Episode 390: When will the Chicago Bears hire a head coach?

The Chicago Bears have already interviewed more than a dozen head coach candidates. Who should be brought back for second interviews? Who should ultimately land the job? Shaw Local's Sean Hammond and Michal Dwojak discuss the latest names on the list.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, and welcome back to the Shaw Local Bears Insider podcast.
I'm Shaw Local Bears beat reporter Sean Hamm and he
is Sports Enterprise Extraordinary Michael dwo Jack.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
We are in week two of the Bears coaching search.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Uh, there's obviously been a lot a lot of names
thrown out there.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
If you've been paying attention, you know that already.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
We're going to talk about hopefully all of them. I
think I got them all on the list.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Michael.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
It's hard to it's hard to keep track. I there's
there's so many names right now.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yeah, there are a lot of names, and it's interesting
just to kind of watch this whole thing unfold. You
know who's coming, who's not coming, you know who's why,
Why are they doing it this way? The wide net
and all that kind of stuff. There's a if you
wanted a pretty straight and narrow Bear search and kind
of hoping to you know, get some any answers pretty quickly,
You're you're not gonna get that.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Obviously the Patriots went with Mike Rabel. They did that,
I mean comparatively, like based on on how this the
rules are aligned now and the way this works nowadays.
That was a really really fast hire. I know, back
in the day they used to hire coaches in three
or four days, but doing it in less than a
week is highly unusual nowadays. And I think I think

(01:16):
some Bears fans might have panicked a little bit seeing that, Like, Okay,
Rabel was one of we were talking last time we
were on here, that he was in the top tier,
and obviously when you see one of your top tier
coaches fly off the board, yeah, that maybe incites a
little bit of panic there, But I don't think that's
necessarily has to be the case, because there's a lot

(01:37):
of good names still on the list. And really, I mean,
that felt like it was meant to be between Rabel
and the Patriots.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Pretty much the minute the Patriots fired Gieddmeo.

Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah, I mean, the the Mike Rabel thing, you know,
I kind of give the Bears and other teams kind
of a path that that seemed to be an arranged marriage,
that seemed to be like something that most really interested
pretty quick. So and obviously there's still concerns obviously about
the Rooney rule and how the Patriots went around the process,
But that's one where I'm kind of like okay, Like

(02:08):
I'm fine, Like, yes, you would have liked to have
brought in Vrabel, you know, when he was done with
his Week eight before his week eighteen contract was done,
and you would have liked him to maybe come into
your how you know, to all us all and see
what they're doing. But you know, at the end of
the day, I don't think that one's a big one.
I think that one's pretty much Rabel and the Patriots.
You know, he's a Hall of Famer in that organization.

(02:30):
It always seemed destined that he was going to take
over over that program. So that's one where I'm kind
of like, okay, whatever, like I'm not too.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Worried about it. And the other big.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
Name that's been in the news this week is Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys and McCarthy have parted ways. You know, we
didn't know if that was going to happen.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
Last week.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
It seemed like the Cowboys were not The reporting was
that they were not allowing McCarthy to interview elsewhere. But
for whatever reason, that all fell apart, and he's a
free agent. He met with the Bears on When's I believe,
and he met in person too, which seems notable. Yeah, Look,
he's a coach who wins. Like you you you can't
ignore the record. I know that he's you can if

(03:13):
you're the Bears, yes, if you're George McCaskey, yes, he.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Was the Packers head coach.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
I think you can get over that like that was
that's at this point, that's ancient history. Five years in
the NFL is a long time, and you can you
can argue whether or not he's a difference maker in
the postseason, I think. But look, his football teams win
even you know, when when Dak Prescott was healthy, they win.
They won in in Dallas even when Dak was hurt.

(03:39):
This year, I think they they exceeded expectations with Cooper
Rush in there. I don't know if that's the direction
this thing is going to go, but I think you
have to take him seriously as a candidate.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
Michael, Yeah, you do have to take him seriously. And
you know, we'll, you know, we're gonna play a fun
game here where we're gonna play real or no reel
with all twenty Bears candidates, and we'll, you know, we'll
get into every candidate and kind of talk about what
they bring and you know, whether they are a serious
person for this job. But you know that the Bears,
you know, flying him in and you know, taking him

(04:09):
out for dinner and all that kind of stuff that
they that already kind of shows how different this process
has been compared to you know, previous coaching searches. So
they are taking them seriously. I do know that, you know,
a lot of people are making a lot out of
you know, Mike McCarthy getting invitation to come to hell
Us Hall. No coach is allowed to come into hell

(04:29):
us All if they haven't if they have a content
for the twentieth even if your team is out of
the playoffs, you're not allowed to go to Hell's Hall
until the twentieth. So you know, hey, you that's important
context to have. Obviously, Ron Rivera and Mike McCarthy are
the only ones to kind of come in to hell
us All for that because they don't have any contracts.
But it's interesting, right because it's something that we thought

(04:51):
last week. You know, with Mike McCarthy, you know, are
the cowboys, you know, they're not gonna let him talk
to the Bears. Is he a real candidates? You know,
he what did he really? But if you look into
the stats, and if you look into the rankings, you
see a lot of impressive things. You know, the playoff wins,
you would like more than that. Obviously, he's won the
super Bowl, but that was, you know, thirteen years ago.
So yeah, he's an interesting candidate, and obviously we'll get

(05:14):
more into it once we break things down.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Yeah, that would be from a storyline perspective, the former
Packers head coach who has a street named after him
right at right beside lambeau Field. That would be a crazy,
crazy story if he winds up being the guy. Yeah,
as as you allude to, we're gonna play a little
game here. But first, if you're watching with us here
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Speaker 3 (05:46):
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Speaker 1 (05:48):
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Speaker 2 (05:55):
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Speaker 1 (05:59):
I'm at Sewan Underscore Hammond, He's at MDWO Jack ninety four.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
We're gonna let you know when we're going live.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
We're gonna still try to keep doing this at least
once a week during the off season for the foreseeable future.
There's plenty to talk about here with the coaching search
and whatnot.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
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Speaker 1 (06:14):
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Speaker 2 (06:24):
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Speaker 1 (06:25):
That is the number one best way to support us,
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Speaker 2 (06:30):
We got lots of thoughts and comments in the chat.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
Rick Gonzalez says he still wants Ben Johnson as a
head coach.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Wouldn't be mad with Mike McCarthy.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
Mike Johnson says that Ben Johnson reminds him of Naggy.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
We can talk about.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
Whether we agree with that or not when we get
to Ben Johnson on our list. Michael He also says
that Mike McCarthy reminds him of John Fox. Yeah, like, look,
there's parallels for a lot of these coaches. I think
that's fair. Obviously, you don't want a return of of
the Fox debacle that was that was you know, you

(07:09):
can argue whether that was a coach who was was
basically packing it in and just trying to get to retirement.
But I don't know that that was necessarily. I don't
know that's necessarily what you're gonna get with Mike McCarthy.
He still seems hungry to me. Some other thoughts, uh
In the comments, let's see, thank you guys for joining us,

(07:29):
Erica says, no, Mike McCarthy, I'd rather have Monkin or Carol. I.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
I do think that it's interesting. I wonder where the
sense of urgency with the in person interview is coming from.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Is that Mike McCarthy really really wants a job and
he's available to fly wherever.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
That you know he's free, is week is clear.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
I do wonder why you know he would be in
person and Pete Carroll is not.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
You know, that's fair to wonder we.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
Can talk about let's just dive right into our our
our list here, Michael, like we said, like Michael previewed.
We're gonna just go down the whole list. I got
him alphabetically by last name.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
We're gonna say.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
Are they a real candidate or are they not a
real candidate? And we'll see which ones we agree on,
which ones we disagree on. You guys can chime in
in the comments if you want. We'll throw some of
your thoughts up on the screen as well. Let's start,
like I said, alphabetical by last name. We're going with
Joe Brady, the Bills offensive coordinator. Michael, what are your
thoughts on Joe Brady.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
I think Joe Brady is a real candidate, right And
I think you know, it's kind of interesting to look
at Joe Brady. Obviously, he's been in charge of that
offense for a year and a half, and you have
the important context with a lot of these offensive coordinators
of you have Josh Allen as your quarterback, right, Like,
obviously that helps. Yeah, he's a freaking nature, he's an

(08:47):
MVP candidate. He's a very great quarterback. So you need
to put that into context. But I think there is
also some of the context of that offense wasn't clicking
with a lot more talent before you know, Brady took
over right like that team had digs and they were
just struggling, and you know, they they made the playoffs.

(09:08):
They've been able to run the AFC East for a
little bit here. But you know, it just seemed like
Josh Allen kind of clicked a little bit when he
had a little bit you know, not that he doesn't
have talent on this team, but you know, when he
didn't have the superstar wide receiver and he brought in
Joe Brady. So you know, it'll be interesting to see.
You know, I think he's a real candidate. I think
you talked to him. I think you talked to him

(09:29):
about what he did with Josh Allen when he took over.
You know, what was his priorities when he took over,
What did he learn from previous you know, when he
kind of got elevated into the position after Dorsy was fired. Like,
those are all important questions for the Bears to ask
because I think, you know, you'll see in my general
answers here that the Bears need to focus on an
offensive minded coach for Kleb Williams, not only for Caleb Williams,

(09:53):
but also just to kind of have some stability. I
don't think you really want to have, you know, a
defensive I be hired, and then you have the you
have the Bears offense do well, and then that OC
becomes a coaching candidate, and then you go through the
whole cycle all over again. I want stability if I'm
the Bears for Caleb Williams. So that's why I'm really
leaning toward an offensive coach. And that's why when you're

(10:15):
talking about Joe Brady, I think he's a real candidate
and that you're really trying to learn a lot from.

Speaker 1 (10:19):
Okay, we're on the same page here. I have Joe
Brady as a real candidate as well. Now there are
some concerns, like if you're concerned about if age matters,
if Pete Carroll's age matters, I think you would say
the same argument on the other side. I mean, Joe
Brady would be the youngest head coach in the NFL.
He's thirty five years old. He's been a coordinator for
basically three and a half seasons at the NFL level. Now,

(10:42):
I know he's worked with some good quarterbacks. He worked
with with Joe Burrow at LSU in twenty nineteen when
they won the national title. He's obviously worked with Josh Allen.
I think that experience, those experiences are real, Like he's
clearly helped Josh Allen that offense.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
Click.

Speaker 1 (10:59):
Now, I do want if maybe he, you know, is
is he the next Ben Johnson? Is he the guy
who's gonna be the hot candidate a year from now,
two years from now? I do wonder if maybe he's
a year away. But I do have him as a
real candidate. I do think he's going to be a
real candidate and should be seriously considered.

Speaker 3 (11:15):
Yeah, I would agree with that. With that he you know,
I've heard I forget, forget who what is the bills
or the athletic But he kind of compared in to
man Maggie a little bit.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
But where he talked about I'm getting a little bit
of an echo here.

Speaker 1 (11:28):
I don't know, guys, uh, if you hear that in
the comments, maybe that's just me.

Speaker 3 (11:33):
Yeah, let me know. There's an echoing out unplugged. This
micro seems to be causing issues the last cup, the
last couple of weeks. But I have heard the comparison
of you know, Brady kind of being of being like Maggie.
So it'll be interesting to see see you know, you know,
if that ends up being ends up being then maybe.

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Yeah, we're still we're still getting an echo Michael, Sorry
about that.

Speaker 3 (11:53):
All right, no unplugged, unplugged, Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
I do think that. You know, look, anytime you're hiring
an offensive coordinator, I think it's fair to be concerned
about what happened with Matt Naggie. But these guys are
all different, you know, they all come from different experiences.
I do think that Joe Brady's maybe a year away still,
but we'll see. Like like Ben Johnson talked this week
about how he used that summer and used basically when

(12:24):
he decided not to take the commander's job last year,
he used that to come up with what he wants
this thing to look like. He really thought about that
over the summer, over the offseason. I think that's that's
maybe something that Joe Brady should be doing this offseason
if he doesn't get a job. Okay, we're gonna move
over to Thomas Brown is the next one on our list.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
I'll kick this off.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
I'm going to say not a real candidate because of
the way that this season ended. I mean, I look,
I love the energy, I love the vibe he brings
to the table. I think Thomas Brown, the interim Bears
head coach, will get a shot to be a head
coach in the NFL. I actually do believe that. I
just don't know if it's going to be the Bears

(13:06):
right now. I just feel like the way that that
you know, they we thought the positive vibes were there
and then it just wasn't when they came out for
that forty nine Ers game and those couple of games
after they fired Maddie Reflus, and you know, if you
can keep him in some way, I would I think
the Bears would be thrilled with that.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
But I don't know if they're going to have that chance.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
I don't think that you necessarily are just going to
make him your permanent head coach.

Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah, I would agree. I think, you know, I think
he has a bright future. Like you mentioned, he was,
he was thrown into a tough spot that you know
he was. You know, I think the Bears made a
mistake when they decided to make him the head coach.
I think they should have, you know, just let him
be the play caller, let him be the offensive coordinator
and he can kind of grow a relationship with Caleb Williams.

(13:50):
And then I always felt like the Bears put too
much on his plate having him be a first time
head coach in a first time play caller, so who
wasn't running his own offense.

Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, so.

Speaker 3 (14:02):
That that was tough and he wasn't put in a
good position. I do think that he is a bright future,
and obviously he's he's interviewed for a couple OC or
is considered to be a front runner for a couple
OC spots. So I think he'll be in this conversation
for the years to come. But when it comes to
the Bears, I don't think it's it's not real. I
think it's probably you just talk to him, figure out
what the heck happened this season? Is what that happened

(14:24):
in the last five games, and you just kind of
go from there.

Speaker 2 (14:27):
Yeah, he had a front row seat.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
I think you can learn a lot from him and
from that interview, probably in terms of his ideas for
how he would fix the Bears. I mean that should
be useful. You got a guy who was in that
role for for a month.

