2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[Outshined_One]

[Brian707]

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Poles is still employed and leading the coaching search. We've already blown step 1.

[Brian707]

10 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

Poles is still employed and leading the coaching search. We've already blown step 1.

Firing him is the best option but if they don't, they better extend him. Johnson or any other decent candidate isn't going to be too intrigued by a lame duck GM 

[jersey cubs fan]

1 minute ago, Brian707 said:

Firing him is the best option but if they don't, they better extend him. Johnson or any other decent candidate isn't going to be too intrigued by a lame duck GM 

Eh, there’s a case to be made for  head coach candidate viewing a lame duck gm as beneficial. That gm will not have that much power, while a recently extended guy is going to be in charge until the head coach starts winning big 

[WrigleyField 22]

Just now, Brian707 said:

Firing him is the best option but if they don't, they better extend him. Johnson or any other decent candidate isn't going to be too intrigued by a lame duck GM 

Unless they see lame duck GM as buying themselves room for error and ability to guide next hire.

 

It's where Warren's role comes into play.  He has to sell it if there's doubt, up to even re-organizing reporting structure to make it happen.

 

My hot take is fans and media should be less fearful of lame ducks, especially the way it's thrown around these days where a guy with multiple years left is called a lame duck.

[jersey cubs fan]

Bears apparently requested interview with AZ OC, Petzing

[WrigleyField 22]

1 minute ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Bears apparently requested interview with AZ OC, Petzing

No bald Offensive Coordinators

[WrigleyField 22]

Along with not fearing lame ducks "organizational alignment" is the most overrated thing fans, especially Chicago fans, fixate on.  NY got exactly the alignment many fans wanted and though they did do pretty well in year 1, three years later they're no better off as an org going forward than Bears.

 

It's a bunch of surface level stuff that isn't as important as everyone whips it up as.  The teams who get that alignment usually do it through findijng success and ending up there. Same with most "stability" arguments. 

Edited January 6, 2025 by WrigleyField 22

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Allowing a lame duck gm to hang around and trade up to take a QB for the second time directly led to the last several years of mess 

[WrigleyField 22]

5 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

Allowing a lame duck gm to hang around and trade up to take a QB for the second time directly led to the last several years of mess 

No it didn't.  The last few years was entirely a mess Poles pursued, not a logical conclusion to some inescapable problem.

[Rex Buckingham]

The trade up for Fields definitely heavily impacted the last few years. I'm happy with having Caleb, but that trade has hurt the team ever since it was made. 

[CubinNY]

Not related to anything in this thread for now. But the Dan Campbell rah, rah, horsefeathers is going to get old quickly. He'll be out of the league in five years. 

[WrigleyField 22]

7 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

The trade up for Fields definitely heavily impacted the last few years. I'm happy with having Caleb, but that trade has hurt the team ever since it was made. 

Trading up for Fields did not lead to 15-36 and multiple double digit loss streaks. Nope.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

1 minute ago, WrigleyField 22 said:

Trading up for Fields did not lead to 15-36 and multiple double digit loss streaks. Nope.

This is going to be that internet thing where people can't accept that blame isn't indivisible and assigning it to one thing doesn't remove it from another.

[minnesotacubsfan]

5 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

This is going to be that internet thing where people can't accept that blame isn't indivisible and assigning it to one thing doesn't remove it from another.

no its not. Poles had insane amounts of salary cap space and couldnt do jack diddly with it - or chose not to. JF had nothing to do with that

 

 

[WrigleyField 22]

7 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

This is going to be that internet thing where people can't accept that blame isn't indivisible and assigning it to one thing doesn't remove it from another.

No you just really hate Fields lol

[gflore34]

13 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Not related to anything in this thread for now. But the Dan Campbell rah, rah, horsefeathers is going to get old quickly. He'll be out of the league in five years. 

I believe he's nothing more than a glorified meathead who's propped up by excellent assistance coaches.

[jersey cubs fan]

17 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Not related to anything in this thread for now. But the Dan Campbell rah, rah, horsefeathers is going to get old quickly. He'll be out of the league in five years. 

Rex Ryan lasted a long time. The level of success he’s achieved guarantees he’ll have an opportunity to coach in the league for a decade, barring a scandal 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Imagine not being able to admit that losing two first round picks to fill the most important position badly severely impacts a team 

[WrigleyField 22]

Pace blowing a first (and a additional pick on Jenkins trade up) was a contributing factor the talent and resource defecit that any new GM faced coming in. 

The defecit wasn't anything too uncommon for incoming GMs though. Not much different than if it had been a year sooner. The first rounder and whatever Jenkins pick in that one year wasn't some multi year shifting thing than if they hadn't "lame ducked" it with him. Which really isn't really even clear was some last ditch effort of a lame duck GM trying to save his job. Because logically... Why would it? And reportedly George was very close to not making Pace a lame duck, up to the very end.

 

Now if he has pulled off the Russ Wilson trade he reportedly wanted... But then we'd be arguing a counter factual / hypothetical.

Edited January 6, 2025 by WrigleyField 22

[WrigleyField 22]

2 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

Imagine not being able to admit that losing two first round picks to fill the most important position badly severely impacts a team 

Not at one point was that argued.

[Soul]

10 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

I believe he's nothing more than a glorified meathead who's propped up by excellent assistance coaches.

His choices though right?  He’s led the team to success they’ve not had in the SB era.  Whether he’s hands on or not doesn’t strike me as critical in assessing him.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

 My off-season wish list:

An offensive head coach who will want to significantly overhaul the roster and dilute Poles' influence 

Two veteran offensive linemen to stop the bleeding, two more highly drafted ones to set up long term.

A fast WR to play outside and stretch out defenses 

Release Everett and sign a 1b TE to push Kmet for playing time 

Draft an RB to take over 1a from Swift 

 

[Soul]

4 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

 My off-season wish list:

An offensive head coach who will want to significantly overhaul the roster and dilute Poles' influence 

Two veteran offensive linemen to stop the bleeding, two more highly drafted ones to set up long term.

A fast WR to play outside and stretch out defenses 

Release Everett and sign a 1b TE to push Kmet for playing time 

Draft an RB to take over 1a from Swift 

 

Big wish list but I’m done with the whole idea of “rebuilding.”  Let’s do it.