Press Conferences Today - 11:45AM CST Poles/Warren, 12:15 Thomas Brown

[Myk]

Poles has not improved our offensive line. Seems like the elephant in the room to me.

#trenches

That phrase means the issue is ignored.
It hasn't been ignored. It is mentioned every game.

My guess is judging from where the drafts were spent the offensive line is a result of Flus getting what he wants.
I mean come on, 2 DBs and then a bunch of trade down for oline says the defensive HC is getting his way, the trenches first GM is not.

 

[KittiesKorner]

That phrase means the issue is ignored.
It hasn't been ignored. It is mentioned every game.

My guess is judging from where the drafts were spent the offensive line is a result of Flus getting what he wants.
I mean come on, 2 DBs and then a bunch of trade down for oline says the defensive HC is getting his way, the trenches first GM is not.

Could also mean that which lineman they draft high or bring in consistently suck or can’t stay healthy?

 

[IBleedBearsBlood]

"... shadows and dust"

 

[Myk]

lineman

Keyword, lineMAN LOL

I think a lot of the oline is coaching. I don't understand why but the OC change had them looking somewhat better.
I still say it has to be a lot of Morgan because the same problem existed with Getsy and Waldron but that problem was largely gone with Brown.

 

[KittiesKorner]

I mean ermmk. At least Caleb crossed that 47-sack mark to add to his league records.

 

[legendxofxlink]

The Bears have lost to 4 of the 6 best teams in terms of point differential, by an average of 2.5 PPG. They’re so damn close to being one of those top teams… instead they’re viewed as the laughing stock of the league. It’s kinda crazy…. If Brown is a decent HC, he has a team that could win out.

 

[iueyedoc]

I keep wondering if I should care or not. I have no reason to believe Poles would get the right guy even if Warren wasn't involved. He found Flus without Warren... so the bar is so low that Warren couldn't make it worse if he tried.

Why do people insist on propagating bullshit?
This is just a horseshit false narrative.
You can dislike Poles as a GM but at least do it for factual reasons.
It is well documented that the Bears had narrowed the HC pool to Flus, Quin, and Caldwell before Poles was ever interviewed and that Polian had a hard on for Flus and had a second interview scheduled for Flus before even having contacted Poles for consideration.

Bears GM interview tracker:
(Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles (Jan. 21). Poles will have a second interview Tuesday, according to the NFL Network.)

Source: #Bears planning second interview next week with #Colts DC Matt Eberflus for their head-coaching position.


11:51 AM · Jan 19, 2022

 

[iueyedoc]

This is incorrect. The reason they interviewed Flus is because they got from the GM candidates a list of HC candidates they preferred and Flus was on Poles list among others. Once Poles became a GM finalist he was asked if he wanted to interview anyone else for HC and he declined.

Wrong. They had interviewed Flus and requested a second interview before ever contacting Poles. Bill Polian wanted a Flus/Morocco Brown pairing. Note my post above, the Bears had requested a second interview with Flus on Jan 19, 2 days before Poles first interview.

FFS, Poles was hired, signed his contract, had 3 already scheduled interviews and the Bears hired Flus within24 hrs. How gullible are you to believe he was allowed to seek out his own candidates? His choices were Moe, Larry, or Curly. Shemp or Joe were never an option

 

[DefNextYear]

Why do people insist on propagating bullshit?
This is just a horseshit false narrative.
You can dislike Poles as a GM but at least do it for factual reasons.
It is well documented that the Bears had narrowed the HC pool to Flus, Quin, and Caldwell before Poles was ever interviewed and that Polian had a hard on for Flus and had a second interview scheduled for Flus before even having contacted Poles for consideration.

Bears GM interview tracker:
(Kansas City Chiefs executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles (Jan. 21). Poles will have a second interview Tuesday, according to the NFL Network.)

Source: #Bears planning second interview next week with #Colts DC Matt Eberflus for their head-coaching position.


11:51 AM · Jan 19, 2022

I've already stated I made a mistake in my wording in this thread, but I'll edit it to avoid more of this.

 

[remydat]

Wrong. They had interviewed Flus and requested a second interview before ever contacting Poles. Bill Polian wanted a Flus/Morocco Brown pairing. Note my post above, the Bears had requested a second interview with Flus on Jan 19, 2 days before Poles first interview.

