| 09 January 2010
While the prevailing thought may be that the Bears are only going to interview Mike Martz and Jeremy Bates and make decision from those two, there is four other names floating around at Halas Hall. These four other candidates in my opinion represent some of the better candidates I've heard discussed given their long time experience in the NFL and success both current and past. The question is though just how serious are the Bears about hiring a truly experienced coach, who does not have ties to either Lovie Smith or Jay Cutler. The answer to that question may honestly determine the exact level of success the offense will have in 2010.
Chan Gailey was relieved at the beginning of the season in Kansas City because his offensive philosophy didn't quite mesh with new coach Todd Haley's style. Gailey's resume however speaks for itself, including successful stints as an offensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos (John Elway's QB coach and offensive coordinator in the late 80s) Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The only knock on Gailey would be that he's an old retread that's been the offensive coordinator at numerous stops and his struggles as a coordinator recently may be a sign he's on the down side of his career. The Chiefs' offense the past two seasons struggled to make any head way in the NFL ranking near the bottom in each and every offensive category dudring Gailey's two year tenure.
Jim Fassel is another sort of retread candidate that is being talked about around Halas Hall. Fassel was a successful offensive coordinator with the New York Giants in the late 90s before taking over the head coaching spot and leading the Giants to a Super Bowl appearance in 2000. Fassel helped to resurrect Kerry Collins' career in New York and had a fairly successful stint as the head coach before things fizzled out as fast as they were successful for him.
Fassel's last job as an offensive coordinator was disastrous as offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. Fassel was fired after two seasons with the Ravens after their offense ranked near the bottom of the league in every category. Of note though was that the Ravens have never been a very talent friendly offense with a very old and beyond his prime Steve McNair at the helm and no real receivers to throw to in Baltimore. As with any good coach it helps your coaching skills if you have legitimate talent to coach. The Ravens meanwhile have always been known for their talent on defense and have only recently begun to address their shortcomings on offense.
Bill Musgrave is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons and is earning rave reviews for his development of second year QB Matt Ryan. Ryan as we all know had one of the best rookie years as a QB in NFL history. Ryan played like seasoned veteran throughout most of the 2008 season. Musgrave was a player under Bill Walsh, George Seifert and Mike Shanahan in San Francisco so his style would definitely of the same west coast brand that we have seen throughout the league. Musgrave would seem to be a solid candidate with his QB coaching background having coached QBs at numerous stops around the league. Coaching stops include the Redskins and with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
A name that is also on the list
is Al Saunders who is currently an offensive consultant with the Baltimore Ravens. Saunders comes from the Don Coryell coaching tree and was targeted by Smith initially when he was hired as the coach in 2004. The Bears wound up with Terry Shea instead but with Saunders currently available it would seem a wise idea for the Bears to check to see if he's interested. Saunders was a record setting offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs. Saunders is said to have very diverse play book of around 700 pages of plays based a lot on the aforementioned Coryell offense. Saunders comes highly recommended from Redskins legendary coach Joe Gibbs. Gibbs spoke very highly of Saunders on the NBC playoff pre-game show on Saturday.
Gibbs stated, "Al has a lot of experience. Just go back to what he did in Kansas City where they set records," Gibbs said. "Al has been around a long time. He is a very knowledgeable guy. I think if anyone were to get Al, you're getting a real polished veteran guy who has been around a long time.''
The main criticism is that Saunders' play book is too large to digest, and the Bears need a major offensive improvement in one year and the implementation of his offense may take more than a year for Cutler and the receivers to get down.
Saunders would seem to be one of the ideal candidates out there given he's had success at nearly everyone of his stops along the way. So long as the QBs are able to pick up his system and have a strong quick accurate arm, then the offense is a very effective offense.
The last and most intriguing of the Bears' candidates is current Green Bay Packers QB coach Tom Clements. Clements has been given the majority of the credit for having second year starter Aaron Rodgers playing at such a high level after the departure of Brett Favre. Clements has an extensive background working with QBs having been a QB coach at four other stops in the NFL including, Pittsburgh Steelers (2001-03), Kansas City Chiefs (2000) and New Orleans Saints (1997-99).
Clements also oversaw a mini revival of Brett Favre's career in 2007 when Favre had a near career year in the twilight of his career. Clements hasn't always just been a QBs coach he also was an offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, and received his first job coaching in the NFL by none other than DA COACH, Mike Ditka.
In each stop Clements has made in his career he has had success getting career years out of the players under him. Notably Tommy Madox and Kordell Stewart as well as Elvis Grbac. Clements seems to make the most sense out of any of the coaches the Bears could think to interview given his long time success as a QBs coach. Clements could combine his skills with another QB coach to directly tutor and develop Jay Cutler. This is the most important aspect of the hire the Bears need to focus on. Finding someone who has had a ton of success as a QBs coach in the league at numerous times throughout his career. Someone who will have the direct command and respect of Cutler and for good reason.
As further more recent of Clements being able to have a direct effect in bringing a QB along in an area of weakness, Aaron Rodgers was not thought of to be a QB that was great outside the pocket or on roll outs. In 2009 however Rodgers showed great improvement in making plays on the run. As well as passing for over 4,000-yards for the second consecutive season as a starter, Rodgers made the Pro Bowl in 2009. Rodgers is only the second QB in the history of the league to pass for over 4,000-yards as a starter in the NFL during his first season as a regular full time starter. The other QB to achieve this feat was Kurt Warner with the Rams.
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