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DBB had an incredibly vague tweet. Then saw this, but yea failed to see anyone actually sau that Khan and Leftwich please. Who knows at this point what's going to happen. Hhm Khan and Leftwich do have a Pittsburgh connection. I'm nervous about Leftwichs short coaching career but to some extent his playing career must make up for that. I liked this guy's coach previews. Heres Leftwich's https://ontapsportsnet.com/2021/12/03/byron-leftwich-future-head-coach-nfl-buccaneers-offense/ He has a "coach tree" chart. And yea, Leftwich would really need to extend outside if his immediate network. Nagy really had the same problem and kinda was saved by being able to keep Fangio and his staff.

DBB had an incredibly vague tweet. Then saw this, but yea failed to see anyone actually sau that

Ima need you to be more specific than that.

A silly and fun thought exercise as we inch closer to a possible new GM:

There was also a part about his sources tell him that the Bears are asking bad questions in these interviews. Also flimsy but its he claims its sourced so I thought I'd share. In reality it sounds like news for angry Bears fans that are looking for ways to be more angry I mean, you'd hope Polian would prep them well, but I guess he can't stop George midstream if he wants to ask a candidate mid interview some asinine question.

Schoen should grab one elite prospect. Trade down the other if he can for other assets. Do a big sell off of whatever vets he can and blame "Cap hell" and then enter 2023 or 2024 well positioned for QB of choice and a totally clean cap situation. That could or could not look attractive to a coach. If there were a 2022 QB prospect they liked or were in alignment on aggressively going after Wilson/Watson that could be appealing to some coaches too.

Bears Twitter seems surprisingly tame about this first domino dropping.

They seem to be in 'why would you go to coach Daniel Jones instead of Fields?' mode. And I get it, I'm high on Fields too. But its very possible Daboll isn't quite as high, or prefers to being able to pick his own QB of the future. It probably won't be in this draft, but in the meantime having 2 top-7 picks is not a bad starting point. Yea, I'm sure it will be Fields vs his own choice, whether from this class or in future.

I don't know, rumor mill is hot in Caldwell as just HC now. Though maybe he feels like he'd turn down a HC gig for the "right" OC gig. Didn't Kubiak walk away from HC and the resurface as a OC. Older guy, had some undetermined health issue. As for a Kahn/Hortiz pairing, I guess it depends on where Hortiz ranks in Ravens FO. He might already be the "Secondary" guy under DeCosta. If he is they might not let him move laterally. And Ravens tend to be a really loyal org that people don't love to move away from. DeCosta turned down opportunities for years.

Someone like Joe Haden would be the high floor vet. PFF estimates a 1 year $5M. Not sexy, but stable. On older side at 33, so not without risk, but a good hedge to maybe pass off torch to a young guy.

Spotrac estimates him at 5.7M. PFF doesn't even have him in their FA tracker list, let alone a valuation. Over the Cap calls his valuation 8m which is supposed to be somewhat based on PFF grades, but isn't supposed to be a FA estimate. But yea he's a guy I was thinking of who hopefully falls into the 7ish range. Young, experienced starter. Seems solid enough. PFF estimates some of the older CB around $5M, which might be fine for a 1 year stopgap.

