On Mel Tucker’s Future

Adam L. Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes head coach Marc Trestman on whether defensive coordinator Mel Tucker will be retained:

“’I haven’t had a discussion with Mel,’ Trestman said. ‘The coaches need a chance to rest. The last thing you want to do is start making decisions three days after a very, very disappointing loss.’”

Translation: Tucker’s in serious trouble.

I’m going to say that coming off of that terrible performance against the Eagles followed by what would be at best termed an uneven performance against the Packers, that Trestman and/or general manager Phil Emery’s first instinct was to fire Tucker. But they don’t want to make a decision in the heat of the moment that they may later regret. So they are waiting a week or two to allow time to gain perspective. Add the fact that they are seriously considering a scheme change and you get a situation where Tucker’s job is hanging on a thread.

Cutler Grows with Time and Bears

Rick Telander at the Chicago Sun-Times addresses yesterday’s Jay Cutler signing. The Bears bet big on Cutler, signing him to a seven year deal (though rumor has it that it’s only a three year deal with what is practically a club option for years four through seven). Telander hits upon an interesting point though it’s not exactly the one I would make:

“’The team elected him captain,’ [head coach Marc] Trestman reminded us there at Halas Hall. ‘He carries the weight of the team on his shoulders.’’

“The saintly allusion notwithstanding, it seems clear that Cutler has become a better teammate, a better, more mature person with time. His wife, Kristin Cavallari, the former reality-show star, sat in the corner of the room to Cutler’s right.

“She looked lovely in her camel-hair coat and high heels, particularly considering she is pregnant with the couple’s second child.

“Could this be the Bears’ Yoko Ono, ready to drive Trestman and his main pupil apart? Doubtful, even though Cutler said that he was now making so much money he didn’t know how to spend it, though Kristin probably did.”

Telander’s main thrust is that he is willing to believe that Cutler has matured to the point that he can lead the team to a Super Bowl even though he actually still has his doubts. I find myself in the same boat though I thought the final performance against the Packers was encouraging. He did a much better job than usual playing within the offense, throwing the ball through the end zone rather than forcing it on their best drive of the first half and at least trying to throw the slant route with anticipation.

I also agree with Telander (and Trestman) in that I found Cutler to be generally more mature this year both on the field and in the interview room (despite a breakdown or two). Telander jokes about Cavallari. But far from being a disruptive force, she might be more the cause for this change in attitude. Marriage, one kid with another on the way. It has a way of giving people perspective over time that they lacked before. I was just old enough to watch this happen with my own parents and I believe that it is not uncommon.

It’s been interesting to watch Cutler grow in Chicago, going from the young, single star quarterback who hit the bars with his favorite tight end (drinking alcohol despite being an advocate for diabetes) to – we hope – the stable young husband and father with responsibilities. And like it or not, we’re going to have ample opportunity to watch him, and the team, grow side by side for a long time to come.

Congratulations to the Bucs On Hiring Lovie Smith. Maybe.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers has hired former Bears coach Lovie Smith as their new head coach. Smith is a good head coach with a solid defensive mind who got the most out of his players on on that side of the ball. But a few other fleeting thoughts also crossed my mind:

  1. Who will Smith hire as his offensive coordinator? Smith never got this right with the Bears. Rumor has it that he has Jeff Tedford in mind for the job – indeed his Wikipedia page already indicates that he has it. Tedford would be a potential improvement over Smith’s Bears hires in that he has experience coaching quarterbacks and the Bucs have a young one to bring along in Mike Glennon. But Tedford is typical in other ways that are not as positive. I always had the feeling that Smith was afraid of hiring his own replacement with the Bears. Tedford has never played or coached in the NFL. His major qualification might not be so much that he is the best available guy but that he was a guy who won’t overshadow Smith.
  2. Who will be the general manager? It is, in my opinion, always, always, always a bad idea to hire a coach before a GM. Especially when it comes to Smith. Rumor has it that forder Bears general manager Jerry Angelo believed that his drafts were not successful partly because of compromises he made with the head coach. He couldn’t take a guy that Smith didn’t agree to and apparently Smith wasn’t shy about disagreeing. In any case it is evident that it was a constant struggle. Now, to make matters worse, Smith was hired first with the Buccaneers. That limits their choice of GM to men who agree with the Smith hire. It also give Smith and the public the impression that he was the more important hire and therefore that he holds the upper hand in the relationship. This could be very bad.

