The Chicago Bears are 3-8 with six games left. They're coming off a historic 4th quarter collapse in Detroit. Under normal circumstances, GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus are still safe. It's a rebuilding period. Setbacks were expected. However, these are not normal circumstances. The losses have been bad enough to raise serious questions about the coaching staff. Making it even murkier is the presence of team president Kevin Warren. One must not forget he arrived a year after the two men were hired.
He had no say in that process. George McCaskey made it clear Warren runs the show moving forward. Everybody answers to him, and he answers to ownership. That's the power structure. It means if Warren wants to make changes, he has the authority to do so. There are rumblings that changes are possible. The new president wants to shake up the football operations. Many wonder if that means Poles and Eberflus are out. So what would happen if that were the case?
Here is what I think Warren would do.
Kevin Warren has a background that paints a likely path.
General manager: Targets somebody with extensive experience
When Warren joined Minnesota in 2005, he watched how new ownership chose to approach changes. They opted to bring in Rick Spielman as their new primary personnel decision-maker. He'd held that same role in Miami from 2001 through 2004, showing some promising qualities as a drafter. He would go on to hold their GM position for almost two decades.
Warren also saw something similar during his early days in St. Louis when the Rams handed personnel duties to head coach Dick Vermeil. While not an executive, he'd been in the NFL for seven years and helped build the Eagles into a Super Bowl contender. He ended up drafting two future Hall of Famers, Orlando Pace and Tory Holt, while also signing Kurt Warner.
Conversely, Warren saw the dangers of hiring somebody untested when Detroit made Matt Millen their GM in 2001. That became a franchise disaster. If moving on from Poles must be done, expect Warren to tab somebody with prior experience.
Head coach: Targets somebody with an offensive background
It starts again with Vermeil in St. Louis. The Hall of Fame coach had an extensive offensive track record in college before becoming a head coach. Then it was Brad Childress in Minnesota, taking the team to the playoffs with Tarvaris Jackson and then the NFC Championship with Brett Favre. Warren also saw the same success play out in Green Bay for years with Mike McCarthy and then Matt Lafleur.
Then there is what Kevin Warren saw in the Big Ten. The three-headed monster of Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State has largely ruled the conference. All three head coaches, Ryan Day, Jim Harbaugh, and James Franklin, come from offensive backgrounds. Warren understands the sport goes through the quarterback position. To maximize success, you need a head coach who can nurture it.
There is no telling who he might go after. His list of connections across the football landscape is massive. It could go in any number of directions. One thing is clear. Eberflus is on the hottest seat.
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