Speaker 2 (14:38):
Okay, next one, Matt Campbell Iowa State head coach. I'm
gonna keep it short and sweet. I don't think this
is a real candidate.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
I don't know where. I don't know where this came from.
I don't I I yeah, I don't know. If we
really need to spend too much time on it, I
would be floored if he was named the head coach
of the Bears.

Speaker 2 (14:55):
I don't.

Speaker 3 (14:56):
I don't know what the experience is. I don't know.
You know, Okay, maybe he worked with Brock Party and
you can maybe make that connection or something like that,
and but I I, yeah, that's that's not real. That's
probably just trying to do some info and just figure
things out.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
Yeah, he has no NFL coaching experience. Everything since two
thousand and three has been at the college level. Head
coach at Toledo, head coach at Iowa State. I think
that is for me, that's a that's a pass. I'm
passing on that one. It sounds like you are too.
Next on the list, Pete Carroll. I'm saying this is
a real candidate. I think that Pete Carroll still has

(15:33):
still has it in him. I think that he is
he has got a lot more energy. I I'll put
it this way. I don't think he's Tony LaRussa. I
don't think it's it's gonna be that type.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
Of sean I don't really want to talk about.

Speaker 1 (15:46):
I know Pete Carroll would be the oldest coach in
the NFL. I get that, but I do think that
he's still got it. I do think that he can
be the type of leader who could come in here
for three, four or five years and really change your
franchise and then hopefully handed off to.

Speaker 2 (16:00):
Somebody a little bit younger.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
But maybe, look, I've been saying his name since kind
of the beginning, and maybe I'm just just skewed by
by my previous thoughts.

Speaker 2 (16:11):
Michael, what do you think about Pete Carroll. I think
he's a real candidate.

Speaker 3 (16:14):
He's not He wouldn't be at the top of my
list personally, just because you know, not to be an agist,
but I want someone who's going to be here for
the long haul with Caleb, if you're able to build
something successful and you know, no disrespect to Pete. I
know he obviously has the energy of a twenty year
old probably, but like it, just I would like him
to be around for a little bit. I don't want
to do this whole you know, groom the next coach

(16:36):
to be the one who's going to take over. I
want the person that they hire now. And it seems
like Kevin Warren kind of wanted this too, like he
wants this to be the coach for the future. This
isn't a stop gap, this isn't the whatever. So I
think I think the Bears take him seriously and they
talk to him and they kind of learned from you know,
what did you do in Seattle? How did you approach
this situation? How did you approach you know, how did

(16:57):
you build help build an organization that won the Super
Bowl and another one?

Speaker 2 (17:00):
Right?

Speaker 3 (17:02):
So, I think he's real in that sense, but I
don't think he would probably be number five or number
six for me and my when when we kind of
look down at how many guys were saying are real
candidates here?

Speaker 2 (17:14):
You have him down as real or not real? Then
I have him down as real. Okay, I'm gonna keep
track of who we agree on.

Speaker 3 (17:20):
Rick.

Speaker 2 (17:21):
Rick is kind of with you. He says he's in
the top five.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
Erica says, if we don't get Johnson or Mockin then
and Erica.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
Would like Carol Alan commented here.

Speaker 1 (17:31):
He said that Caleb wants to be coached hard, not
looking for a coach to be his buddy. Yeah, that's
that's an interesting point with any of these candidates. I mean, look,
you know, you could say that Shane Waldron was a
little bit too buddy buddy, and and everybody said he
was too nice. Caleb's looking for somebody who's gonna coach
him hard, which actually kind of flows into this next
one here, Brian Flores, the Vikings defensive coordinator. I have

(17:55):
him down as real. I put an asterisk next to
that because of the whole lawsuit thing. You know, we
don't have to dive into all that super deep. But yeah,
obviously he's he's suing the NFL for previous hiring practices.
I'm at the point where I think if that was
going to be a factor in him getting jobs or not,

(18:17):
then he wouldn't have have become a defensive coordinator so quickly.
I mean, I think teams can get over that. I
don't know where that lawsuit is going. I don't know
if if it's gonna, you know, how much longer that's
it seems like it's kind of stuck in the mud
right now, I don't know what the latest is with that,
but I don't think that that's going to keep him
from getting a head coaching job with certain teams. Some

(18:37):
owners might not like that, and I would understand why.
But I think that he is a real candidate.

Speaker 3 (18:44):
I think he's a real candidate for the Bears. I
don't think he would be for me, which you know
obviously the thing we're talking about. But I just think,
you know, I think based on what Caleb said, I think,
just with what Ryan Poles is kind of emphasized, I
think there are two any questions with Brian Flores, right
I think there's just you know, you you want to
learn a lot and you want to, you know, see

(19:06):
what he kind of saw on Caleb as well. Obviously
he went against him a couple of times this week
with his defenses and kind of you know, forced Caleb
to make some mistakes and obviously created a lot of
pressure for him. But you know, Brian Flores is interesting
because you know, you saw the Ryan Fitzpatrick quotes that
kind of came out this week about him and about
how being like he burned a lot of bridges, and

(19:26):
you know, this is me saying, you know, kind of
summarizing what he said.

Speaker 2 (19:29):
He didn't save this verbatim, but.

Speaker 3 (19:32):
Just you know, those types of comments in the TUA comments,
and you know, I'm all for giving a guy a
second chance, learning from mistakes and that kind of stuff.
But I think the Bears are serious about him, they
want to learn from him. But again, he's kind of
in the Pete Carroll you know tier for me, where
I think a lot of a lot of candidates have
to say no or go somewhere else before you get

(19:52):
to Brian Flores.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
Yeah, I mean, the the Vikings defensive players love playing
for him, and and yes, and that should be considered,
but that's also not the most important factor, you know,
Like like we said, like like Caleb Williams said he
doesn't need a coach to be his buddy, and I
don't think Brian Flores is.

Speaker 2 (20:11):
I think the Fitzpatrick comments were super interesting, and.

Speaker 1 (20:15):
I think a lot of coaches, you know, Brian Flores,
Matt Naggy, you could go down the list. I think
a lot of coaches where it didn't work out. I'm
sure they learned a lot from that first stop, and hopefully, hopefully,
you know, they'll they'll approach it a little bit differently
the second time.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
Okay, next guy on the list.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
I saw a comment earlier, I forget who had it was,
asking about this guy, Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame head coach
Michael I'm gonna let you go first this time.

Speaker 2 (20:41):
What do you think about Marcus Freeman.