There’s good reason why Bears general manger Phil Emery fired Smith after a 10-6 season. Those reasons aren’t evident to those outside of Chicago where many are praising this hire. Buccaneer fans are excited and to an extent they should be. Smith will get the most out of the defensive talent on the Buccaneers and they might have some short term success with the guys they have. But long term, in a league where offense is king and the ability to draft young talent determines sustained success, I don’t like their chances.

Picture of a Dysfunctional Franchise

As it’s the off-season and Bears news is slowing down, I’m starting to get around to catching up on the news on other teams. In this respect, the conflict within the organization that is developing over what to do about Dolphins assistants in the wake of a late season collapse has caught my eye. The Dolphins lost to two non-playoff teams in the last two games, the Bills and the Jets, scoring only seven points over 8 quarters. Had they won either game, they would have made the playoffs. Steven Wine at the Miami Herald reports:

“[Owner Stephen] Ross has been meeting with his top advisers before deciding whether to fire anyone, two people familiar with the situation said.

“One of the people said the meetings began Sunday night and will resume Thursday, and a decision could come then. That person said that during the Dolphins’ loss Sunday to the New York Jets, Ross became so upset he turned away at one point because he could no longer watch.”

Ross’s interference puts head coach Joe Philbin in a rough position. Armando Salguero comments for the “Miami Dolphins In Depth” blog at the Herald:

“The lack of production for the Dolphins rests with players, of course, but also with offensive coordinator Mike Sherman, offensive line coach Jim Turner and others. That’s the reason Ross is pushing for staff changes.

“But Philbin can stand in the way of change because while Ross is the owner, Philbin’s contract grants him the authority on hiring and firing assistants.

“Philbin became very uncomfortable and even combative about the idea of possibly firing assistants beginning with Sherman. He was asked if he was capable of such of move if that was required of him …

“’I’m beginning the evaluation of the 2013 season, and we haven’t made any decisions on who’s coming back and who isn’t,’ Philbin said. ‘We’ll have all of those discussions at the appropriate time.’

“Obviously Philbin offered a response to some question but not the one he was asked. So he was asked a second time if he is capable of firing Sherman, who has been a mentor, friend and confidant during his career?

“’That’s my answer,’ Philbin said, again dodging the question.

“All this suggests Phibin wants to attempt filling the ‘room for improvement’ by improving players and their execution and not by changing assistants.

“So we are at a crossroads.

“When Ross asks Philbin to make changes to that offensive staff — which will absolutely happen — does the head coach resist to a point that he himself is in danger of being fired? Or does Philbin cave and let the owner have his way?

“Or does the owner, who likes Philbin and doesn’t want to fire him, cave?

“Moreover, in suggesting that the issue is with players and not necessarily coaches, would Philbin be effectively telling Ross that general manager Jeff Ireland did not give him enough talent on offense, thereby hurting Ireland’s already tenuous job status?

“The dynamic is complex.”

No kidding.

What we have here is a complete picture of a dysfunctional franchise. The owner interferes with football operations, he meets behind the coach’s back with “advisers”. As a result, determinations are made about what to do without his knowledge and the franchise, instead of presenting one, unified face to the public, appears fractured and disoriented about the direction it is going to take.

You can say all you want about the Bears ownership but you should be very, very grateful that the franchise has been as well run as it has been the last decade. Even at 8-8 it’s a good day to be a Bear fan.

The Age Old Question

With the season over, so begins the discussion of the central off=season event: The NFL Draft. And its never too early to debate the age-old question – “best available” or “position of need”. Hub Arkush at hubarkush.com comments:

“What I absolutely know about where Emery and the Bears are at now is there isn’t a spot on the roster they can’t stand to get better at, so they must draft the best football player available and not get distracted by ‘greatest needs’ and reach for a pass rusher or safety if the best player available is a linebacker or running back.”

