Thread: Your three finalists for Chicago Bears Head Coach are...

The Browns should consider themselves lucky they would get the chance for a Lovie Smith. If all he can do is do what he did for us (offense makes rapid ascent to middle of the pack, then lingers in the late 20's, while he gets the most out of each defensive player), then they should feel happy. Hell, if Lovie doesn't make a predictable hire for offense, so we know whoever his qb is isn't going to progress. What better place than Cleveland, where they have a great run game and defense, and if it goes according to Lovie's schedule with a qb, they'll be able to get Johnny Manziel.

Anyway, a few thoughts:

It seems like with all of these candidates, The Bears seem to be enjoying the media attention. Don't know if that's a benefit or intended. If most of these candidates aren't being filtered early and often, I wonder if Emery may be pulling himself a little thin with the list of HC candidates so long, having a list of who isn't on it is more efficient. Also wondering how much Emery wants to run the show; got a feeling he's gonna want more say with the HC than Lovie allowed.

Under the Radar Candidate has Halas Hall Buzzing

Posted by Brad Biggs on January 7, 2013, 1:47 PM EST

It has been months since he last checked in with his favorite internet message board, dabears.com. That doesn't mean the Chicago Bears aren't on his mind. "My morning routine is fairly simple. I wake up. I brush my teeth. I come down the stairs and have my pancakes and apple juice." Sitting above the kitchen sink in his Tampa apartment is a 2005 photograph of Kyle Orton. Looking at it longingly, he declares. "The rest of the day, my sole focus is on the Chicago Bears."

The man goes by the name of Nerrad. He says it's the reverse lettering of his birth name, Darren. "I stood in front of the bathroom mirror one afternoon after losing Super Bowl LIII on Madden. I was disgusted by what I saw. I spat at the mirror. I decided that it was time to change things up. I needed to do everything the opposite of how I was doing it. If I wanted a cheeseburger, I was eating steak. If I wanted to take a walk to the store, I was riding a jet ski. Did I call myself Darren? No sir, Darren is a loser. I am Nerrad."

It's this epiphany that Nerrad credits with his success as a Bears fan. He adopted an aggressive approach to his fandom, often times calling out the McCaskey family and Bears brass directly. At one point, he even suggested that former head coach Lovie Smith and owner Virginia McCaskey were regularly engaging in intercourse with each other. The hypothesis behind the accusation was to explain the lack of Smith's dismissal as head coach of the Bears through the years. "Listen, the guy was laying the pipe to Virginia and clearly that stopped recently. Maybe Lovie's wife caught on, maybe she [Virginia] is getting it from somewhere else. Either way, how else can we explain this sudden change of heart? Have you stopped to ask yourself why Lovie was fired so quickly?"

Any way you slice it, the Chicago Bears find themselves searching for their 14th head coach in team history. It's been Phil Emery's task to identify who that may be. Included on his list of potential chiefs at Halas Hall is Nerrad. "I told you all that I would leave no stone unturned, didn't I?", commented Emery. "I'm bringing in no less than thirty-five candidates for interview. We have a six hour interview planned on Wednesday with Nerrad. We want to get a feel of where his head is at. Where he thinks the next ten years of the NFL is headed. It's all part of our process."



The Bears organization, from players to management to custodial staff, have been aware of Nerrad's leadership and forward thinking for some time. Although unconfirmed, it has been said that the McCaskey family keeps a sixty-seven page dossier on Nerrad. Full of highlighted message board posts and insights, it is at least fifteen pages longer than the one belonging to legendary ex-player and coach, Mike Ditka. "I don't want to give away too much, but on my first day as the general manager, George [McCaskey] briefed me on Nerrad." Phil Emery recanted with an excited smirk, "Let's just say that I knew right away that we wanted to bring him into the building at some point."