FFS, Poles was hired, signed his contract, had 3 already scheduled interviews and the Bears hired Flus within24 hrs. How gullible are you to believe he was allowed to seek out his own candidates? His choices were Moe, Larry, or Curly. Shemp or Joe were never an option

Question: Did you have any other candidates in mind other than the three? Was Matt Eberflus on your list

"That's a good question. So when we went through the process, it was a Zoom first so I was able to give a list of candidates I really liked. Matt was on that. When I got here in person, we brought him in and the moment he walked through the room I knew he was the guy. Especially when he started going through his plan. The big thing to know is, I reach out to a lot of people to make sure I'm lined up the right way. I reach out to people that have done it and been successful at it. Every single person said when you know, you know. When you know you got one, you got one. And I'm a guy that when I have conviction about it, it's time to go. That's kinda how everything fell into place."

10 quotes that stood out in the Ryan Poles/Matt Eberflus press conference

The 10 quotes that stood out the most in the Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus press conference on Monday afternoon.

247sports.com

Poles made it clear that Eberflus was on his list of head coaching candidates. McCaskey reiterated this at 1 hour 13 minuted of the video.

Again Poles made it clear he had final say and was asked if he wanted to add anyone. He did not because per his own words he had honed in on Eberflus due to their previous relationship both being Armstrong clients.

 

[Moses Moreno]

The Bears have lost to 4 of the 6 best teams in terms of point differential, by an average of 2.5 PPG. They’re so damn close to being one of those top teams… instead they’re viewed as the laughing stock of the league. It’s kinda crazy…. If Brown is a decent HC, he has a team that could win out.

You listen to the Warren/Poles presser and then followed up with the Thomas Brown presser and it's like Thomas Brown is an alien. A wildly capable, clear and concise leader with an understanding that this is a huge opportunity for himself.

 

[iueyedoc]

Poles made it clear that Eberflus was on his list of head coaching candidates. McCaskey reiterated this at 1 hour 13 minuted of the video.

Again Poles made it clear he had final say and was asked if he wanted to add anyone. He did not because per his own words he had honed in on Eberflus due to their previous relationship both being Armstrong clients.

I can't believe the 1 day hired GM didn't come out and say I was offered and accepted the job contingent on hiring one of the three finalists the paid search committee had narrowed it down to before ever even contacting me for my first interview.

And unless you believe "his list of head coaching candidates" was FLus , Caldwell, and Quinn, then he clearly was not able to interview his candidates.

Say even Flus was one of his candidates, he never saw another. George even said," I was fine with any of the three that finalists he wanted ..."

Do you believe the George and his committee spent two weeks interviewing dozens of HC candidates and that they would accept their recommendations were going to be unceremoniously and embarrassingly shit canned day one by the new GM?

I mean I guess you do hold PFF "stats" as gospel and had this LOLZ post just a few weeks ago, so in your mind anything is possible.

Obviously Flus is a hot topic right now and there is a lot of hysteria right now. So thought I would state my position on Flus.

THE POSITIVES

1. Invoking his record during a time Poles clearly tore down the roster is a sure sign you are IMO being biased. He had one of the least talented teams his first year and a half. It is also dumb because we clearly needed that tear down and shit record to acquire the No 1 pick so the fact we have Caleb, Moore, etc. is proof positive that tear down was necessary.

2. Having left over animosity because of Fields is also biased. For all the Fields stans out there who swore Tomlin would never switch to Russ, the fact is Timlin recognized clear what Fields is and isn't and promptly switch to Russ and the offense has been cooking much better with Russ.

3. Any reasonable starting point for judging Flus' record IMO starts with after we acquired Sweat. From that point Flus is 9-7 with the Bears being outscored by 37 in the 7 losses ie an average of 5.3 points with no loss greater than 8. So basically we have been in every game since Sweat was acquired. I will repeat for all the whining and crying the Bears have played 16 games since the acquistion of Sweat and the could have realistically won all 16 of games. That is despite all the issues on offense and all the game management issues.