Ah yeah, I forgot Leno re-signed. But I think I disagree with most of this. I think the splashy WR needs to come thru the draft. This draft, like most other drafts in recent years, is loaded at WR. We've seen WRs go from draft pick to all-pro level in a year or two. Jefferson, Deebo, Calvin Ridley, Chase, Waddle. Granted, most of those guys are 1st round guys, but Deebo was a 2nd rounder. As was AJ Brown. Ridley and Jefferson mid-to-late 1, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a WR in that similar vein is there in the early 2nd. The Bears just drafted a 1000 yard WR in the 5th. They can certainly find a decent in the early 2nd. Like I said, add a WR just for legitimacy. Someone you know can put up numbers if your rookie isn't a stud right away. Doesn't have to be special, just a step or 2 up from a Goodwin/Byrd type. And doesn't have to be expensive or long-term. Also as for TE, I think people only want a U-TE because they are used to the Nagy offense where he told us he needed 2 TEs. But the Bears #2 TE had 23 targets and 14 catches. That's not anything they need to make a splash for. Sure it would be nice to have Njoku or something as a pass catching TE, especially with uncertainty at WR. But it's definitely not a must, especially when Kmet is still going to get the majority of the snaps. If Daboll gets the job, the Bills TE2 had 1/2 the production of Jimmy Graham. Again, not a must for an elite offense. Lastly, I personally hate spending big money on FA CBs. I don't want to spend double digit millions on a guy that doesn't completely shut down his guy, with a caveat that I'm fine keeping your own guys like they did with Fuller and probably will with Johnson. I feel like CB is typically the biggest overpaid position in free agency. Like I'm sure the Jags aren't ecstatic about 13M per for Shaq Griffin and 0 INTs this year. He's marginally better than a CB that would cost half of that per year. I don't think they NEED a U-TE, but TE does look a little deeper than WR in FA and you still want another reliable pass catcher IMO. I don't think they'll be at the very top of the WR market, so basically just a strong #2 and slot or that U-TE depending on how the markets turn out. I don't really doubt a guy like Daboll would adjust his scheme to having two TE targets. If Fields was more established, I'd feel better about him lifting up more average WR, but until that day happens I think you help his development with solid weapons. If they fail to get reliable pass catchers they may be stuck with thier only decent option being a run heavy ground and pound, which could work ala Titans, but probably isn't ideal for Fields development. In the draft, at 39 that's not quite premier prospect range and it's just so hard to predict how the draft will play out. 2nd rounders like Deebo or Pittman have taken a year or two to break out, generally. A lot of the guys you listed as you said were first rounders, often top 10. Shaquill doesn't look like a good signing (though INT are always gonna be fluky), but something like 7-8M could definitely get you some stability. Not sure how they can roll a Vildor and whatever like rotation out there. Though it is supposed to be a deep CB draft, I think you at least need something in FA. With the nickel spot you could still have an open competition with Graham and draft pick. At very least get a good nickel.

Leno is off market FYI. So I agree no tackle. Interior could be one guy or could be totally rebuilt, but Daniels will be the first big decision and rest falls into place from there. I'd like to see two new splashy weapons, a WR and either a second WR or U-TE. Mooney and Newsome will be the only WR under contract. On D theg probably need to spend a decent chunk at either CB or nickel. At that point you've probably exhausted any realistic spending that a new GM would want to do, who will likely not want too many eggs in the new basket. But focusing spending on weapons for Fields could be critical to his development. And a big leap from Fields is the most impactful thing this franchise could get.

Back on track to finish by March now.

Yeah, I've been putting some stuff together. I think the Bears re-sign Daniels. I'd really like to see him in a different offense that doesn't feature a bunch of shotgun snaps on pure passing downs with 5 man blocking schemes with no chips from RB or TE. I think we could see guys perform better across the board simply with a scheme change. And if you want to improve on Daniels, you're likely getting older (he's the youngest FA in the league) and just as expensive. Cheaper guys may not be as good. The big money guys (Scherff) aren't going to be attainable (also cancels out comp for ARob if you spend that much). ARob for sure in the 3/4 range. The goal should be to keep that pick. So, you aren't going to be able to sign anyone in that price range (12-18Mil AAV). I don't know if Graham will even play next year, but assuming guys like Dalton, Ifedi, and Hicks get signed early enough, that allows 3 UFAs you're able to sign in the 4-10M AAV range. I'm 50/50 on Nichols. Probably lose Hicks and cut Goldman, so losing all 3 starters from a deep DL would hurt a bunch. Then there's still Edwards who is an ass that probably should be cut as well. So, you're choosing between Nichols and a FA of a similar tier, likely also at DL since now you'd need talent there. And like Daniels, Nichols is one of the younger guys in a weak DL class. I'd also look heavy at the cap casualties. One guy that comes to mind is Brandin Cooks, who I'm pretty sure the Texans won't pay. Not sure if they'll cut him or trade him though. If they do cut him, a guy like him would be a no-brainer IMO. IF they trade him, probably won't be for more than a 5th or 6th, and I'd do that if it's a 2023 pick. I do love Christian Kirk, but I'd rather bring in a guy for 1-2 year (Will Fuller, DJ Chark) rather than signing a non-#1 option to a multi-year deal. Draft a top WR, sign a compliment. But don't pay a compliment long-term money. Other than that, short term deals. Lottery tickets. I think that's part of the appeal of a defensive HC. He'd know guys that fit in the scheme, and the D is where the Bears really need most of their depth. They really only need 3 starters on offense. 2 WRs and 1 OL (if they keep Daniels). They can draft 2 of those with the first 2 picks. On D, they need starters at ILB, SS, CB, maybe nickel, DL (maybe 2 spots) and depth at DL, LB, and safety. A defensive guy like Eberflus, Flores, or god forbid, even Frazier could find some nice depth pieces for cheap from their experience. Ideally I'd like to leave draft as wide open as possible and not be in a position to force anything. But if forced, I'd splurge on offense in FA then use those first two picks on D. Maybe trade down and pick up another top 100 pick. Feel like I've seen good things written about CB, DL, and LB in the draft. If they do go with a defensive head coach it's looks like it's likely to be a Tampa-2 tree guy (or other 4-3 coach). So the DL problem is shifted a little, but then you need another off ball LB instead. They're not gonna find a Tommie Harris like talent at 3T, but they only have one good LB now. With as much nickel is played the SAM spot wouldn't be too bad to fill, maybe Attachou could fill that even? Smith could arguable by Mike or Will, but maybe depends on the other guy, which is a huge question mark.

