Boilernation

This photo was making the rounds in Chicago media yesterday. McCaskey actually walked through O'Hare in his Bears jacket and mask to meet Poles.

I really like that Poles made it clear before accepting the job that the HC hire would be his choice. Therefore, I'm really hoping he's bringing more candidates the 3 who have been leaked to have 2nd interviews. Field Yates gave him a glowing review yesterday on ESPN Chicago radio. One thing I really like about Poles: he's survived 3 different GM's in Kansas City and each of those GM's has promoted him. Sounds like he was doing something very well in their organization to not only be retained by the incoming GM, but to also get promoted. I'd be willing to give up another 1st round pick for Payton. I'm cringing at the idea of Jim Caldwell.

The QB AOC seems like the type of guy who will be working in Finance or Tech in the Chicago area and ten years from now nobody he meets will believe he was QB1 on a B1G roster. I'm curious to see who holds the backup spot coming into the Fall. Hoping for an injury free season, but it's been a long time since Purdue has played the same QB all season.

The MIC would have some major egg on it's face if a few members tried joining Center Grove/Carmel in a new Conference. Remember, the MIC is "culturally aligned." I can't see any conference other than the HCC willing to take on Center Grove. They would dominate in most sports with teams from Conference Indiana or Mid State. That won't be the case in the HCC.

I think Les Kline (Coach of '77 Title Team) was still the AD in 1994. I believe Bubba left Portage after the '93 season to coach OL at Valpo U. My recollection of Bubba was that he was the epitome of the type of guy you wanted coaching High School athletes. Just a great human being that had a passion for coaching.

My vote right now would go to Brian Daboll. Won a string of Super Bowls as a TE coach in New England, A College title as an OC at Alabama, and he's developed Josh Allen in Buffalo. In my opinion, the Bears need to go the offensive route and bring in a coach who knows what a winning culture looks like and can develop a QB. I don't want to trust the development of Fields to a Defensive minded Head Coach like Bowles, Flores, etc. Worst case scenario and it's a disaster with Fields having to learn a 3rd offense in a short amount of time. Best case scenario a quality OC is hired who then bolts in 2-3 yeras for a HC job. I much rather bring in an offensive minded HC to partner with Fields for his career.

Ha...good point! So, it's time for the patriarchs of the NFL to sell? I did hear recently that one of the Billionaires that contributed to Mel Tucker's extension has made it known he would like to buy the Lions from the Ford family and they obviously won't sell. I guess it could be worse than being a Bears fan.

And I believe that's the only way the children see the full extent of their wealth. I don't think they've amassed an enormous amount of wealth in a different business entity. I hope they sell, but I fear they care more about their Royalty status of being direct descandants of George Halas than they do about winning. I would love to know what people like the Rooney's, Mara's, and Jerry Jones of the NFL think about the McCaskey family. I assume pity.

I think the reality is IF the Bears actually move to Arlington Heights that it won't be for a very long time. I don't think this is a 3-5 year window; moreso a 7-10 year window if it actually happens. Not sure what amount an owner has to contribut to the building of a new stadium; however there is speculation the McCaskey's couldn't even foot that bill.

Did you listen to George McCaskey's presser a few days ago? It's unbelievable that the man can continue to disappoint as much as he does. I'm convinced he's the geeky straight A kid we knew in Middle School or High School that neither liked sports or cared about sports. Unfortunately for us Bears fans, he and his siblings inherited a franchise through their mother Virginia. He had the PERFECT opportunity to create excitement by proclaiming the McCaskey family was committed to winning and the turnaround would start with the next Coaching/GM hire as well as the plans they have to build an entertainment complex in Arlington. No, no, no. George is either holding his cards close to his chest or simply doesn't have a plan. He actually said it wasn't the Bears that pursued the Arlington Park transaction. He actually admitted Arlington Park contacted the Bears to solicit their interest in buying the property. He went on to add the Bears are still researching the property and they're not sure what their plans will be.

Snider went to Porage in '94. Could be thinking of that. Other than Hobart, that was the largest crowd I've ever seen a visitor bring into The Warpath.

I remember Williams sacking the Florida QB (Weurfel??) for a Safety in that Nebraska blowout of Florida in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. Don't forget, Lake Central's own Jared Tomich was also a starteron that Blackshirt Defense. He was a monster on the DL. That '92 Merrillville team had a toughness about them that carried over to the basketball court with an Eiite 8 loss to Carmel in the West Lafayette Semi-State Championship. Guys like Williams, Zac Wells, Josoforsky (sp?), were bad dudes that played football and basketball. Looking at their Tournament History, Snider ended up beating Ben Davis 24-21 for State after they beat Merrillville 14-7. Who was Snider's RB that year? I believe he played college ball at...IU???