Speaker 3 (20:43):
I'm really hesitant. I don't know about this one. I
guess I'm curious to see. If we did this on Tuesday,
I feel like I would have a better grasp. But
but so for the time being, I'm gonna say not real.
I still feel like, you know, the smoke that was
kind of around there, you know, was it an agent
trying to get you know, Marcus Freeman. An extension could

(21:03):
have been obviously that game happens a lot in both
college and you know, professional football. But I don't know, man,
This run the Notre Dames on has been really impressive.
I like Marcus Freeman a lot as a coach. He's
actually making Notre Dame likable for me as a football team,
which is really hard for me to you know, to
kind of to kind of go, you know, understand. But

(21:24):
I'm gonna say not real. I don't think that there's
I think Marcus Freeman likes what he's building so far
in Notre Dame. He wants to win national championships. He
loves that place. He's still young, he has no NFL
experience other than you know, trying. You know, he was,
you know, he was in training camp with the Bears.
So I'm gonna say not real. I don't think it's
a real candidacy. But you know, maybe things change on

(21:46):
Tuesday after the National Championship game and we see a
report that, oh, the Bears are going to ask to
interview Marcus Freeman. So this answer could change in a week,
But for right now, I'm not real.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Yeah he is.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Marcus Freeman is a former fifth round draft pick in
two thousand and nine of the Chicago Bears. I I
do think that the result of that game might matter.
Like if they lose, I would imagine he's definitely going
back to Notre Dame.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
That would be my thought. If they win, maybe maybe
he's open to it. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
He does seem to love his job right now, and
obviously he's got Notre Dame you know, in its best
position in over a decade. I also have him down
as not a real candidate. All of that aside, he's
never coached in the NFL. Like to me, it's the
same thing I said with Matt Campbell, Like he doesn't
have any NFL coaching experience, never as like an assistant,
never as like a quality control guy, whatever, like all

(22:39):
of his experiences at the college level to me. And
I know he played in the NFL, but I think
that's different. I think you have to have some experience
on an NFL coaching staff.

Speaker 3 (22:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (22:47):
I don't know how often you see.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
That work, right, Obviously it works, Carroll, he came up
and you know, obviously win a championship with the Seahawks.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
And but he had NFL experience before that, you.

Speaker 3 (22:58):
Know, yeah he did havebviously. Yeah, you're right. So you
don't really see it work too often. And that's kind
of interesting, right. But so that's why I'll say no way.
I think there's obviously the just the Chicago connection. Obviously
a lot of Notre Dame people. I think actually a
lot of Notre Dame fans would probably say no, stay
away from Marcus Freeman. But this is not this we
don't want him to go here, Like he's a terrible coach, Like, why.

Speaker 2 (23:18):
Would you ever want him?

Speaker 3 (23:19):
But yeah, I agree, it'll be interesting to see what
happens on Monday. Maybe that buzz builds a little bit more.
But yeah, I agree. I think he's he's a not
real candidate right now.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Okay, Next on the list Aaron Glenn, Lyon's defensive coordinator.
I'll kick this one off. I'm saying he's a real candidate.
I think he's a very real candidate. I think he's
gonna get a job this cycle. I know he's a
defensive guy. I don't think that that necessarily matters. I
think much like Ben Johnson, he's had several years to
work under Dan Campbell to to envision what this would

(23:51):
look like if he were to be a head coach.
I think he would have a really really good plan.
I think both those Lions coordinators and actually alphabetically they're
going to be back to back here we got Ben
Johnson next. I think both those guys are very real
candidates and uh, you know have had the the time
to a like build a team up from from the
ground up, like we've seen them do that with the

(24:13):
Lions on both sides of the ball, and be like
figure out what is that that they want to be
as head coaches.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
I loved Aaron Glenn's quote this week.

Speaker 1 (24:21):
He said, you know, he was asked about about during
his regular session before the game this weekend, he was
asked about his head coach interviews and he said, look,
I'm I'm gonna be me, and they're either gonna like
it or they're not. And uh, I feel like that's
a great approach to have. I think that he would
be a guy who who players would play really hard for.

Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah, I would agree. I think he's a real candidate.
I don't know, you know, maybe he blows them away
with obviously, you know, how much of a personality he has.
He seems like a great coach. He's got a great
he's got a lot of great experience. But I just
don't know if that's what the Bears are looking for
right now. And I think that the I think, you know,
to a fault or not, I think the Bears kind
of thing about you think about the outside perception a

(25:02):
little bit more than maybe some other NFL teams do.
And you know, that's an interesting conversation of you know,
how much of a factor does the outside perception kind
of go into these searches. But I think that you know,
Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren. Maybe it's not the main thing,
but I think in the back of their mind they're
probably like, man, if we get another defensive coach and
we're you know, doing this again.

Speaker 2 (25:22):
No matter how.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
Talented Aaron Glenn is and how great of a you know,
coach and leader of men he is, that's not gonna
be a great look. And I think, you know, that's
that plays a factor in these things. So I think
Aaron Glenn gets hired this hiring cycle, I think you know,
he ends up maybe somewhere else. But I do think
he is a real candidate with the Bears, and I
think he's gonna actually be a really great coach somewhere.

(25:44):
I just think it's not the right timing or the
right fit with the Bears right now.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
And speaking of of offense defense, let's just.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
Pop over to the other side. Next guy is Ben Johnson.
I have him as real Michael uh. I mean, I mean,
where you at? I mean, he's do we have to
say it?

Speaker 3 (25:59):
I mean, he's I've been I've been the very real
I've been the Ben Johnson cheerleader for the past year
at this point, I mean, he's a real candidate. I
think he's you know, this whole he's so interesting, just
this whole coaching search is so interesting, with the Tom
Brady thing, with the Raiders interest in all that stuff.

(26:19):
It's very clear that he's Caleb's you know, candidate. Based
on the prank call and the Saint Brown podcast for
those who don't know, Caleb got prank called by some
teenagers and he kind of made it clear that he,
you know, would be interested in Ben Johnson. And you know,
he didn't say exactly you know Ben Johnson, but when
he was talking with the Saint Brown Brothers, you know,
he was talking about like how he likes to coach

(26:39):
that he has in Detroit. He brought up the Detroit
game that the Bears loss on Thanksgiving. He brought up
that selfishly, he would like an offensive coach that he
can grow with and develop with over the next years.

Speaker 2 (26:53):
That's Ben Johnson, right.

Speaker 3 (26:54):
And I think the biggest thing is I've seen this
comment a lot, and I've seen this compare lot, and
I'm not here to tell you that Ben Johnson is
guaranteed to be great. He could be a great offensive mind.
He might not be a great leader, he might not
be able to leave the room. But I think that
the comparison to Mad Naggy and other you know, offensive

(27:16):
coordinators that didn't work out happens a lot where I
think Ben Johnson is in a different sphere. Right Like
Madd Naggi when he, you know, became the Bears coach,
he was running Andy Reid's offense, and he was calling
games for like half the year, right like he was
calling games the whole season. Ben Johnson has been the
play caller of his offense for three straight years of

(27:37):
an offense that's been top in the league in points score, DVOA,
any offensive you know category you can come up with.
Ben Johnson has been there. And it's been interesting to
kind of hear him talk about how he's developed and
thought about the process a little bit differently over the
past year, where he talked about, like you know, in
his interviews, like you mentioned about how he thought about

(27:58):
being more of a head coach and how he would
approach things and how he would do things differently compared
to last year. So he's a real candidate. He's my
obviously number one candidate.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
And.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
I think that if you can get Ben Johnson. I
think you got the real deal, and you've got a
really good thing going with him and Caleb being paired
together at such a young age.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
Yeah, I agree that that's what makes this really different
from Naggy. You know, first of all, like Ben Johnson
has been high on on people's lists now for two years,
like he's Yeah, he's he's been on the list.