^From that same article, Hicks (2/17) and Daniels (5/50) are listed as top target for LAC and NYG respectively. Other Bears FA with estimated values Allen Robinson, 3/48 Germain Ifedi, 2/13 Surprised Bilal didn't make the top 100 list. But hes young and DT isn't super deep so he might still make a decent contract in FA. But that would put 5 Bears in likely comp pick range with probably Dalton and Graham to also be maybe comp pick range. So if all 7 were CFAs signing qualifying deals, Bears could sign 6 CFAs and still get a comp pick. ARob would probably be borderline 3/4 at 16M. Daniels a 4/5, Hicks and Ifedi a 5. I'd guess Ifedi at 5 and then maybe 6/7 for Dalton/Graham. Of course if they retain someone like Daniels then they could only sign 5 CFAs and so on. I think that's doable, but it takes some discipline. But target like 4 guys in the 4/5 round range and don't sign anyone else to a deal above ~1.8M (unless they aren't CFA eligible) and net a comp pick or two for 2023.

Setting aside GM/coach talk for a moment and looking ahead to player acquisition. Interesting thought for a top target for the Bears. I am pretty resigned that they won't get a true number 1, but maybe can collect some depth and hope one of them or Mooney vaults into true stud territory. Kirk isn't huge but good speed. Earlier PFF article ranked Kirk as the 50th ranked FA with an estimated contract value of 3/35 with 24 guaranteed https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2022-free-agent-rankings-free-agency In that next tier down from Kirk is a group of youngish (<27) possible breakout guys like Cedric Wilson Jr Zay Jones Russell Gage All bring a little extra size as well. I'd guess they'll each fall in the 7M range once all said and done. I'd basically like no FA to be signed to a deal that goes past their age 30 season. Focus on yound ascending bets and avoid the top of the market. Possibly position yourself to get a comp pick for ARob (though it may be tough).

This is such a tease tweet lol. And turning off the comments so he can get retweet. Bait.

Also, his status as the unquestioned leader of an offense scheme give me more comfort. As long as hes relatively engaged on the entire team and can reach into his rolodex for some D coaches, let's go. He's served under enough strong HCs that he should hopefully bring a nice blend of styles.

Yes, what I wrote was pure guessing. That was the point of the post. Daboll makes sense, but the reason for not going him that would also make sense is what I wrote. We aren't going to hear comments from Daboll saying he doesn't like Fields now. I think given the direction of the NFL and their rules (focused on promoting the passing game and the QB), it doesn't make sense to simply go against hiring a guy like Daboll for a bunch of reasons. The only reason would be if Daboll either didn't like Fields (and there is no proof of that) or he simply wasn't available. All other reasons are pointless overthink, imo I think he's shot up to the top of my list, but I am glad they have an extensive search on both sides of the ball this time. It's kind of an "all else equal" thing. O guy is always gonna get that little extra finger on the scale, but at least give yourself a chance for a D guy to impress.

But if we get Daboll he also won't be a good thing. /higher value post

I'm highly skeptical Daboll or any coach wouldn't want to work with Fields at all, anyways. That may come with some caveat that he isn't "sold" on him, but if he's waiting for another Allen level physical talent he'll be searching for a while. For a GM, it should be even more clear. They won't get dinged by Fields not developing. A coach might get blamed for not developing Fields. So I guess there just has to be an understanding there that the coach has security and they'll be measured by maximizing offense output, not based on Fields being an All Pro, but something less than that.

Nostalgia, when probably like half the fan base isn't old enough to really remember his playing days.

Frazier is bad at coaching?

Yea definitely want more than a rebound coach. Now guys are coaching into their 70s, so maybe he can be a 8-10 year coach, but this isn't like the Fox hiring where the locker room was a mess and there was a need for a stabilizing prescense even if it was likely to be a short run.