someone that had never had prior NFL head coaching experience (and that goes back to the founder George Halas). Unlike most NFL teams that are now owned by billionaires that made money in other fields, the Bears franchise is still a family business and they just aren’t the type that has ever gone after the big name coach. Maybe it would be different due to Harbaugh’s connection to the Bears, but it’s water under the bridge because Nagy bought himself a least 2 more seasons with the turnaround job that he performed last year.
In contrast, the short fuse in Chicago is definitely regarding Mitch Trubisky at quarterback. The breaking point for his future with the Bears going to come sooner rather than later.
I agree with much of what you said, Frank. As a long-time Bears fan, I cannot argue with any of it.
However, if the Bears continue to look the way they did last week (and against Oakland) for the rest of the season, they will not win another game (especially with what Trubisky currently is), and they would finish with a record of 3-13. There are a couple of noticeable red flags with this regime, especially with the perception that "the league has figured out Nagy" and that we have have a non-existent running game (coupled with trading away Howard this Spring for peanuts). There are many glaring holes with the roster, and the team has very little draft capital to fix all of them. It very much looks like the organization is going to waste the prime years of Mack, which is unfortunate.
The Bears are unlikely to hire a coach of the caliber of Jim Harbaugh, agreed; however, I would not agree that Nagy is "safe" for "a couple of years". All it takes if for an organization to experience a trainwreck season for there to be mass changes (especially if Nagy is unwilling to relinquish play calling duties). The Bears, at present, are absolutely in that category, considering the expectations given before the start of the year.
Oh yes - that we're wasting Khalil Mack's prime years is something that is keeping me up at night. The game against the Saints was an abomination. Still, this is a franchise that gave John Fox a full 3 seasons and he went 14-34. So, Nagy already has more wins in less than 1.5 years as Fox did during 3 years. I feel like the lion's share of the blame in the short-term will be more on Trubisky not being what we thought/hoped he would be compared to Nagy's play calling.
To be sure, the complete lack of a running game is deeply frustrating, particularly since the Bears essentially just gave away Jordan Howard, who was a workhorse in short yardage situations that the Bears are failing to convert on this season. On that front, I do have an issue with Nagy being wedded to his system as opposed to adapting to utilize the skills of someone like Howard. It reminds of that period where Mike Martz was the offensive coordinator on Lovie Smith's staff. Martz, for whatever reason, just wanted to use tight ends for blocking in his system, so the Bears traded away Greg Olsen for basically nothing. Of course, Olsen is still playing nearly a decade later and will at least be considered for the Hall of Fame once he retires. Ultimately, a coach needs to adapt to the team's talent as opposed to other way around (which is something I begrudgingly respect Bill Belichick for doing so well).
I use the Greg Olsen comparison (w/ Martz) about Howard all time. Absolute travesty that Olsen was given away for next-to-nothing.
The difference, to me, about John Fox to Matt Nagy is that Fox never once had a team that was set-up to win the NFC North or make a deep playoff run. Fox inherited a team that was transitioning away from the Lovie Smith era (Briggs, Tillman, Forte, Marshall and Hester were all gone), and moving towards a 3-4 (without any young impact players on either side of the ball). Kevin White, ultimately, was a bust. Jeremy Langford inevitably got replaced by Howard. Cutler was solid in his one year under Gase, but he had no weapons (Alshon Jeffrey was allowed to leave in FA).
For Nagy, he overachieved last season with what he had, but now it appears everyone has regressed, especially the QB that he praised in interviews (and whom he said he ranked higher than Mahomes and Watson) in Tribusky.
Going back to wasting Mack's prime years, it is remarkable that every decision was made in response to the drafting of Tribusky, and that very much appears (today) that it was a colossal mistake, and one that is not easily fixable.
That goes back to my original point, where - if the organization is in such disarray to end the season - it would actually be easier to hit the reset button than it would be to try and stop-gap all of the holes the team has (especially with Aaron Rodgers remaining in the division). It might not be likely right now, but if the team continues to embarrass itself, the voices will only get louder (and likely encourage the ownership to make a knee-jerk change).
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