Speaker 2 (28:29):
He's a guy who's been around the block.

Speaker 1 (28:31):
He's had time to think about what he wants this
to look like, and he's run that offense like he's been.
There's been no shadow from Dan Campbell like there was
with with Andy Reid Matt Naggy, like there still is
with Matt Naggi's candidacy for for the Jets job, in
some of these other positions, if he's going to be
a head coach again someday, that's to me what makes

(28:51):
this really different and why I would have a lot
more confidence in Ben Johnson than than in Matt Naggie
a couple of years ago. Yeah, I'm I'm really with you, Michael,
with everything you said. He's a very real candidate and
he's ready to go right now, like he's he's you know,
both those coordinators are gonna get hired in the cycle.
I really do believe that.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
Can we talk and.

Speaker 3 (29:10):
Like, I want to talk about this whole Raiders thing.
Obviously it's really interesting because you know, over the past
week there's been a ton of smoke. Obviously the Raiders
fired their GM since we talked with you folks, I
think that's the last time I think that happened. Since
this whole Tom Brady thing is really interesting to me
just because he's very clearly leading this push and he's

(29:30):
obviously the reason why reportedly why you know, Ben Jonson
even interviewed for the job. So the whole you know,
him being he's going to call the next the next
few games as far as the Lions go ride with Fox,
and I think that's a really interesting, you know, conflict
of interest. And I wonder whether that's going to be
a complaint made by the Bears or the Jaguars or
other coaches or other teams who are interested with him,

(29:52):
because you know, that's a blatant conflict of interest. Like
you know, other team gets to go to Detroit on
UH this weekend and talk to him before the game
like Brady does, right, and maybe they.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
Don't talk about the Raiders job.

Speaker 3 (30:05):
Maybe they're just you know, talking about like, hey Ben,
how you doing, how you looking forward to this matchup?
What are you thinking? Like whatever, Like that's an unfair
advantage that other teams don't have, and I think that
needs to be addressed. I don't know if that needs
to be a Bear's you know, complaint. I don't know
if that needs to be the NFL. But it's very
clear that even though Tom Brady's a minority owner of
the Raiders, that he's very involved and there needs to

(30:28):
be some sort of barrier put because this can't happen.

Speaker 1 (30:32):
So so Tom Brady doesn't get to uh it was
new in the news earlier this year, Like he does
not get to do those those production meetings during the week,
like on Tuesday or Wednesday, typically the the announcers would
get to sit down with the coaches and the quarterbacks
on zoom or whatever, and and you know they get
to when you hear Troy Aikman talking about some of

(30:52):
the inside info he has on his on on the
broadcast with ESPN, like that's where he's getting that stuff
from his conversations. Tom Brady does doesn't get to do
that because he is a part owner and so really
the only.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
Time he would be talking to Ben Johnson would be
right before the game on the field.

Speaker 1 (31:08):
I kind of feel like Tom Brady is such a
like a football guy, like get in the mindset before
the game. I almost feel like he he would not
want to throw Ben Johnson for a loop before the game,
you know, like they're not going to be talking about
the job or whatever, Like I feel like they're going
to be talking about this matchup right here, right now,
like you know, the Commanders on Saturday Night. I That's

(31:30):
how I feel like as as a guy who with
Tom Brady being a guy who played in the league
for so long at such a high level, I think
he really respects people's people's competitive mindset in those hours
before game.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
Yeah, I could see that, And you know, maybe it's not,
but even that kind of feels like, you know, you're
talking about the game right and maybe Ben Johnson's like, oh,
like I like talking to Tom about this, and I
can see this working for us if we work together.
Like even if you're not talking about the game, you're
still building a relationship with the guy, and you're still
building a rapport that other teams aren't able to do,
so I think that's kind of the Maybe he's not

(32:06):
being like, hey Ben, what do you think about the Raiders?
Like are you going to be able to come here
after you guys win or anything like that, But you
still are building a rapport that, you know, right, I
agree with aren't doing before they agree with that thing
like that.

Speaker 2 (32:18):
I do agree with that.

Speaker 1 (32:19):
I am still skeptical that Tom Brady coming in and
owning you know, what is it five ten percent of
the Raiders is really going to change that franchise. Obviously
he's he's trying to, you know, be the face. But
you know, give that a couple of years, and I

(32:39):
don't know that. You know, if they don't figure out
the quarterback position, it might not matter who the head coaches,
you know. And so there's still there's still the Raiders.
They still I still think the Bears is a better job.

Speaker 2 (32:52):
I don't know how you feel about that.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
You could make the argument that the Raiders are a
blank canvas. They basically have Brock Bowers and and everybody
else expendable, and you can shape that however you want.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
I get that, but I.

Speaker 1 (33:05):
Would still if it was me, I would still rather
go somewhere with a quarterback.

Speaker 3 (33:09):
And I think it depends on what Johnson wants, right,
Like does he want already made product or does he
want to build something up from the ground. And I'm
if I'm ba like personally, like I can't pretend to
like know what he's thinking. But you have Caleb Williams,
You've got a lot of offensive talent, You've got already
made defense. You just got to add some you know,

(33:30):
lineman here or there and maybe switch out some skilled
positions here or there. Like you're pretty much ready to
go with a few additions here or there this offseason
right where you know, the Jaguars, yes, there's no GM,
you could maybe have more autonomy, but like and obviously
with the Raiders it's the same thing that's kind of
down the road. But I am interested to see. Like
I feel like there's been a lot of talk about, like, well,

(33:52):
Ryan Poles is here, and Ben Johnson automatically hates Ryan Poles.
I don't think that's the case, like they Yeah, I
don't either, and like I don't know, Like I feel
like it's been viewed as a negative thing that Ryan
Poles is here with the Bears where for all we know,
like they can just build off of each other and
work off of each other and you know, build a
really good and like that. Like Ryan, like Ben Johnson

(34:15):
could be a good crutch for Ryan Poles, right, like
he could be like, oh, like in Detroit, we were
looking for these type of linemen, this is what we
should be looking for and that kind of stuff. So
you know, we'll see where it is. There's a lot
of smoke with the Raiders. I think that's smoke, and
I don't know how much fire there is to that,
so it'll be really interesting to see. But the camp

(34:35):
thanings off. Yes, Ben Johnson is a very real candidate,
and as you can tell from our talking about it,
he seems like are both of our number one, if
not number two candidate for this job.

Speaker 1 (34:44):
Yeah, we we blew past the time allotment on that. Well,
not that there is one, but we definitely blew past it.
Let's let's let's flow, uh, fly through a couple of
these vance Joseph Broncos defensive coordinator, I say, not real,
not real, okay, Mike Kafka Giant offensive coordinator, Michael what
do you think I'm gonna say?

Speaker 3 (35:03):
Not real. I think Mike obviously is Saint rita guy,
a Northwestern guy. You know, he's he's he's got a
good mindset, and he's got a kid team. I just
don't think I would like to see it more as
an offensive coordinator kind of moving forward.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
And we've talked about it in the past.

Speaker 3 (35:18):
How much of the Giants you know more offensive?

