NEWSLETTER
It is a turn-the-page kind of Wednesday in Chicago. And while it feels like we’ve lived a few lifetimes since the end of that Bears-Lions Thanksgiving game, I’m ready to move on to the 49ers. Who’s with me?
- Speaking of the 49ers, there is still time to vote in this very important (albeit non-scientific) poll on Twitter/X:
- Every few years, the San Francisco 49ers fanbase gets weird, and whispers about Kyle Shanahan’s future get louder. If I understood why this happens, then I’d be on a warm island somewhere and not bracing myself for a cold walk to my therapist’s office on Wednesday.
- There were uncertain times in San Fran back in 2021 and I wondered if there was an opportunity brewing for the Bears. Fast forward to 2024 and BN teammate Matt Rooney is here to take up the cause. Maybe the Bears beating the Niners on Sunday will nudge Shanahan and the Niners closer to a breakup. Hey, don’t give me that look. Stranger things have happened.
- Also: That fan base dared to call Kyle Shanahan “Marc Trestman With Yeezys” so — as someone who had to live through watching their favorite team get coached (and submarined) by Marc Trestman (sans Yeezys), I don’t think that fan base is entitled to having nice things. Sorry, I’m not sorry.
- The admin at the Bears Twitter/X account casually dropping off a new image-sharing format via a Keenan Allen appreciation post was unexpected.
- Bears linebacker (and captain) T.J. Edwards on Interim Head Coach Thomas Brown (via 670 The Score): “He means business. What his expectations are and things like that, he wants those to be met with no ifs, ands or buts about it. I can really appreciate that, a no-nonsense guy who comes into work and wants to win no matter what it looks like.”
- Adam Jahns (The Athletic) wonders if Thomas Brown can be the rare interim head coach with staying power. Those types of coaches are too few and far between. However, I am open to Brown winning me over. Maybe he can be to the Bears what Bruce Arians was to the Indianapolis Colts. Those were different circumstances, to be sure. But if you are looking for a successful example of an interim coach who took the gig and ran with it by making it his own, your search starts and ends with Arians.
- I have relayed this feeling privately and am comfortable saying it publicly: Yours truly is looking forward to watching a Bears game for the first time all year without thinking about if it will or should be a referendum on Matt Eberflus’ job status. With that being said, I know that we’re going to be watching Thomas Brown wondering if he’ll do enough to build a case to shed the interim tag. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. But for now, it’ll be nice to watch a Bears game without Eberflus’ job status lurking as a storyline.
- Patrick Finley (Sun-Times) nails it in writing that Caleb Williams needs to be more involved with the Bears coaching search in 2025 than Justin Fields was in 2022. This isn’t to say that QB1 should be picking his next head coach. But the Bears need to involve him in some capacity to ensure the two most important people on the field on game day are vibing with each other.
- The New York Post reports that Netflix is targeting ESPN’s Mina Kimes for its Christmas Day broadcast later this month. If the two sides can agree on a deal, Mina will join what looks like a star-studded crew (h/t Awful Announcing) that reportedly features Ian and Noah Eagle, Nate Burleson, JJ Watt, and Greg Olsen. Kimes is one of my favorite NFL analysts and personalities. I was unsure about how locked in I’d be on Christmas Day. But putting together an A-team type of broadcast crew will nudge me to tune in.
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Brett Taylor has more at BN Cubs on one MLB insider reporting that the Chicago Cubs are a “viable candidate” to acquire Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet. Red Line trades make me itchy. However, I won’t deny that the idea of trading for Crochet piques my interest.
The Chicago Bulls should be feeling good after Matas Buzelis’ career night, writes Elias Schuster. (BN Bulls)
Over at BN Blackhawks, Tab Bamford wants to discuss the Chicago hockey team’s speed (or lack thereof).
