Bear Digest

Insider's Take on a Bears Coach Points Away from Ben Johnson

Analysis: The leader of men option is one the Bears could consider if the opinion of SI.com's Albert Breer is correct, and the coaching name mentioned is an obvious one.

Gene Chamberlain

Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel works with cornerback Myles Harden at Browns camp. Vrabel is a Browns advisor this year.
Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel works with cornerback Myles Harden at Browns camp. Vrabel is a Browns advisor this year. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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The leader of men option regarding the next Bears coach received a big boost even as it appeared on Monday night in Minnesota that the Matt Eberflus/Shane Waldron/Thomas Brown regime may have ruined Caleb Williams without help from a head coach who is a QB savant.

Williams writhing on the bench in agony after a big hit drew him both pity and condemnation among fans on social media but it's apparent from his play that he's not doing some of the things he did earlier this season in reading defenses and seeing his receivers—at least not like when he was more successful earlier.

All of this takes on secondary importance now to the team's search for a new head coach and Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer painted a scenario Tueday, based entirely on his own opinion and not a report, where the main name at the top of the Bears' wish list is former Titans coach Mike Vrabel.

On with ESPN AM-1000's Kap and J. Hood, Breer was talking about potential Bears targets. 

"I think Vrabel would be at the top of the Bears' list," Breer said.

Then he cautioned against anyone taking him out of context or jumping to conclusions, saying he is reporting this as fact rather than his opinion.

"Now I think that, I'm not saying, I'm not reporting that," Breer said. "I don't want to see htat all over Twitter."

Too late. It already was there and being interpreted as a report, which was absurd.


"But I think just putting pieces together, that Vrabel would be at the top of the Bears' list," Breer said.


The tie is Poles came to Kansas City in a scouting capacity just when Vrabel was playing his final two seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs in 2009 and 2010. So they are familiar with each other.

The other part of it is Breer doubts Vrabel or any other experienced head coach like possibly Brian Flores, would want to go to a place where they weren't happy with the history of the organizational structure. Scratch the Bears off their list, then.

The Bears couldn't be more dysfunctional in that way. What Breer thinks is the Bears may need to reset the relationship of coach, GM, president, owner so that the head coach is entirely comfortable that he is not going to face interference from others while reshaping a team he admits is not short on talent. Then the Bears could be an organization that appeals to Vrabel.

Breer even took this a bit further and suggested possible Vrabel underlings and associates to make sure he was comfortable and the offense and that Williams' development could occur the right way.

"I think that would probably mean, like bringing in someone like Ryan Cowden as his GM, who is with the Giants now but was with Mike in Tennessee," Breer said.

Cowden is Giants executive advisor to GM Joe Schoen and was vice-president of player personnel for the Titans five of his seven year with the team, all during the time Vrabel was Tennessee's coach.

If Cowden came as GM, what of Poles? The idea of organizational restructure might mean kicking Poles upstairs and Cowden as GM. All of this, still is pure speculation of course.

Either way, the part that could infuriate some Bears might be who Breer suggested might be Vrabel's QB savant to train Williams. One name was Tommy Rees, which should irritate no one. Rees is the son of former Bears college scouting director Bill Rees, and former Notre Dame QB who is currently passing game specialist and tight ends coach with the Browns. Rees was an offensive coordinator at Alabama and Notre Dame.

That's just one name. The other name Breer suggested was, of course, Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels, the failed Raiders and Broncos head coach, was Tom Brady's New England offensive coordinator while Vrabel played in New England.

"I think there's an appeal to Josh McDaniels under Mike Vrabel," Breer said. "That would be a setup if I'm the Bears that I would really pursue."

Prior to Breer appearing on the AM-1000 show, host David Kaplan and Jay Hood had been discussing Thomas Dimitroff being hired for a GM opening and bringing along Vrabel but not in Chicago.

Either way, none of this leans toward an offensive coordinator type being the next Bears coach, but if it did come down with McDaniels as a QB coach the Bears could at least be certain they had someone who had the ultimate success at one point as an OC.

And who Vrabel would want as an offensive coordinator would be something everyone would want to know, because he would be yet another Bears defensive side head coach.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.