Speaker 2 (35:20):
You know?

Speaker 3 (35:21):
Numbers do you put on my kafka? I wouldn't put
much of any on it them, honestly, But I I
think I'm gonna say not real for the time being.
I think he's got a bright future, but for the
time I don't think he's a serious candidate.

Speaker 2 (35:35):
I am with you. I say not real.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
I think I I do think that the Chicago connections
are intriguing. Uh he's a good all loves the Chicago
con coach. They love their Chicago connections. They signed a
bunch of dudes the last couple of years with Chicago connections.
But I don't know if that that's going to be
enough to hire him as a head football coach. I
think kind of like Joe Brady, Uh yeah, I want

(35:58):
to see more. I want to see another year too.
As a coordinator. I want to see what he can
do with a young quarterback who's not Daniel Jones, and
maybe what they can build you know, who knows if
they're only going to get one more year in New
York with that coaching staff, but you know, see what
he can do this next year with with whoever they
bring in. Okay, Cliff Kingsbury, I put him down as

(36:19):
not real as well. I kind of just feel like
he's gonna return to Washington. I don't know, what do
you think, Michael.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
I think he's a not real candidate just based on
this is me looking into the situation. But like I
remember when the Bears, you know, we're playing the Commanders,
and he talked about that and he didn't really want
to talk about the interview process or anything, like, he
didn't want to touch that. This is me kind of
looking into it. I don't know anything for certain, but
maybe there's some bad blood about not being hired, the

(36:45):
reasoning why he wasn't hired or anything like that. So
I'm gonna say it's a not real candidacy just based
on maybe there's some hard feelings about how they like
the OC interview process went last year, and I could
see that kind of playing effector I think he's he's.

Speaker 2 (37:00):
A talented play caller.

Speaker 3 (37:03):
His reputation has kind of been fast starts, and you've
kind of seen that. You know, the Commanders have won
games in the last minute, but you know, the offense
hasn't kind of kept up to the same numbers they had.

Speaker 2 (37:12):
At the beginning of the year.

Speaker 3 (37:13):
So if I was running the search, I would talk
to him, but I still want to see more from
him based on his time with the Commanders and the Cardinals.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
I mean, if if Washington, you know, if the offense
is still clicking next season and it looks like it
did this year, like yeah, maybe he's gonna keep getting chances.

Speaker 2 (37:33):
And I think that that.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
I do feel like he'll probably get another chance at
some point to be ahead football coach in the NFL.
I just don't know if if after one year as
a coordinator, that's going to be the time. The report
from Ian Rappaport last night, or he threw out a
tweet that mentioned Kingsbury's not doing interviews this week.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
He's focusing on.

Speaker 1 (37:56):
On the game against the Lions, and that could kind
of put him behind the eight ball a little bit.

Speaker 2 (38:02):
At least for a couple more days.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
If the if the Commanders lose on on Saturday against Detroit,
which they are, you know, that's gonna be a tough
one going on the road at Ford Field. Obviously, then
he'll be interviewing next week, I would imagine. But yeah,
I kind of just feel like this is leaning toward
Cliff is going to return to Washington. He doesn't necessarily
have to jump at the first job that comes around now.

Speaker 2 (38:25):
Obviously he has previous experience with with Caleb Williams, and
that matters.

Speaker 1 (38:29):
But I do wonder, you know, these guys, this this
team just passed you over for that offensive coordinator job.

Speaker 2 (38:36):
I don't know if he's gonna want to want to
walk into.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
That a year later. Yeah, I agree, I think it's
a I think he still got a little bit to prove,
like you, Like you said, I think he's got he's
he's talented and obviously knows what he's doing. I just
want to see it for a longer duration because the
Cardinals stint kind of, you know, put a bad taste
in my mouth. And I've seen some good things, but
I kind of want to see it for a longer
time with the Commanders.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (38:58):
Next on our list Mike McCarthy, the former Cowboys head coach.

Speaker 2 (39:02):
We kind of touched on it earlier. I do think
he's a real candidate.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
I think, look, he wins, he's he's won a lot
of places. He's got what like twelve playoff appearances in
eighteen years or something like that. I know there was
Aaron Rodgers obviously helped do that when he was at
his peak. Dak Prescott obviously makes a difference, but I

(39:25):
do think that he could he could instantly like raise
the floor. And you can debate whether or not he's
gonna be a difference maker in the postseason. Obviously he
wasn't that for the Cowboys. Michael, what do you What
do you think about Mike McCarthy right now?

Speaker 2 (39:40):
I think he's a real candidate.

Speaker 3 (39:41):
And I'll just say he's a candidate for me. Where
if the Bears end up hiring him, I'm like, Okay,
I'm kind of like, you know, I obviously we want
Ben Johnson, Obviously you want the top of the top,
but it's it's kind of like for me, I'm kind
of like you could do worse, right, Like, it's kind
of like fun to me, Like, it's kind of interesting

(40:03):
to me to hear.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
And I know the.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
Packers probably play a role in this, but you know,
Mike McCarthy led the led the Cowboys to three straight
twelve win seasons. When's the last time the Bears did that?
Like I feel like that, Like I feel like a
lot of Bears fans are like, well, you know, he
won twelve games and like won a playoff game or like, look,
but they didn't go as far as they wanted to,
and like like that that's the level that the Bears

(40:26):
haven't seen like forever, Like when's the last time the
Bears have consistent like playoff appearances? And you know we're
consistently pushing for the playoffs, right, so you know, yeah,
I get it. You I obviously you know you want
to go for the top of the top. But if
the Bears end up with Mike McCarthy, I'm kind of
like left with the shrug and I'm like, okay, like
you'll you'll have a strong leader. His players love him.

(40:48):
He was able to do. Obviously, he helped develop Aaron Rodgers.
He kind of helped take Dak Prescott to another level. Obviously,
it was a runner up for the MVP last year.
It's only bad year what the Cowboys was because you
know that they got injured guys this past year, right,
and obviously that lost to the Packers a year ago.

Speaker 2 (41:08):
That was bad.

Speaker 3 (41:10):
That was an out. You know, that wasn't a good
look for McCarthy by any means. But I'm kind of
in a position where, like, he's not my top candidate,
but you could do a lot worse, and I think
you'd have a lot of stability.

Speaker 1 (41:21):
Thomas Gage. Welcome Thomas. In the comments, he said Ben
Johnson or bus He also said no on Mike McCarthy.
Ellen Dunlop says McCarthy is real, but doesn't excite me,
and Mike Johnson in the next comment says Mike McCarthy. Matt, Yeah,
I feel like that's kind of how a lot of
Bears fans feel right now, just kind of taking the
temperature of the room. And that's kind of what you're saying, Michael,

(41:43):
Like it's not the exciting, explosive higher, it's not the
next new shiny object. But yeah, he wins, and you
can't ignore that. Okay, we got a handful more to
get to here. We're running out of time. But Todd Monkin,
I have him the Ravens offensive coordinator. I have him
down as a very real candidate. He also has Illinois ties.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
He grew up in Wheaton.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
He's his brothers and cousins, his whole family. They're all
football coaches and so Todd Monkin has has really revived
Lamar Jackson's MVP candidate.

Speaker 2 (42:19):
You know, helped him win the MVP last year.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
He's in the running again this year after Greg Roman's
offense was pretty boring for the Ravens the previous years
before that. I have him down as a real candidate.
He's super interesting because he's only just like done everything.
He's been a defensive backs coach, he's been an assistant
at the college, the NFL, he's been a head coach
at the college level for a couple of years. I
think he has a kind of a well rounded experience

(42:45):
in the world of football.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
I think he could potentially make a pretty good head coach.
I have him as a real candidate. What do you think.

Speaker 3 (42:51):
I have him as a real candidate, And he's actually
a candidate for me who's kind of risen in my
power rankings. The more I've kind of learned about him.
You know, you have Themar Jackson that obviously helps, but
I think he he's played a major role in Lamar
becoming this MVP guy, right Like obviously, you know, we
still need to see it in the playoffs and we

(43:11):
still need to see that consistency translate to like a
championship level.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
But you know, Monkins kind of won everywhere he went.

Speaker 3 (43:18):
He's won a couple of championships with Georgia as their
offensive coordinator, he's led. H I think it was a
Conference USA program right as a head coach, he hass.

Speaker 2 (43:30):
Yeah, I think that's what it was.

Speaker 3 (43:33):
So I and you've seen him succeed in the NFL
as too, and he's obviously running a great offense with
with Lamar Jackson and Baltimore right now. So the more
I've learned about him, the more I like about him.
And I think I think I'm kind of at a
level where I would probably have him as my number
I think I would have him as my number two.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
I would have him above McCarthy.

Speaker 3 (43:55):
Obviously you want Ben Johnson, but if you end up
with Mounkin, I'd be intrigued. I'd be intrigued. I'd be
really interested. You've got a lot of experience, you know,
at different levels.

Speaker 2 (44:05):
He's run the room.

Speaker 3 (44:06):
Obviously, he hasn't run an entire football.

Speaker 2 (44:08):
In the locker room.

Speaker 3 (44:09):
Obviously, he's only been on the offensive side.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
But there's a NFL level. Yeah. Yeah, And there's a
lot to like about him.

Speaker 3 (44:15):
So I'm really intrigued by him, and I think that
he's a very real candidate.

Speaker 1 (44:20):
I think the Bears, you know, like we said with
with Mike Kofka, I feel like the Bears like the
Illinois connections.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
They like the Chicago area connections.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
I think that matters too, you know, that matters to
the mccaskey's a little bit. Uh yeah, he's he's just
such a such an interesting candidate. Yeah, I didn't even
mention that and all this stuff. He was the coordinator
for Georgia when they won back.

Speaker 2 (44:39):
To back national titles.

Speaker 1 (44:40):
Like he's just done all these different things that that
just make him a really interesting candidate. He was the
coordinator back in like I think it was twenty eleven
when when Brandon Whedon and Oklahoma State were like a
top five team in college football.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Like, he's been around the block.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
Even though he's relatively like kind of blown up these
last two years with the Ravens, like he is not
necessarily like a new a new name in NFL circles.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
Like these guys know of him.

Speaker 1 (45:05):
We got five more. I'm not gonna lie, Michael, I
have them all as not real. I'm gonna I'm gonna
we can kind of blow through these. Uh, unless you
have a different opinion. Drew pettsing Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator,
not real.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (45:21):
David Shaw, former Stanford head coach, not real. I I
don't see that. Uh, Arthur Arthur Smith. This is maybe
the one that we do want to touch on a
little bit. I he's a Steelers coordinator now, obviously the
former Falcons head coach.

Speaker 2 (45:34):
I say, not real.

Speaker 3 (45:35):
What do you say, Michael, I I guess I would
say with everyone else that there is, I would probably
say not real. I just hate I don't think he
has the same results as the other candidates have, right,
Like I think you've got obviously he he he had
a strong star with Pittsburgh, but you saw that offense,

(45:55):
you know, papered off at the end of the playoffs
and toward the end of the year. So with everything
else that you have, I would problem. I don't know
where we're at at this point. I would probably have
him in the ten range, ten to eleven range. Like you
talked to him that kind of learned some stuff, you know,
get some background. But I don't think he's a true
real candidate for the top job.

Speaker 1 (46:17):
I know this doesn't really matter, and I'm definitely you
and I are biased because we are members of the media,
but just the way he approaches his media sessions just
turns me off.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
I just don't like that.

Speaker 1 (46:27):
But obviously that's that's not the most important thing either,
it matters, and like I don't know, just some of
the decisions, like, you know, the weird things he did
with b John Robinson last year and drafting a tight
end number four, who in Kyle Pitts who has a
thousand yard season as a rookie, and then you just
don't use him the next year, like things like that.

(46:48):
It's just like some of the decisions were just weird.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
And you know, three.

Speaker 1 (46:53):
Straight seven and ten seasons as the head coach of
the Falcons. That doesn't get me all that excited. You know,
maybe if there was at least naggy in his candidacy,
at least Naggie has has a blip where you know,
they won twelve games and went to the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (47:05):
I don't see that when I look at Arthur Smith.

Speaker 3 (47:08):
Yeah, I agree. I think it's a not real candidate.
I think you know that ended up happening. I can't
imagine what our podcast is going to be like and
what the reaction was going to be, Like, Yeah, I
don't think it's real candidates. He just kind of talked
to him and just kind of gets them info around
the league and just kind of see what you're doing.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
Alan, Thanks for the comment. Alan, Yeah, I knew I
would miss one.

Speaker 2 (47:29):
Ron Rivera. We're going alphabetically, so we missed the rs
Ron Rivera. I say, oh man, this is tough.

Speaker 1 (47:37):
I say, not real. I don't know that one is
really tough for me. I just feel like.

Speaker 2 (47:46):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
I don't know the Bears, Like obviously they love the
eighty five Bears, and that would make a great story
if he's able to come here and turn it around.
I just don't know if that's the direction they're gonna go.
I'm gonna say not real.

Speaker 3 (47:59):
That one for me, Like I'm kind of imagining, like
you got Ryan Poles, Kevin Warren, and George McCaskey in
a room and everyone's like shouting out names or whatever.
And then George is like, what about Ron Rivera?

Speaker 2 (48:11):
He was an eighty five bear.

Speaker 3 (48:12):
He was our DC when we went to the Super Bowl,
And I think, you know, n Ron's a great coach.
Obviously he's done a lot of great things. He you know,
obviously helped develop Cam Newton into an MVP. He took
the Panthers to the Super Bowl. He had a pretty
bad situation and with the commanders that I don't really
blame him for ye, but yeah, I think, you know,

(48:35):
could it be a thing where you're kind of like,
I don't know if they would approach it this way,
but is it a thing where you're like you talked
to me, like listen, Ron, Like we're probably looking at,
you know, different candidates, but would you consider being our DC?

Speaker 2 (48:46):
Like would you run? If you?

Speaker 1 (48:47):
Like?

