The forces of the status quo, conventional wisdom, the Chicago media elite, and the pro football Deep State have repeatedly reassured Bears fans that losing Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator won't negatively impact the team because Matt Nagy will have his pick of "the best and the brightest" coaches available to lead the Bear defense next season.

Not surprisingly, this shibboleth has already proven partially false.

The team's first choice to coach the D next year, Todd Bowles, has rejected the Bears overtures, instead opting to reunite with Bruce Arians in Tampa (!).

The remaining list of ostensible top candidates is largely uninspiring:

1) Chuck Pagano--Probably the top choice on the market, but his illness history is a concern.
2) Gregg Williams--Effective coach, but a narcissistic sociopath such as this guy would probably undermine team chemistry.
3) Steve Wilks--Ron Rivera disciple who engineered a collapse of the Phoenix defense in part by insisting on a switch from a 3-4 to a 4-3 scheme. Available evidence suggests he's a dolt.
4) Vance Joseph--Solid defensive coach who has faced multiple claims of sexual harassment. Pass.
5) Ed Donatell-Seems like he's headed to Denver with Fangio. The fact that he apparently wasn't Pace/Nagy's first choice to replace Fangio is revealing.

Who else is on the radar for this position? Pat Fitzgerald? Matt Le Fleur's dog walker? Light 'em up, Chicago! Thrill me with your acumen.

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Rod Marinelli

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Ugh

The options are terrible

Is Vince Tobin dead?

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Why not just let Mack coordinate the D?

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

That seems to be Bernstein's default position: Mack makes everyone great.

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Chuck Pagano may be a very good DC (likely given his upbringing in the Ravens system) but I cannot trust him simply for that one punt play against the Patriots a few years ago.

How was that play allowed to happen?!

If you need a solid but unspectacular motivational speech using the word circumstances, Pagano's your man.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Not surprising, as he felt that way about LeBron and Ty Lue.

I think the perception that a DC would relish the chance to coach the talented Bears D is wrong...it's more like a no-win situation. If they continue to be dominant, credit will still go to Fangio, and if they stumble, the new guy will get all the blame.

Bowles, on the other hand, has a chance to turn Tampa from dreadful to respectable. And of course, Arians won't coach forever and Bowles can succeed him, whereas Nagy looks to be here a long time (at least for now).

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If its raining, Jason Heyward can do it.

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I had recommended they expand the search to include college guys and I recommended Schoop (not John Shoop) from Mississippi State and Tressel from Michigan State. There are others.

Fangio leaving will undoubtedly have an impact but there simply has to be someone out there who knows what he is doing on D. Let's see what kind of talent the Ravens have at D coach. There defense was even better than the Bears even under greater stress.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I disagree. If the next DC throws down a top five defensive year, he will immediately be under consideration for HC jobs in 2019 or 2020

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Agreed. Given the luck they had with health and turnovers this year, it's pretty much a guarantee the defense will regress at least slightly next year even if they had the best DC in the history of the game. Those two categories are just about impossible to sustain excellence at year to year.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Didn't the 1986 Bears actually have a better D than '85 (at least statistically) and were at least top 5, and yet I don't recall Vince Tobin getting a lot of HC offers at the time.

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Yeah this is the right approach. Don't get a retread. Find a guy on a successful staff. Isnt there a young guy on Dallas that people rave about

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

You want a young guy coming from a 4-3 Cover 2 scheme?

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No...just saying someone like that who fitd what they want to do.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Bob Shoop is John Shoop's brother.

I agree with you about kicking the tires on the Ravens' defensive staff.

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Rumored to be in the mix for the Miami HC job.

Mike pettine.... if only because he looks like a grumpy matt nagy so they can be good cop bad cop team

Is he available?

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We'll give him to you for Jackson.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I know this is a popular narrative right now in the city. However, their top two defensive players each missed two regular season games (three total for Jackson), Floyd was rendered lame for the first half of the season and Callahan missed the second half. They had their share of injuries.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He was a HC for five years

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

They were very healthy on that side of the ball in comparison to the 31 other NFL teams. It's not just a local narrative.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

, yes 10 years later

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Any Ryan boys available?

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Chicago was his first NFL job and teams were much more demanding in terms of years of experience on a resume to be considered for a head coaching position than they are today.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I'm hoping for Rex Ryan, I'd like to see more aggressiveness. Lotta talent here, the main purpose of a 3-4 is to disguise blitzers..Fangio rarely blitzed.

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If they go the retread route then I would rather have Rex Ryan as opposed to the others listed. Maybe Pagano after that.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Good QB's torch the blitz. Vic Fangio knows what he is doing, Rex Ryan not so much.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul