🥃If you were worried about the Bears rushing into a decision on a new head coach, it may be time to reset your expectations.
Although they may not necessarily be waiting for their new GM to begin requesting interviews (I could conceive of reasons why this might actually make sense), the Bears look like they’re planning to cast a pretty wide net, and that’ll take some time to work through. Doug Pederson and Leslie Frazier are two of the early names on the list, and now the Bears are reportedly with B꧋ills Offensive Coordinator💝 Brian Daboll.
Chicago has r🔯equested permission to 𝄹interview Bills’ OC Brian Daboll for the Bears’ HC job, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)
If it feels like we’ve been discussing Daboll for a while, it’s because we have. Daboll was reportedly on the team’s short-list in November, and had been mentioned as a potential candidate on several occasions before that.
Of course, the Bears aren’t alone in their interest in Buffalo’s play-caller and offensive design chief. as a team wanting to interview Daboll. None of this is surprising, mind you. Daboll’s Bills check in having put up the third most points and fifth most yards on offense in 2021. So, yeah, this is the kind of candidate the Bears *SHOULD* interview early in the process.
For what it’s worth, Daboll has one of the most interesting résumés in football. Working with Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, and Andy Reid will certainly turn heads. What Daboll has done with QB Josh Allen has been remarkable. Allen’s development has taken leaps under Daboll’s leadership. To go from an athletic thrower and runner to honest-to-goodness awesome quarterback takes some coaching up. And considering Justin Fields’ talents, teaming him with Daboll could be a high-octane combo if everything else falls in line.
There might be some hesitance to go with the hot offensive coordinator of the moment after the last head-coaching search. But Chicago shouldn’t let the failures of the past scare them away from today’s top candidates.
But should the Bears go with that type of target (again), a prudent move might be to hire one with different backgrounds, instead of one who worked under just one system. And that’s where Daboll fits in.