Speaker 3 (48:47):
For me, I'm kind of like, if you pair Ben
Johnson with Ron Rivera, I'm all in on that. Like
you kind of have that experienced guy who's been in
the room, you make him an assistant head coach or
something like that. He leads your defense and he provides
leadership and kind of wisdom for Ben Johnson as he
kind of takes over and kind of becomes the first
time head coach. So I think he's a not real

(49:08):
candidate for the head coaching spot, but I wouldn't be
surprised if the Bears are kind of like, listen, Ben,
you can hire whoever you want, but Ron Rivera doesn't
seem like too ban of an assistant head coach slash DC.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
And yeah, that's a great point.

Speaker 1 (49:22):
And I see some folks in the comments saying that
Rick says Rivera with McCarthy, CJ says Ben Johnson Rivera, Yeah,
Like I could see that being super intriguing for Ron
Rivera too.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
Like, you know, at this point, he's he's been a
head coach twice.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
I don't know how many more interviews other than other
than a team like the Bears who he played for.

Speaker 2 (49:42):
How many other teams are gonna give him another chance?

Speaker 1 (49:45):
That could be super intriguing, whether whether he's a DC
or even if you don't take it that far and say, okay,
just be like a senior consultant, Like I could absolutely
see that being the way that this goes with Ron Rivera.

Speaker 2 (49:56):
But yeah, I don't.

Speaker 1 (49:57):
I don't see him as a as a serious head
coach coaching candidate at this point. Okay, we got two
more on the list. Adam Stenovich, Packers oci.

Speaker 3 (50:06):
I say, not real, not real. That one was kind
of that one came in so late too, where you're
just kind of like, why, like what are you have
enough candidates? Like you're going to get enough info? Like
are you just trying to be like yo, what's going on?
Like what we're like to run? Like what are some things?

Speaker 2 (50:21):
Were trying to get some intel?

Speaker 3 (50:22):
We're like, yeah, that's just kind of what that interview
felt like. It was like, all right, why are we
doing this?

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Well, they're already interviewing coordinators for the Lions and the Vikings.
You might as well get some intel on the Packers too.
Anthony Weaver, this is the last one on our list,
Dolphins defensive coordinator.

Speaker 2 (50:38):
I say, not real. What do you say, Michael?

Speaker 3 (50:41):
Yeah, I say, not real. I don't you know. It's
tough sledding if you're a defensive if you're a defensive
coach for this coaching surch already. But Anthony's Weavers defense
have been fine, right, Like they're Okay, you're not top
tier defenses. Maybe that you know, maybe he's a great
leader of man and all the stereotypes and all the
quotes you want to use or whatever cliches, I'm gonna say, Yeah,

(51:02):
I don't think he's a real candidate, especially for what
the Bears are looking for.

Speaker 1 (51:06):
Interesting comment here from Mike Johnson. Did the Bears consider
any special teams coordinators? No, there are none on this list,
So that's that is an interesting point. Obviously, every time
these hiring cycles come up, we talk about how how special.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
Teams coordinators should be considered more.

Speaker 1 (51:23):
But obviously the Bears haven't done that, so I haven't
seen a whole lot of that going on either from
some of these other teams. Michael, these are the coaches
that we both agreed are real candidates, Joe Brady, Pete Carroll,
Brian Flores, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, Mike McCarthy, and Todd

(51:43):
Munkin thoughts.

Speaker 3 (51:47):
Those are probably those are probably all going to be
the guys that they kind of bring to the second round, right,
Like maybe you cut a couple people cut one or two. Maybe, Yeah,
but those seem to be I mean, those seem to
be the guy, like, I don't.

Speaker 2 (52:00):
I've heard some reports.

Speaker 3 (52:01):
I think David Schultz put it out there that it
seems to be a two horse race between Ben Jonson
and Mike McCarthy.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
I don't know if he can go that far a
name that we didn't.

Speaker 3 (52:11):
Mention, and I only think they ever put in an
interview request. They never put in a request to interview
Liam Cohen right, Like, it seems like they're just like, no,
I haven't seen him. Yeah, that one's kind of interesting
because he was a hot name and we were in
the middle of the season. But or yeah, when we
were looking at head coaching candidates. But those are probably
the guys that they're going to bring in for a
second interview, right And I think the biggest thing is

(52:35):
how many guys are they bringing in for that second round?

Speaker 2 (52:37):
Are they?

Speaker 3 (52:37):
Are they going to fly them all in? Like this
whole process is really interesting to me because I feel
like people were like, well, why are you doing zoom
interviews for the first whatever?

Speaker 2 (52:46):
Like what are you doing?

Speaker 3 (52:47):
Like why aren't you whatever? But I've been okay with
the way that they're doing this. I'm fine with it.
Get the intel, go through some things, get some basic stuff.
Fly in in your five, six, seven finalists, bring them in,
talk to them, wind.

Speaker 2 (53:01):
And dining them and all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 (53:03):
Like, I think that's how the process is going to go.
And it's going to become clear that this is going
to take a while, guys, Like the next time we
talk to you, guys, we're not gonna We're not might
not the next time. Like, it's very clear that the
NFL has made this a priority. They want to draw
this out, They want to give everyone a fair advantage.
They don't want any lawsuits or anything like that. I

(53:25):
think this is going to be a long process, and
you know, next week seems to be like, well, we're
kind of be like, all right, here's the cuts list.

Speaker 2 (53:32):
People can start coming in after the twentieth.

Speaker 3 (53:34):
Then I wouldn't be surprised if we end up hearing
that those guys are the guys that are going to
come in to hell us all in the next couple
of weeks.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
And keep in mind, if the coaches the coordinators whose
teams win this weekend will not be doing in person
interviews next week. That is gonna have to wait until
after the conference championship game. So if the Bills win
Joe Brady won't be doing that. If the Lions win,
Ben Jackson, Aaron Glenn, those guys won't be doing that.

Speaker 2 (53:57):
The Ravens, Todd munkin same thing.

Speaker 1 (53:59):
So some of these candidates are gonna take a little
while if they want to do an in person interview
with the Bears.

Speaker 2 (54:05):
If the Bears want to do an in person.

Speaker 1 (54:06):
Interview with them, I imagine a couple of those teams
we just mentioned are probably gonna win their football games
this weekend and be playing in the conference championship.

Speaker 2 (54:14):
Just something to keep in mind as we move ahead here.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
Okay, we've run past our time, but this has been fun. Michael,
I've enjoyed discussing these candidates with you. One more time.
Hit the thumbs up if you're with us here live
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(54:39):
or Apple.

Speaker 2 (54:40):
Leave us a review.

Speaker 1 (54:40):
We would really appreciate that, and keep an eye on
our Twitter pages. We'll let you know when we're going live.
We're gonna do another show next week sometime. Maybe we'll
do it again on Friday. We'll have to see what
shakes out this week. Keeping nine Ourswit your Pages at
Shawn Underscore, Hammond at m Dwojack ninety four. We're gonna
let you know when we're going live. He's Michael Dwojack.
I'm Sean Hammond. This has been the Shaw Local Bears

(55:02):
Insider podcast. Thanks for listening, everybody.

Speaker 2 (55:04):
Have a great weekend.