4. Flus' D has been terrific since the acqusition of Sweat. This cannot be debated. That is the main reason we have never lost a game by more than once score since we got Sweat. We are currently at 13 games having not given up more than 21 points and have a top 5 defense and in some records No 1 since we acquired Sweat. Many on here did not believe we could be a top 10 D without a 2nd stud pass rusher and so far many of you were wrong but won't ever admit that.

5. This team does not quit under Flus despite all the games otherwise. This pas game thread was filled with doom and gloom and people claiming they were turning off the TV to enjoy their Sunday and yet again the Bears under Flus found a way to hang in there and almost pulled out an improbale win.

THE NEGATIVES

1. His game management and decision making in critical moments sucks. The simple reality is instead of being 9-7 since Sweat we would likely be around 13 and 3 if Flus had made better decisions in end game scenarios.

2. Can he and his staff be trusted to develop Caleb? While Caleb has his own problems particularly with his accuracy and holding the ball too long at times, I am not convinced they are doing enough to just drill into him to take what the D gives. There is probably too much faith they are putting in Caleb to make the right decisions rather than forcing him through scheme to taken the easy 5-7 yard wins that Daniels took against the Bears D. This is especially important against better Ds like the Bears.

3. His OC hires leave a lot to be desired at this point. In addition to the impact of this one the above, Waldron has a tendency to outsmart himself. That 4th and 1 pass to Moore was stupid as was the Kramer play. Mind you not because they are bad plays but because they are plays that should only be called if you failed at what you do best first. In short yardage what you so best is run RJ behind Kramer. Yet we didnt see that play in short yardage at all until the TD with 25 seconds. I have no problem trying that Kramer play if we had failed with RJ on 1st and 2nd down and need to add a wrinkle. Running that play on 1st down was stupid.

4. His teams this far have a tendency to start slow particularly against better teams and it tends to feel like we are always chasing the game. Can he coach this team to a more cosnsitent performance through all 4 quarters?

5. There is a question regarding whether he can hold the players, coaches and himself accountable. What does he do with a guy like Tyrique or even Hardy and more importantly when does he stand up and say for example I fucked up nto defending the sidelines the play before the Hail Mary.

THE VERDICT

First, I think talk of firing now is silly and overly melodramtic. For all the angst and hysteria over the Hail Mary I still go back to since he got Sweat this has been a competitive team that again has never lost a game by more than one score.

So my sense is we are at a turning point in the season. Whether the negatives outweigh the positives IMO comes down to how we close out the season particularly against the division. If we split in the division or better then I think Flus gets another season to continue to try and build off the positives. If we collapse after this loss or Caleb looks to have stagnated or regressed then I think we move on.

If we do indeed move on then I would be inclined to get a proven guy. For all the hoopla over Ben Johnson, he has not developed a young QB and his vaunted O played poorly for most of 2 matchups against Flus. Now if his O torches the Bears this next 2 matchups I might reconsider but if they look mid again then I am out of Johnson. Go get a guy like Vrabel or even Bellicheat provided he has no personnel power. Hell give a 2nd for McVay if you have to like someome suggested.

 

[remydat]

I can't believe the 1 day hired GM didn't come out and say I was offered and accepted the job contingent on hiring one of the three finalists the paid search committee had narrowed it down to before ever even contacting me for my first interview.

And unless you believe "his list of head coaching candidates" was FLus , Caldwell, and Quinn, then he clearly was not able to interview his candidates.

Say even Flus was one of his candidates, he never saw another.

Do you believe the George and his committee spent two weeks interviewing dozens of HC candidates and that they would accept their recommendations were going to be unceremoniously and embarrassingly shit canned day one by the new GM?

I mean I guess you do hold PFF "stats" as gospel and had this LOLZ post just a few weeks ago, so in your mind anything is possible.

Question: Did you have any other candidates in mind other than the three? Was Matt Eberflus on your list

"That's a good question. So when we went through the process, it was a Zoom first so I was able to give a list of candidates I really liked. Matt was on that. When I got here in person, we brought him in and the moment he walked through the room I knew he was the guy. Especially when he started going through his plan. The big thing to know is, I reach out to a lot of people to make sure I'm lined up the right way. I reach out to people that have done it and been successful at it. Every single person said when you know, you know. When you know you got one, you got one. And I'm a guy that when I have conviction about it, it's time to go. That's kinda how everything fell into place."


