Why Bears believe they’ll buck trend of failed head coach hires
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – George McCaskey is in the process of hiring his fifth head coach in 14 years as Bears chairman.
That’s, well, a lot.
Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy, Matt Eberflus and the new guy.
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None of the previous four lasted more than four seasons. All those guys followed Lovie Smith, who coached for nine before McCaskey fired him. The Bears have been searching for stability ever since.
Bears brass spoke with confidence about getting this next hire right. Where does that stem from, when so many hires within the McCaskey era – and that’s head coaches, general managers and coordinators – have gone wrong?
“The idea is to get it right,” McCaskey said on Tuesday. “As I said, Bears fans deserve a winner. And we’re going to do everything we can. I think with Ryan’s leadership and the process that he has outline and with guidance from (president) Kevin (Warren), Ryan is going to make the best decision going forward.”
Poles talked about learning from past experiences, including failed coordinator hires in Shane Waldron, Luke Getsy and Alan Williams.
“Casting a wide net, I think it’s adding more data to the equation,” said Poles, who has made 12 interview requests to this point. “It’s digging deeper with our research — all of those things are really important. I think also knowing the team and where it is right now, knowing it better than I ever have before that’s important. As you go along you gain wisdom every single year and every single experience that you go through and that helps you make better decisions as you go.”
Poles talked extensively about this season’s issues, in terms of a lack of accountability and a poor foundation that crumbled during tough times. He says he’ll get more involved in culture building, but is looking for a head coach to take charge of that.
The Bears will interview a bunch of candidates, with expertise on both sides of the ball and those with and without coaching experience. Poles has spent the past few weeks gathering information on candidates, “making sure we have everything we need to make a sound decision.”
“We’re turning every stone to make sure we’re doing this the right way,” Poles said. “We believe that is going to be really, really important. There’s going to be some names that you don’t expect that are going to surprise you because we’re digging deeper than we ever have before. In terms of timing, we’re going to move with urgency, but we’re not going to rush the process. Again, because we want it to be a sound process.”
It was made clear on Tuesday that this is Poles’ hire. There will be no search firm to assist with anything other than background. There will, however, be a large contingent sitting in on interviews. The main panel includes Warren, McCaskey, assistant GM Ian Cunningham and several assistants. Poles also said that some senior vice presidents and executive vice presidents on the business side will get involved later in the process, as the Bears try to introduce the coach to all parts of the organization.
Even if Poles is making the hire, that’s a lot of voices in his ear. The overall goal remains to get a hire right after missing so many times and entice the right coach to take a job the Bears consider attractive.
“This will be a coveted job,” Warren said. “We have so much going for us. We have incredible ownership. We have the best fan base in the world. We found a franchise quarterback. We have salary cap space. We have draft capital. We live in a world-class city. We just have a lot of attributes going for us. I am confident that, if we do our job from a process standpoint, which we will, and sit down and be open and honest, that people will look at this as a great opportunity.”
Some will view it as a great opportunity. The team must find a great match unlike recent head coach hires in Chicago.
“We’re hoping,” McCaskey said, “for a better result.”