Bates was the offensive play-caller (weird, I know, but it’s southern Cal) under Pete Carroll at USC last season and before that, he was the OC and QB coach in Denver under Mike Shanahan.  See the connection to our golden boy?

When I first heard about him, I was all for the hire.  A young, high energy guy who is buddy-buddy with Cutler?  What could possibly go wrong?

After listening to this interview, I heard some things that raised a red flag or two.  Have a listen and let’s discuss after the jump:

[podcast]http://fansidedblogs.net/podcasts/bears/bates.mp3[/podcast]

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Defense

Bob Babich led the 21^stranked Bears defense that has been in decline ever since he took it over after the 2006 Super Bowl season.  What bothers me most about the Bears’ D is that we make the same mistakes over and over again.  How many times can Danieal Manning not know the coverage?  I could forgive the Reggie Wayne touchdown in the Super Bowl.  Manning was a rookie back then.  As a third-year player, how could he pull the same boneheaded maneuver against the Texans best receiver in a must-win, season-on-the-line, win or go home game?  Let’s not forget the record-tying 99 yard bomb to Bernard Berrian.  Another blown coverage.  I blame the coaching staff for not correcting these errors.  Babich needs to be held accountable. (more…)