Following the Bears right now is kinda like being in one of those old-timey booths that blows money around and you’re trying to catch as much as you can and stuff it all into your pockets. You’re having fun. And you’ll never have this specific experience again. But every time you think you’ve got a feel, a new gust of air hits you. They should bring that back to the Taste of Chicago (if it’s in the budget, of course).
• Chicago’s football team was wasting little time in rounding up interview candidates. But here come the interviews:
The Bears will interview Brian Flores on Friday
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 11, 2022
I'm told the current plan is for #Bills defensive coordinator/ assistant head coach Leslie Frazier to interview Sunday with the #Bears for their head coach vacancy, per league source.
— IG: JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 12, 2022
The #Bears will interview former #Eagles Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson tomorrow, source said. He also recently spoke with the #Jaguars.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2022
• This is where the fun begins. Some chatter with ex-Dolphins coach Brian Flores is coming Friday. A little bit of back-and-forth with Leslie Frazier is on the horizon on Sunday. And Doug Pederson, the Super Bowl winning former Eagles coach is set to kick things off TODAY. Let’s get it on!
• Patrick’s roundup of every name currently out there with a Bears connection is a nice resource. One we hope to keep updating as time goes on.
• Not that you were needing evidence to back it up, but firing Joe Judge has made the Giants jobs look a lot more intriguing:
We have completed a GM interview with Bills Assistant GM Joe Schoen
Details: https://t.co/qfdM6qWHyU pic.twitter.com/VADz3LUrGd
— New York Giants (@Giants) January 12, 2022
• The New Yorkers were getting no traction in their GM search with Judge still calling the shots as head coach. Hence, the Giants pulled the plug after just two seasons. It took the Giants two days to figure out what even the most casual fan could’ve told them after watching just one quarter of football. Our lasting memory of the Judge era was watching Matt Nagy, Bill Lazor, and Sean Desai coach circles around that guy in Week 17. Losing convincingly to this Bears team at the end of their rope with the current administration probably should’ve been a sign.
• Let the record show the Bears, Giants, and Vikings are the only NFL teams with head coach and GM openings. I’ll be curious to see if there is any more crossover between the three teams.
• Mike Florio, who recently put out there that Pete Carroll would be a wonderful fit for the Bears moving forward, put the team on blast for tabbing Bill Polian to aid in their efforts to find a new coach and GM. Suddenly, I feel about better about outsourcing this to Polian and the search committee.
• Jason Lieser (Sun-Times) hits the mark here. Polian might not be the best choice, but it’s better than the alternative of the status quo. Once again, based on solely the people the team has been reaching out to, this is a “so far, so good” situation.
• Over at NBC Sports Chicago, Adam Hoge strikes the right notes in writing that the Bears need George McCaskey to be more than “just a fan” moving forward. On the one hand, I can appreciate McCaskey’s self-awareness. He isn’t a football guy. And he shouldn’t be evaluating talent. McCaskey’s anecdote about how he felt uncomfortable about Matt Nagy asking him a question about who should quarterback tells us all we need to know. And frankly, Nagy shouldn’t have even been asking that question to McCaskey. But for the Bears to succeed, McCaskey clearly needs a buffer to do the things he is unable (unwilling?) to do. Until the Bears make the right hire there, they might be stuck spinning their wheels.
• I have questions about this image:
took this photo at the NFL draft 2015 in Chicago. Mccaskey, wearing a brand new Kevin white jersey. https://t.co/qkWyO7fEbP pic.twitter.com/AyqpnFv4lZ
— Kalyn Kahler (@kalynkahler) January 11, 2022
• Is Bears Chairman George McCaskey wearing a re-purposed Johnny Knox jersey? Did the Bears draft Kevin White just to satisfy this itch? Is that jersey tucked into his pants? This snapshot reminds me of a back-and-forth exchange in the movie Fever Pitch where one friend goes to their braggadocios rich friend and essentially says: “If you’re so rich, why don’t you dress better?”
• one 4Wow! This takes me back:
Three years ago today https://t.co/8XayKCpbgY
— Madeline Kenney (@madkenney) January 12, 2022
• This could be a game-changer for the Broncos:
Officially: A big win for the #Broncos today in court, paving the way for new ownership. No obstacles remain pic.twitter.com/4iwmroy20k
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2022
• Jon Lester put up a 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 0 BB line in the greatest baseball game I ever attended. Enjoy retirement, you big left-hander:
Jon Lester is Retiring – https://t.co/kqSx6XrxBm pic.twitter.com/rkKV0BmiCF
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 12, 2022
• A new German import will soon hit the ice in Chicago:
The Blackhawks Are Reportedly Calling Up Top Prospect Lukas Reichel!https://t.co/zferW5ZNB1 pic.twitter.com/raLOxHudVz
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 12, 2022
• Devin Booker is the type to call fouls with 100 percent seriousness in a meaningless pick-up game between friends:
LOL: The Raptors Mascot Got in Devin Booker’s Head at the Free Throw Linehttps://t.co/hsasycDN36 pic.twitter.com/iX5a5lCth2
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 12, 2022