I take Poles at his word. Is it possible he is lying to cover up for McCaskey? Sure. However it is also possible you simply want to believe he is lying because you hate the McCaskeys.

In the end the best evidence we have of what happened is his own words. Anything else is just speculation which you are free to believe.

 

[Myk]

I mean ermmk. At least Caleb crossed that 47-sack mark to add to his league records.

Jeepers, I can't figure out why we bust QBs.

 

[Myk]

Wrong. They had interviewed Flus and requested a second interview before ever contacting Poles. Bill Polian wanted a Flus/Morocco Brown pairing. Note my post above, the Bears had requested a second interview with Flus on Jan 19, 2 days before Poles first interview.

FFS, Poles was hired, signed his contract, had 3 already scheduled interviews and the Bears hired Flus within24 hrs. How gullible are you to believe he was allowed to seek out his own candidates? His choices were Moe, Larry, or Curly. Shemp or Joe were never an option

You have to admit if Poles came in and hired a HC in 2 days that probably wouldn't be the best candidate. LOL

I don't know if people are that stupid to believe he hired a HC (that was already interviewed) on his own that fast, or they're too stupid to follow a timeline and draw conclusions from it.

 

[Butkus34]

We as fans should hope that Brown proves himself and then gets the job. Why? Because it removes all chances of Bears decision makers to make any dipshit repeated mistakes of the past.
Hey the reigning Coach of the Year is available and would like to work with Jay Cutler and runs an offense that is tailored to Cutler's strengths. Oh, the last coach didn't do well in press conferences so that is what we are focussing on. No thanks best coach available, we will go with the nerd that talks softly and intelligently in a press conferene. Oh that guy sucked at leading men, let's get our rookie GM and get the guy that just got fired as he can lead men.
Hey J Fox, you are old and out dated, we want the opposite, let's get the shiny new toy that is part of KC's success. Dammit, well Nagy you were a phony so we want the opposite.
What's the last good coach we had? Hey there's this Lovie Smith cloan, let's get him. Oh he didn't really know what to do and dammit, we listened to old NFL people who don't know the current NFL so we didn't even look at Kevin O'Connel or other up and comers because we got Nagyied.
Dammit, that guy was a disaster but we don't fire guys mid-season. Oh the players are pissed. Wait there is a coach who is steady, good at press conferences, already leads the men on the team, seems like he has a clear precise way to fix this and already started to clean up the mess left by the lump that was the OC and is already here. Let's give him 5 games, but we need a leader of men.


Maybe it's best to hope that Brown does so well that the Bears don't get a chance to make decisions about other people.

 

[TheEarlofRobin]

Hey the reigning Coach of the Year is available and would like to work with Jay Cutler and runs an offense that is tailored to Cutler's strengths. Oh, the last coach didn't do well in press conferences so that is what we are focussing on. No thanks best coach available, we will go with the nerd that talks softly and intelligently in a press conferene.

I never understood that one. Trestman was an atrocious public speaker. Arians actually made sense when he spoke. Yet that was apparently the reason why the Bears chose Trestman over Arians....

 

[zabavka]

Finally watched it and Poles looked liked he was forced to fire Eberflus to me.

Poles might be next if they can't agree on the right coach.

 

[MikeDitkaPolishSausage]

Finally watched it and Poles looked liked he was forced to fire Eberflus to me.

Poles might be next if they can't agree on the right coach.

I think Warren was going to have a bigger say in the HC search either way. I think Poles looked upset because he knows he’s on the hot seat and losing power.

 

[baselman1974]

No good coach was willing to wait for tear down. This is a win now league.

Jim Caldwell and Dan Quinn will try to win. God forbid maybe develop Fields. Trace Armstrong engineered this duo. Poles clearly didn’t want that.

So Eberflus and Poles made a deal that Eberflus isn’t responsible for the 1st year. Problem is Eberflus couldn’t even pick a good coaching staff. Beginning of 2nd year two coaches were gone. That’s red flags. Also Eberflus lost three games they should’ve won. Denver, Detroit , and Cleveland. Could’ve won Vikings and TB game too. Bad play calling lost those games.