Bears Coaching Search Has Jumped the Shark
At first it was refreshing. You heard words like thorough and meticulous. Next, you started to scratch your head a bit and asked “what is going on? Is there a plan?” The latest sighting of Chicago Bears GM was a leather jacket wearing Emery with a pair of water skis headed towards Lake Michigan. Don’t get the reference? The Chicago Bears head coaching search has jumped the shark a la Fonzie’s infamous shark jumping episode that sent Happy Days into a tailspin from which it would never recover. The list of candidates, legitimate or otherwise, has swelled to 13. 13! When is it enough? When will this madness end?
Rumors were swirling over the weekend that the Bears would be hosting the two finalists at Halas Hall by the end of this week. That seems to be an impossibility since the list of initial candidates keeps growing by the day. When you hear the endless list of candidates popping up every day, it makes me believe Emery doesn’t have a clue who is out there. Shouldn’t the GM of your team have a “short list” of candidates? If 13 is Emery’s short list, I’d hate to see the full list.
And it’s not just the volume of candidates that’s maddening, it’s the names that are popping up on the list. When I saw Mike Singletary’s name come up on the list, I nearly fell off my chair and it moved me to LOWER THE BOOM on the Bears coaching search.
If there’s one candidate who’s the antithesis of just about everything Phil Emery described in his Fire Lovie Presser, it’s Mike Singletary the coach. Mike Singletary the player personified excellence and preparation, toughness and grit. Mike Singletary the coach will best be remembered for his ranting press conference and dropping his pants in the middle of the locker room during a halftime speech. That’s the way to “command a room” as Emery put it.
Singletary’s candidacy reeks of McCaskey. Every part of this search up until now gave the appearance the meddling McCaskeys were out of the football side of the business. This move completely undermines that. And if this is not a McCaskey favor being called in and it’s just Phil doing his due diligence, then why not a Jon Gruden sighting at Halas Hall? Even if you’re not going to hire him, why not bring him in, feed him a nice lunch or dinner and get some ideas from him? If you can bring Singletary in, there’s no reason not to go to the other end of the spectrum and bring in a legitimate candidate with a real offensive mind.
Paralysis by analysis is a term I’ve heard used to describe a situation where the over-analysis of a subject forestalls decisions and actions. I think it perfectly describes this Bears head coaching search. Either that or jump the shark. In any case, it’s time for Emery to stop being a scout’s scout and start being the GM. It’s time to make a decision and pick the head coach already!