“Here’s the problem. Let’s say the Bears are picking 14th, it’s their turn and still available are the seventh-best, 11th-best and 14th-, 15th- and 16th-best players, but they all play offense. The 17th-best is a linebacker, and then the next two are offensive guys as well. Do you want the seventh- or 11th-best player available, or do you want another linebacker who’s the 17th-best player according to your own rankings? Or do you take the guy you think is the 20th-best player at 14 because he happens to be a pass rusher or a safety?”

“How would C.J. Mosely look in navy and orange, or what if somehow Anthony Barr miraculously slipped to the Bears at 14? Can you pass on a linebacker because you used two picks on ‘backers last year?”

Like Arkush, I too lean towards the “best available” philosophy. But with me there are almost always limits. This year I’d draw the line at running back where Matt Forte is coming off of a spectacular year with Michael Bush as his backup. With both under contract, the Bears would have no use for another one. The odds are good they’d never get their worth in a trade and, really, what are the odds that you’ll ever find one comparable to Forte, anyway.

But other than running back I wouldn’t hesitate to draft the best available player at any round in 2014 for the Bears.

Biggest Disappointment of 2013

When the writers at the Chicago Sun-Times reviewed the 2013 season, they broke it down into categories. Most Valuable Player (Adam L. JahnsJosh McCown, Patrick FinleyMatt Forte, Mark PotashBrandon Marshall), Biggest surprise (Janhs – rookie offensive linemen, Finley – health of the offense, Potash – McCown), etc… But no one, when addressing Biggest Disappointment, mentioned mine. The fact that linebacker Lance Briggs snuck out of the locker room after both the loss to the Philedelphia Eagles and the loss to the Green Bay Packers at the end of the season without saying a word, leaving players like rookie linebacker Jonathan Bostic to explain the loss.

Never have a been so disappointed at such a lack of discipline, a lack of guts and courage in my life.

I’ve been asking myself why Briggs acted this way for two weeks now. I haven’t come up with a good answer but I think this morning’s article by Janhs addressing the fact that not everyone bought into the coaching change at the end of the 2012 season gives a clue:

“As much as [head coach Marc] Trestman tried, whether it was reorganizing the locker room or his life-lessons approach to football, it always was on the players to get on board with his new way of life at Halas Hall after he replaced longtime coach Lovie Smith, who was beloved by many Bears players who were held over.

In the end, some players may have never been able to adjust and find contentment in all the changes going on. It was the first story of training camp when quarterback Jay Cutler said, ‘Not everybody’s bought in,’ and remains one at season’s end.”

It’s just guess work. But if you’re thinking that Cutler and others are talking about Briggs, I’d say you’re on the right track. The combination of the coaching change and Brian Urlacher’s abandonment of the team as he pridefully turned down a contract worth double his value on the open market probably hurt Briggs more than most. And then he had what can only be termed a disappointing season where his physical hurts were added. To call the situation unhealthy in all aspects would probably not be an understatement.

Many theories have been proposed about what was lacking in 2013 and what needs to be done to fix it (including my own). But to my knowledge, no one mentioned the lack of veteran leadership. Virtually every veteran from past Bears defenses who could have provided such was on the sidelines injured. Julius Peppers was, perhaps, the only one of note to stay healthy but he’s never been very vocal.

To Briggs’s credit, unlike players like Henry Melton, he was on the sidelines trying his best to help the defense along while injured. But as, the saying goes, fortune does not change men. It unmasks them. Briggs let the team down when it counted off the field. And that means that, perhaps, he’s not the leader that they need. At least he’s not acting like it.

Jahns hits upon an ominous note about the off-season near the end of his article:

“Rooting out dissent and determining players commitment to the Bears’ new approach will be as important as signing the best, most capable players.”

Will Briggs be rooted out? That would be a shame.

Winston Churchill once said, “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” It’s been a full year now and Smith is long gone. Briggs may not have agreed with the direction the organization took and he probably never will. But it’s time to move on to solving the problems at hand.