Emery's enthusiastic reaction aside, one has to wonder if Nerrad would be the right fit. Some believe an in-your-face attitude doesn't mesh well in today's NFL. Even a no-nonsense coach like Tom Coughlin wasn't able to embrace the Lombardi trophy without first embracing a slightly softer side. Nerrad thinks his vision and philosophy is just what the doctor ordered for, in his words, today's "bunch of pampered pansies" [NFL players]. "I want live hitting on the quarterbacks in practice." exclaimed Nerrad, "headshots, head slaps, below the knees, under the belt, punches to the crotch, no holds barred! Just like Butkus!"

Nerrad, 26, wasn't alive when Dick Butkus terrorized NFL offenses, but he claims to be a student of the era. His belief is that the fire and passion brought forth through an aggressive attacking style will not only ignite the Bears franchise to their second Super Bowl victory, but he intends on exceeding the Chicago Bulls NBA dynasty of the 1990's. "Do you hear that Phil? Do you hear those footsteps?" said Nerrad, referring to Bulls' ex-coach Phil Jackson, "That's Nerrad coming for your records."

Phil Jackson could not be reached for comment.

With all of the uncertainty surrounding the thirty-eight head coaching interviews by Bears brass, one thing is certain. Six hours of Phil Emery's Wednesday will be unlike any other.


http://tinyurl.com/a63ol2h

This is outstanding!

Too damn funny! Yeah usually Nerrad comes in here for a while.

I think this is a good read on why Emery is interviewing so many candidates for HC.

What Emery is asking prospective Bears' head coaches

January 7, 2013, 3:16 pm SHARE THIS POST
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With the introduction of a new head coach, Jay Cutler's fate with the Bears is uncertain. (USA Today Images)



So I've been asked a lot about why Phil Emery is interviewing so many different coaches for the Bears' vacant head coaching position.

The purpose of talking with so many guys is simply to learn as much as possible. Whether it be about offensive systems, philosophies or even other assistant coaches, there is a method to the madness.

Head coaching interviews are as detailed, or more, than any job in sports or otherwise.
Some key topics that are always discussed in these interviews include systems style on both offense and defense.

Since most of the coaches being interviewed by the Bears are offensive guys, they may lay out a good chunk of what they do in terms of utilizing personnel and overall system. Some coaches will have an entire power point presentation.

One thing every prospective head coach brings to an interview is a long list of potential assistants he would pursue to join his staff. He may include dozens of guys since many may be under contract and unable to leave their current jobs. The list is dissected by the GM and there may be even coaches the GM may say he won't accept for various reasons. By seeing the same names pop up on different candidate's lists, GMs can learn who the most highly respected assistant coaches are.

Other topics that are sure to be open for discussion include: how do they practice, meet and discipline players? Oftentimes a coach will have an entire mock practice schedule for the season prepared, from the responsibilities of the assistants to whether the head coach will play the role of the CEO and allow his coordinators to run their sides of the ball or if the coach is going to be a play-caller and oversee his expertise.

The size of the staff is also a big topic. Can the head coach have assistants to assistants, which many teams do nowadays, such as an assistant defensive backs coach or offensive assistant, which are not quality control jobs? How many video people are on staff? What is the size of the training staff and other support people? Salaries of assistants has become important. Many teams pay their coordinators at or near the one million mark and the top assistants receive around a half million.

In the Bears' case, the subject of Jay Cutler will definitely be debated. If the head coach isn't sold on Jay after a year, he may want to know if he's tied to him for the long haul. The new coach may want to draft a young QB or look to the market for a possible replacement. Despite being considered a franchise QB, any good coach will look at the number of coordinators he's had and his production.

The new head coach will certainly want to have some say on personnel, even though Emery will have the final say. No coach wants to feel helpless when it comes to the players he's given.

I could go on and on, but that's just a small amount of what takes place during a Head Coaching interview. The more people Phil Emery talks to, the more information he gains, which helps lead to a very informed decision. It's a much better formula than picking one guy and saying "that's my guy"....