Luke Getsy: A Rebuilding Asset
The Bears got more with Luke Getsy than a play caller, although it would appear they certainly have this as well.
They have a coordinator who knows how an offense must be installed. They also brought in someone with extreme knowledge of the NFC North Division from seven years coaching in it, perhaps a more objective look at some of their own problems, and maybe even a link to future talent acquisition.
That last benefit pertains in general to all players, although some Bears followers would like it to pertain to Green Bay wide receiver Davante Adams.
Adams is out of contract when free agency starts and the Packers have a difficult salary cap situation to negotiate. Overthecap.com reports them at $50.8 million over the cap, and taking into account reports Adams wants a deal averaging $30 million a year, his return does appear problematic.
This doesn't mean he would be coming to Chicago with the Bears $28 million under the cap, but it's nice for Bears fans to dream. It's possible for the Packers to retain him by restructuring salaries of other players. They could have enough of it available to get this done, particularly if they cut some players.
Besides, the rumors continue to persist Adams will be sent with Aaron Rodgers out of the conference all together.
"Again, Davante and I have a very special relationship," Getsy said. "I got to be there with him as he was drafted. I got there the same year as he was drafted. I transitioned to coach the receivers room two years later. Kind of at a transition point for him in his career so we were able to enjoy that success together."
Getsy wasn't suggesting anything about Adams and the Bears, only responding to a question about his relationship with Adams started when he was a quality control coach in Adams' first two years, strengthened as Packers receivers coach in 2016 and 2017, then continued when he became quarterbacks coach 2019-21.
"The thing that stands out about him more than anything is his commitment, passion, and drive for this game," Getsy said. "It was relentless. There was nothing that was going to get in his way.
"Like, we knew he had the talent but once he was able to put all of his thought processes and his approach together, I mean yeah he's just taken it from there. Again, just the drive, the will, the passion, and then how infectious that was to everyone around him to want to match that. I think that's what I'll always take away from him."
In no way was Getsy suggesting the Bears would have interest in Adams, although it is true they need more receivers.
Spending $30 million a year on a receiver who would turn 30 during the first year of the coaching regime seems wasteful but teams have done stranger things and succeeded. The Bears need to be aiming more at 25- and 26-year-old free agents or draft picks to find their own Ja'Marr Chase.
Where the Benefits Really Exist
Getsy did suggest he can be of help to GM Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus in assessing the roster, but only when asked.
"Well, I mean, you're talking about a bigger picture thing that Ryan and Matt, that's their deal," Getsy said. "But I will be here if they need me to lean on.
"Obviously, being in this division, not just for the people that were here in Chicago, you know, I have a pretty good perspective on the entire division. So yes, I'll be here for them but that's the path that they go down. That's their responsibility so I'll let those guys do that and I will just be there for them if they need anything or need anything to throw at me."
This can be something more valuable even than letting them know what the Packers thought of certain players as the Bears roster is being formed. He can give perspective even on how the Packers attacked the Bears, although this will change somewhat now because the defense will be completely different.
What's more valuable is having an actual coordinator who is building an attack in a way so everyone from Justin Fields down to practice squad types understand the what's and why's of it all rather than simply installing an offense and requiring them to learn where to go. The benefits of this are huge.
"I mean if you look at previous experiences that I’ve had, you would see that offenses change and evolve as you go through different years," Getsy said. "It's not like you run the same football plays every single year or from even one game to the next. You're gonna evolve.
"If you have these set of players playing in this game, and the next game those players are injured, you can't do the same thing. It's all about tapping into what those specific position groups do best."
This reflects how Getsy says the offense will be built around players' strengths. If it's built around players it won't be put in the same way the Bears did it under Matt Nagy. They brought in the Kansas City offense then and everyone had to run it.
So what Getsy expects is not simply Green Bay south when it comes to this offense. His assistants know this.
"These men, they all bought in to that," Getsy said. 'I laid it out for these guys in this offensive staff, that this is the mindset that want to have. We want this thing to be ours. This isn't gonna be somebody else's or a copycat of somebody else's. This is gonna be ours.
"We all have our experiences and we're gonna put them together and we're gonna build this thing together."
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