Perfect scenario would be to lure Sean Payton from New Orleans and bring back Fangio to coach the Defense when Elway cans him.

Nagy's play calling is also hurrendous. He was touted as an offensive guru from the Andy Reid tree and has probably shown why he was never calling plays when he was with Kansas City. I wouldn't be surprised if some GM's have soured on Bieniemy because of how awful Nagy has been.

I really don't understand Share's play calling. That monstrous 7 man offensive line could run the ball on anyone Noblesville faced this year. Looking at the bigger regular season games: Mt. Vernon: 51 carries for 606 yards Fishers: 47 carries for 267 yards Westfield: 52 carries for 273 yards Zionsville: 60 carries for 435 yards HSE: 39 carries for 177 yards Brownsburg: 41 carries for 245 yards Avon: 56 carries for 296 yards Outside of HSE, they were averaging at least 5 yards/carry. Their biggenst problem offensively was the number of drives that stalled out because they refuse to abandon the run and catch the defensive napping with some play action passes or passes in general. Sharpe has to have a QB somewhere on the roster capable of completing a forward pass. On the plus side, interest in the program is present in Noblesville. The Millers have 2 brand new 100 yard turf practice fields sitting next to a brand new stadium that will be ready for the 2022 season. The stadium seems identical to Center Grove's new stadium. I went to a day of youth football jamboree games earlier in the year and saw hundreds of kids in the Noblesvill youth league and Sharpe's offense being ran. Sharpe has size, talent, and his offense being ran at the youth levels. I would like to see him figure out how to mix in the passing game to keep defenses from stacking the box against the run. Otherwise, it could be another season at the bottom of the HCC.

Agreed. It starts with Ted Phillips. He's a career Accountant. So am I. Doesn't make me qualified to be the President of Football Operations for an NFL franchise. Keep Ted in charge of the Financial aspect of the Bears and bring in a President who actually knows football. Let that guy pick his new GM and Head Coach. Though I am intrigued by Day. He has some experience as a QB Coach in the NFL. Maybe, just maybe, if they can bring in a competent front office guy they could lure Naperville native Sean Payton from New Orleans.

One of the most idiotic storylines to come out after the game was his knee had to be fine because he was seen walking in a Chicago steakhouse that night. That’s completely tone deaf to the reality that you can walk with a torn ACL, but you sure as heck can’t make football cuts and play without your knee buckling. I admit Cutlers general “I don’t care attitude” with the media. I think overtime he’s won over a lot of Bears fans. Especially now. He’s a weekly regular on a very popular ESPN radio show in Chicago. He’s hilarious to listen to on radio. Very insightful as well. I know he has a few business endeavors, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he once again looked into doing color commentary. He was in talks with one of the networks before signing with Miami.

Defense and the return game with Devin Hester carried the Bears. Let’s face it. At no point in my lifetime has a QB carried the Bears. Hopefully, Fields reverses that.

And he received a 1.4M NIL deal.

Ha! Tried to give you the sit and spin but I'm out of reactions.

Deadspin is the worst. The absolute worst. I could barely read the rest of that after seeing them steal a great line from Gangs of New York: "I took the father. Now I'll take the son. You tell young Vallon I'm gonna paint Paradise Square with his blood. Two coats. I'll festoon my bedchamber with his guts." Or they feel there's no turning back if they give Freeman the Interim tag.

I didn't really pay attention to Strickland. He did have some big plays including the safety. I take HS play with a grain of salt. I remember people saying Karlaftis looked overrated against Evansville Memorial. Speaking of Allen though, I was pleasantly surprised enough that I had to start texting Purdue friends. I was expecting to see a 6'5 QB with a very strong arm, which is what we saw. I was not expecting to see him make the type of throws he was making. Very impressive. I'm hoping Brohm has finally found at least a 3 year starter.

Other than his record at Cincinnati, what is the appeal with Fickel? I've never heard of him as an innovator on defense, and it appears all he ever coached at Ohio State was defense with the Co-Coordinator tag as well. Pure gut feeling with no analytical logic, but I have a feeling he's going to underwhelm when he leaves Cincinnati.

I watched on TV, but it looked like everyone had really big crowds. Agreed, great way to end the season. Patrick Clacks led Andrean in receiving on Saturday. The Sophomore recently picked up his first P5 offer from Pittsburgh. I believe Andrean's QB was a Sophomore as well. The '59'ers are going to be returning some serious offensive power next year.

I watched Combs play 2, possibly 3 times. I thought he stood out and was easy to notice. That just sounds like incompetence from Sheridan if true.