By Jon Greenberg
ESPNChicago.com Archive
CHICAGO -- Tennessee Titans quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Dowell Loggains is emerging as a candidate for a similar position with the Chicago Bears, according to a source familiar with the situation.
More From ESPNChicago.com
Can't get enough Bears information? ESPNChicago.com has all the latest on the Monsters of the Midway. Blog
Loggains is being touted by Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, and Bears coach Lovie Smith has been making calls inquiring about the 31-year-old coach, according to the source.
While Tennessee might not let Loggains leave for a lateral move while he's under contract, Loggains would be interested in the move because he has a strong, personal relationship with Cutler. Cutler wanted Loggains for the position two years ago, after Pep Hamilton was fired, but former offensive coordinator Mike Martz brought in Shane Day. Martz and Day parted ways with the Bears on Tuesday.
Cutler never had a strong relationship with Day, and was often seen yelling at him on the sidelines.
With run-heavy Mike Tice taking over the offensive coordinator position, it would make sense to bring in a coach who has a good relationship with the team's franchise player. A source said Loggains wouldn't be afraid to challenge Cutler, which the quarterback welcomes. But Tice, who plans do the play-calling during games, is pushing for Dirk Koetter, with whom he worked in Jacksonville. Koetter was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach with the Jaguars. With no head coach in Jacksonville, his status there is unresolved.
Loggains isn't a big name around the league, but he is highly respected in Tennessee. The former Arkansas quarterback just finished his second season as Titans quarterbacks coach, and his fourth with the team.
He was an administrative assistant with the team when Cutler was coming out of Vanderbilt, and pushed hard for the quarterback over Vince Young.
Working with Loggains this past season, Matt Hasselbeck completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 3,571 yards in his first season with the Titans. Tennessee finished 9-7 in Mike Munchak's first season as head coach.
According to a source in Tennessee, Loggains is highly regarded among the Titans coaching staff for his intelligence and ability to get along with players. The source called Loggains a "great guy, very smart, an up-and-coming guy."
But he added that, "Munchak loves [Loggains]. I don't see him letting him out of his contract unless [it's] a play calling coordinator's job. No chance they will get Loggains as just the QB coach."
So it appears the Bears might have a better shot at landing Koetter, considering Jacksonville is under new ownership and searching for a new coach. Also, Koetter's contract expires in February. A potential roadblock to landing Koetter is he'll likely be a hot commodity as an offensive coordinator. According to a source, if Mike Mularkey -- thought of as a leading candidate for the Jacksonville opening -- lands the Jaguars' job, the Falcons will go after Koetter as Mularkey's replacement.
Jon Greenberg is a reporter for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000. ESPNChicago.com's Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap.
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
This is one instance where I think it would be wise for the Bears to bring in the guy Cutler wants. He didn't get much benefit from working with Pep Hamilton and he didn't like Day at all so for once why not get a guy he already has a good relationship with?
I'm sure Tice would like his guy but sometimes there's entirely too much "good old boy" shit going on in that coaching staff. Cutler has been with the team long enough to have earned some respect and say in the matter and if he feels better about Loggains then Lovie should do what he can to get him.
I think an easy way around his contract with the Titans is to simple make him an Asst. OC/QB Coach and Passing Coordinator. Let him sit in the booth and send plays down to Tice if he proves to be good at it. If Tice is calling plays and helping to coach the OLine I don't think he should be up in the booth anyway but someone needs to be the eye in the sky.
If Jay wants him and the Bears are serious about getting him what he needs to be a great success they had better start listening to him and his requests. He proved to be a pretty shrewd field general himself once he started doing things his way as opposed to Martz's. If they give him more leeway to audible I believe he could do even more. This is about keeping your QB on his feet and happy for a change and if Loggains is their guy there are all kinds of ways to make this a promotion of sorts so that he can get out of his deal with Tennessee.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap.
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
Tice seems to be the smartest coach on this staff, as has been shown by his shuffling of the players to get them in the right spot at the right time. Unf. Those injuries and lack of proper scheming foiled much of what he was trying to do. Cutler, also seems to be one of the smartest ones on the team and whatever makes his job easier is the shorter route. But, with all that said, i dont know **** about either coach, and seeing that tice is allowed to hire his guys, and jay is getting his say-so unlike any previous qb are good things. Even better is, it seems Lovie is handing off the responsibility of hiring the guy that will likely be our playcaller off to people who know what they're talking about. Now, if we can just gt rid of drake....
Yeah, given the sorry state and lack of development of previously drafted wide receivers you have to wonder who Drake is blowing to keep his job. I don't think any position on the team has done so poorly for so long.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap.
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
Yeah, given the sorry state and lack of development of previously drafted wide receivers you have to wonder who Drake is blowing to keep his job. I don't think any position on the team has done so poorly for so long.
One thing to take into consideration is that Darryl Drake has had little to work with talent-wise to really be able to develop those particular WR into studs. The best he ever had was Bernard Berrian, and he was a 3rd Round pick. I'm not saying that some of these WR haven't been capable of more, but I do think that we should give Drake the benefit of the doubt because Angelo put low priority on the acquistion of WR during his career with the Bears.
I can just see the exchanges :
Mac : " Now get out there and blow it by their asses "
Cut : " Fuckin right man !"
Mac : " U get 3 td passes today and the drinks are on me !"
Cut : "Wut if I get 4 ?"
Mac : " I'll pay for all 18 holes AND the drinks !"
Cut : " Excellent, but I'm doin the drivin "
Mac : " Wouldn't be in any condition to anyways. Oh ... and remember , you CAN audible again ".
Cutler smiles, gives him a fist bump, and runs off laughing while putting his helmet on .....
...... and things are beautiful in Soldier Field again.
What should you call any : Fumble , Hold , Interception , Three and out , or Sack ?
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Can't get enough Bears information? ESPNChicago.com has all the latest on the Monsters of the Midway. Blog
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Blue Horse-shoe 
