NEWSLETTER
It’s been a little more than 24 hours since the Bears cut the cord on the Ryan Pace-Matt Nagy experience. But the team isn’t wasting much time in piling up the candidates.
Colts Director of College Scouting Morocco Brown was the first known candidate to hit the rumor mill. And one of his co-workers in Indianapolis isn’t too far behind:
The #Bears requested an interview with #Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds for their GM job, source said.
One of the NFL's most respected scouts, Dodds has turned down other GM opportunities. This could be the year.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 11, 2022
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero reports Colts Assistant GM Ed Dodds has a request from the Bears for an interview. Dodds figures to be a popular candidate in this hiring cycle, especially after (as Pelissero notes) turning down opportunities (including the Lions) that came his way last year. Whether he latches on with a team is something that will be determined down the line. After all, he can still turn down offers he doesn’t see fit. However, that Chicago has eyes for Dodds feels like a step in a good direction.
Connecting the dots with Dodds is fun. His reputation as one of the league’s top scouts and talent evaluators should have him high on the Bears’ list. Dodds had a 10-year run with the Seahawks as a national scout and personnel executive before landing with the Colts and Chris Ballard in 2017. Since joining Indianapolis, Dodds has been an integral part of an organization stock-piling talent despite inconsistency at quarterback. Since 2018, the Colts have gone through Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, and Carson Wentz at QB and have just one losing season. In that period, Indy has a record of 37-28. That seems like a testament to team building when considering we’re talking about a team with four different QB1s in four seasons.
I imagine working for 2015 Bears GM runner-up Chris Ballard has been helpful. And perhaps Ballard’s Chicago connections could help grease the skids in the interview process. Ultimately, adding someone who has been around so much winning in multiple organizations would make for a nice touch.
