2025 Bears Offseason Thread

[NOLA]

21 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

Is Dennis Allen regarded as a pretty good DC?

DA is an awful head coach, but one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. He’s been patching together a geriatric unit for years into a serviceable defense.  Lots of straight man press coverage, behemoth D lineman.  

[BigSlick]

1 minute ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

This isn't mission accomplished. This is not failing step 2 in a long process with many, many potential failure points 

can't be mad that the Bears made the clearly right call (and its the 2nd time in 2 years they've done that)

Part of the reason I have a hard time being angry at Ryan Poles, though he really hasn't proven much of anything, is that he does make the obvious correct move when its obvious and correct 

[UMFan83]

Couple more thoughts:

- Once again Schefty saw through the BS and was a voice of reason when everyone assumed it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to LV.

- The "next head coach futures" and "plane spotting" people get a big W

- I do wonder if Caleb being on that St. Brown podcast had an effect on their decision making.  I mean clearly they aren't picking a coach because their rookie QB who finished 28th in QBR last year (as great as his potential is) loves Ben Johnson.  But Caleb made it pretty clear that he wanted Ben Johnson and said if it wasn't him "it is what it is".  Possibly gave the bears the additional motivation to close the deal

- On the flip side, Caleb's father was retweeting critical comments about Ben Johnson over the weekend.  However Caleb's dad is also a huge Washington fan so it could have been as much about that as it was about not wanted Ben Johnson to be the bears coach.  Also Caleb's dad is weird

[gflore34]

1 minute ago, BigSlick said:

can't be mad that the Bears made the clearly right call (and its the 2nd time in 2 years they've done that)

Part of the reason I have a hard time being angry at Ryan Poles, though he really hasn't proven much of anything, is that he does make the obvious correct move when its obvious and correct 

I was thinking along the same lines, hiring Johnson was clearly the correct move.  All the other horsefeathers was just networking, etc. and maybe digging at the media.

[UMFan83]

6 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

can't be mad that the Bears made the clearly right call (and its the 2nd time in 2 years they've done that)

Part of the reason I have a hard time being angry at Ryan Poles, though he really hasn't proven much of anything, is that he does make the obvious correct move when its obvious and correct 

Then why was Matt Eberflus allowed to tank another season?  

[Hairyducked Idiot]

All the interviews are due diligence.

It's just good business to use the opportunity to get outside perspectives on your organization, make contacts, and have lots of options if your first choice falls through.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

7 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

can't be mad that the Bears made the clearly right call (and its the 2nd time in 2 years they've done that)

Part of the reason I have a hard time being angry at Ryan Poles, though he really hasn't proven much of anything, is that he does make the obvious correct move when its obvious and correct 

But in between those he does many, many little things wrong 

[UMFan83]

1 minute ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

All the interviews are due diligence.

It's just good business to use the opportunity to get outside perspectives on your organization, make contacts, and have lots of options if your first choice falls through.

I was just thinking that...I wonder how much interesting knowledge they garnered from all those interviews.  Maybe they were keeping an open mind but it seems clear with how quickly they moved (and not even meeting BJ in person) that he was one of their very top choices from the start.  I'm sure they got some great intel from everyone else though

[BigSlick]

3 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

But in between those he does many, many little things wrong 

you're not wrong!

Edited January 20, 2025 by BigSlick

[minnesotacubsfan]

5 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Then why was Matt Eberflus allowed to tank another season?  

According to reports, Poles wanted to move on from Eberflus but wasn’t allowed to. That seems plausible 

[UMFan83]

I have so many questions now:

-Do the Bears consider bringing back Keenan Allen now?  I believe there was a report he would prefer to either return to LA or stay in Chicago.  Caleb absolutely built a great connection with him.  Ben Johnson is someone who can weaponize that more than our coaching staff did last year.

- Can Swift be the Bears Gibbs?  At least a poor man's version?  If so who can be the Bears Monty?  Roschon or someone external?  It's clear even with Swift, Rome and DJ (and maybe Allen) there is a still a gap between the Lions skill position players and the Bears.  And that's not even addressing the offensive line which is drastically worse.  Poles better be busy this offseason.

OK I guess I only had 2 questions for now.

