Day 12 of the Chicago Bears offseason. Let’s get weird.
- The Bears have sent 20 requests to interview coaching candidates from all over the spectrum. But one area the team hasn’t dabbled in is the fictional realm. With that in mind, here is how I’d rank my favorite fictional football coaches:
- IF YOU SQUINT, YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT OF BEN JOHNSON: Lance Harbor (Varsity Blues) went from five-star quarterback at the start of the year to making the biggest play calls after Bud Kilmer hit the road. An offensive guru with a passion for the game is exactly what the Bears need.
- BILL BELICHICK BEFORE BILL BELICHICK WAS A THING: Kevin O’Shea (Little Giants) knows how to assemble and coach talent. He was Bill Belichick before we knew Bill Belichick was a thing. The only thing that held him back was an underdog Giants team. Wow! He really is a Belichick clone.
- THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD: Danny O’Shea (Little Giants) has a little Mike Tomlin in him โ in that no one expects his teams to be as competitive as they are, but he is going to come through and make the most with what he has at his disposal.
- THAT GUY FROM HOOSIERS CAN COACH FOOTBALL, TOO? The Replacements is a slept-on football movie., And Jimmy McGinty (The Replacements) is one of my favorite Gene Hackman roles. To coach replacement players to big wins isn’t something to sneeze at when you’re looking for a “leader of men” type.
- ANY GIVEN SUNDAY: Tony D’Amato (Any Given Sunday) is a player’s coach and a coach’s coach wrapped all into one. I’m not sure I could find a better way to round out the top-5.
- As for the Bears’ actual coaching search, here is the latest:
- A very random thought: I think the Bears hosting a virtual interview with Arthur Smith on the same morning that the team was rolling out the red carpet for Mike McCarthy says everything we need to know about Smith’s candidacy for the head coach position.
- Here is a new batch of power rankings:
- TOM BRADY CAN SUCK A LEMON, THIS IS THE ONE I WANT: Ben Johnson
- WHO DOES NO. 2 WORK FOR? Todd Monken
- MIKE MCCARTHY REVENGE TOUR: Mike McCarthy
- A PERFECTLY CROMULENT GROUP OF CANDIDATES: Joe Brady, Aaron Glenn, Pete Carroll, Kliff Kingsbury
- THE NFL EQUIVALENT OF WHEN THE CELTICS HIRED BRAD STEVENS AWAY FROM BUTLER: Marcus Freeman
- INTERESTING, BUT I CAN’T PULL THE TRIGGER: Drew Petzing
- DESERVES ANOTHER CHANCE (BUT NOT HERE): Brian Flores, Ron Rivera
- THANKS, BUT NO THANKS: Matt Campbell, Vance Joseph, Mike Kafka, David Shaw, Arthur Smith, Anthony Weaver, Adam Stenovich
- I had a grand ole time doing AMA at BN Bears on Twitter last night. You guys and gals brought your A-game. Tonight, we’ll do the same over at BlueSky. I hope you’ll bring the heat there, too.
- Tom Brady calling the Lions-Commanders game featuring Ben Johnson and his wonderful offensive scheme is bad news for the Bears, writes the Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley. There is a small part of me that wonders if this would go over better if Brady’s first year as a broadcaster wasn’t so bleh. I’ve tried to limit my criticism toward Brady’s work on the mic because I realize how difficult doing live TV is โ particularly for first-timers. But the lack of transparency, conflict of interest, and forgettable broadcasting makes for a crummy experience.
- If you’re dreaming of the Bears trading for Kevin O’Connell, you can stop that right now. The NFL Coach of the Year candidate says he loves being the Vikings head coach and it sounds like he wants to stick around for the long haul. (NFL Media)
- Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst says that wants his team to act with a sense of urgency in 2025. I’m not sure if the Packers lacked urgency this past season, but there was something off about the team. It was not the crisp, well-oiled machine that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. Not that I’m complaining about it. But it was an observation that has been rattling around in my head since the first time the Bears and Packers squared off. Hope it continues!
- There’s no business like snow business: Matthew Stafford is getting the Rams ready for a snow game in Philadelphia against the Eagles. (Pro Football Talk)
- Sharing because I love snowy football shots:
- I’m loving the new-look Chicago Cubs alternate jerseys. Someone took a creative risk and it is paying off:
- Tab has three stars and key takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ shootout loss to the Nashville Predators.
- It’s time for the Chicago Bulls to blow it up. No, seriously. (BN Bulls)
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Whoa: The Cubs Have NEW Alternate Jerseys and They Are AWESOME www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2025/01…
— Bleacher Nation (@bleachernation.bsky.social) January 16, 2025 at 9:15 PM
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