Edit: No! a 3rd question:

-NOLA mentioned the style of defense Dennis Allen works best with.  I think we are good with the straight man press component but not the "behemoth D Linemen" component.  Does Poles go HAM on both lines this offseason finally?

Edited January 20, 2025 by UMFan83

[Wilson A2000]

11 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Couple more thoughts:

- Once again Schefty saw through the BS and was a voice of reason when everyone assumed it was a foregone conclusion that he was going to LV.

- The "next head coach futures" and "plane spotting" people get a big W

- I do wonder if Caleb being on that St. Brown podcast had an effect on their decision making.  I mean clearly they aren't picking a coach because their rookie QB who finished 28th in QBR last year (as great as his potential is) loves Ben Johnson.  But Caleb made it pretty clear that he wanted Ben Johnson and said if it wasn't him "it is what it is".  Possibly gave the bears the additional motivation to close the deal

- On the flip side, Caleb's father was retweeting critical comments about Ben Johnson over the weekend.  However Caleb's dad is also a huge Washington fan so it could have been as much about that as it was about not wanted Ben Johnson to be the bears coach.  Also Caleb's dad is weird

Did Caleb stage the prank Facetime to let everyone know he wanted Ben Johnson? Probably not, but I like the idea.

[David]

5 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

I have so many questions now:

-Do the Bears consider bringing back Keenan Allen now?  I believe there was a report he would prefer to either return to LA or stay in Chicago.  Caleb absolutely built a great connection with him.  Ben Johnson is someone who can weaponize that more than our coaching staff did last year.

- Can Swift be the Bears Gibbs?  At least a poor man's version?  If so who can be the Bears Monty?  Roschon or someone external?  It's clear even with Swift, Rome and DJ (and maybe Allen) there is a still a gap between the Lions skill position players and the Bears.  And that's not even addressing the offensive line which is drastically worse.  Poles better be busy this offseason.

OK I guess I only had 2 questions for now.

Edit: No! a 3rd question:

-NOLA mentioned the style of defense Dennis Allen works best with.  I think we are good with the straight man press component but not the "behemoth D Linemen" component.  Does Poles go HAM on both lines this offseason finally?

Didn't seem like Johnson cared for Swift much in Detroit, from what I've seen.

[Wilson A2000]

Poles actually beat out another GM lol

 

[Soul]

[UMFan83]

To emphasize the "look what happened when Ben Johnson took over"

 

And for reference Gibbs, Montgomery and Jameson Willaims didnt come until 2023

[Tryptamine]

Pretty happy about this. Now go out and grab one of Allen or Saleh as your DC and I'm thrilled until draft time.

[UMFan83]

Didn’t realize this:

 

[Rex Buckingham]

Allen seems to be a good choice for DC...

Can DJ Moore play the ARSB role in this offense? Let Odunze be the field stretcher, even though his speed is nothing like Jameson Williams (not that many are on that level)

[UMFan83]

 

 

[Brian707]

51 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

 

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'd lean toward letting Allen go.  He was a very good security blanket and he made some insane body control catches, but ultimately he glacial speed was disruptive to our ability to run normal timing offensive plays.  

[UMFan83]

Its gotta be a great sign that Ben Johnson chose Caleb over Trevor Lawrence and Tom Brady + a big bag of money.  I mean its more complex than that, Trevor Lawrence seems like he has a ceiling and hes also expensive, the Raiders have no QB of note.  But still, if you felt disappointed by Caleb's season (you shouldn't have) this is a sign that Caleb is likely still thought of highly.  

[Wilson A2000]

34 minutes ago, Hairyducked Idiot said:

I'd lean toward letting Allen go.  He was a very good security blanket and he made some insane body control catches, but ultimately he glacial speed was disruptive to our ability to run normal timing offensive plays.  

He took catches away from Kmet. We don’t need him. 

[Wilson A2000]

33 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Its gotta be a great sign that Ben Johnson chose Caleb over Trevor Lawrence and Tom Brady + a big bag of money.  I mean its more complex than that, Trevor Lawrence seems like he has a ceiling and hes also expensive, the Raiders have no QB of note.  But still, if you felt disappointed by Caleb's season (you shouldn't have) this is a sign that Caleb is likely still thought of highly.  

Maybe the Bears gave him a bigger bag of money. What do we think: 5/60?