By Brad Biggs First, Jeremy Bates, a 33-year-old rising coaching star, turned the Bears down and then the rival Green Bay Packers sacked an effort to lure away their quarterbacks coach.
The Bears faxed a formal request for permission to meet with Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements today, a day after Green Bay's season ended in overtime at Arizona, and that request was quickly denied with general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy agreeing they didn't want their quarterbacks coach calling plays for the Bears next season, a source said.
That leaves the Bears headed toward option three, whoever that may be.
When it comes to the vacant defensive coordinator postions, the team
met with first option today. The focus was on Perry Fewell, who spent
the day at Halas Hall and met with coach Lovie Smith and general
manager Jerry Angelo about becoming the third defensive coordinator in
three years.
Nothing is imminent with Fewell, though, as he interviewed to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Fewell served as the Bills interim coach during the second half of the season after Dick Jauron was fired, and he's already interviewed for that position. Barring an unexpected development, he will wait to make his next move until the situation in Buffalo is resolved. The Bills are believed to have a few candidates with whom they still want to meet.
Fewell interviewed with the New York Giants last Thursday about their defensive coordinator opening. No other candidates for the Bears' job have been identified at this point, and more options for all the open positions are hitting the market as other teams reshape their staffs.
Smith and Angelo will be able to reassess their plan on offense starting today. The Bears contacted Mike Martz last week and may be seeking to look over some other options now that Bates and Clements are out of play.
Photo: Tom Clements talks to Brett Favre during a 2007 game. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Nothing is imminent with Fewell, though, as he interviewed to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Fewell served as the Bills interim coach during the second half of the season after Dick Jauron was fired, and he's already interviewed for that position. Barring an unexpected development, he will wait to make his next move until the situation in Buffalo is resolved. The Bills are believed to have a few candidates with whom they still want to meet.
Fewell interviewed with the New York Giants last Thursday about their defensive coordinator opening. No other candidates for the Bears' job have been identified at this point, and more options for all the open positions are hitting the market as other teams reshape their staffs.
Smith and Angelo will be able to reassess their plan on offense starting today. The Bears contacted Mike Martz last week and may be seeking to look over some other options now that Bates and Clements are out of play.
Photo: Tom Clements talks to Brett Favre during a 2007 game. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
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Is not Offensive Coordinator a promotion from QB oach?
It was my understanding that if their was a promotion involved, teams could NOT refuse persmission to speak to an assistant.
The Bears were not simply asking for help from a Packers assistant. They were offering an opportunity for the guy to escape from the biggest dung-pile in the US.
Mongo and super fan have it right.
I agree with mongo "f" the packers
A new depth is reached by the clueless Bears' "braintrust."
Asking a hated division rival to "coach up" your talent because you don't have the personnel to do it... that's rich!
Here's an idea -- maybe the Bears can hire Jack Bauer's team from 24 to tap into the Packers' computers, download their gameplans, communications, etc. so that they can pore over them during the offseason.
That's about as likely as having a division rival spoonfeed you one of their key assistants.
The Bears' "braintrust"... now THAT's an oxymoron.
ahh, I see the Packer trolls have chimed in. Green Bay can you say "one and done"? Can you also say a defense that was all smoke and mirrors this season. A good defense doesn't give up 51 points in the playoffs. I expect that defense to come down to reality next season for good.
What about hiring Wade Wilson? He was a qb coach and he worked for Lovie and angelo before.
Wise up, bears fans. You stink now, and you will stink for years to come. Think Bottom Ten for the next five years.
No coach in their right mind wants to risk their career with the stinky JayBaby. Take the Loser Martz, who stinks to begin with and can't get a job anywhere else except as a bloviator on TV. He and the JayBaby can stink it up together.
Your Defense is old and overpaid. Stinky Cutler is a soft, fat, lazy headcase and overpaid. You have no WRs. You have no draft choices. Your O line is ancient. The ownership is clueless. The weather is miserable, and GB and MN are way, way better than you. The only thing you have going for you is that you get to play the stinkin' Lions twice every year. Next year, you'll go 6-10, and your season will be over in November - unless The JayBaby quits before then.
The Packers were within their rights to deny the Bears request...so get over it. It happens all the time and shows again that the Bears organization is living in a dream world if they think they can simply send a fax to get permission from a divisional rival.
Why would any coach who has a good NFL good at a winning organization want to give that up for a one year chance with the Bears. They will clean house after another 6-9 win season in 2010.
If you asked Clements he would most likely prefer to hang his reputation on Aaron Rodgers than try to save Jay Cutler's career!
Interesting move. They may have made themselves a disgruntled employee. I would assume they are going to give him a promotion to offensive coordinator, or assistant head coach to soften the situation. If not, he will not be back with them after his current contract is up.
This opens the door for my choice: Jeff Jagodzinski. He runs the perfect system for Cutler. Moving pocket, downfield passing game, big variety of screen passes (and not one of them a bubble screen), and a strong running game that uses all of the gaps, not the three Turner ran through all the time.
Bring him in and talk to him Jerry!
If you don't understand the logic of the Packers decision, then you probably haven't worked in the corporate world. Companies do not want their best executives/managers going to work for their closest competitors. It's not just a loss of talent, but the idea that the other team will learn many inside secrets about their operation. GB isn't the first team to deny another permission to talk to a coach, and it won't be the last. This, in GB's mind, is good business in a competitive environment. People in Clement's position understand that not every team that comes calling is going to be allowed permission to speak to them.
Clements should be furious if he is ever interested in getting a head coaching job. The Packers organization should be stripped of their number one draft choice by the NFL front office. NO TEAM should be allowed to not allow another team to interview if it is for a higher position. It should be an individual's choice. Roger Goddell, are you listening?
I can't believe all these Bears fans calling the Packers classless and act as though they OWE us something. They had every right to DENY the bears an interview. The found and paid for his time and they don't owe the Bears anything. They have been a good organization for a long time and if anyone is classless it's our Bears for being too cheap to build us a stadium and want other clubs to do all the work so they don't have to do anything. That wouldn't be a job promotion-they would destroy his career. He has far better talent than we do and he can't bring any. This is not a dream job with our management situation.
THE PACKERS DON'T OWE US ANYTHING-THEY DID THEIR OWN HOMEWORK AND FOUND THEIR OWN STAFF-DEAL WITH IT!
classless move by a classless organization
Here is the deal...
The Bears must ask teams for permission to talk to their coaches.
The teams have the right to deny permission.
The only time a team CANNOT deny permission is when the team asking has a head coaching opening, but any position coaches or coordinators are not alloted the same treatment.
The Packers are being smart and playing within the rules. Tom Clements is a heck of a coach and the Pack will not let him slip away, especially to a division rival.
Bears organization is pathetic! Won't be long until Cutler gets mad and wants to be traded too, and the organization will go 0-16 with the crap called Caleb Hanie, and Brett BANZENEZ!
LOL! Why the suspense? It will be Martz at OC and Marinelli at DC. Perfect: Lovie cronies + cheap. Besides, who else would do it? Not guaranteeing it will happen, but it's so perfect as the usual m.o. for the Bears.
Pathetic.
Bears should be the gold standard in jobs, not some 2nd class operation that coaching prospects hold in low regard.
This is what happens when you have an 80+ yr old lady and her sniveling son running the team
If it's a promotion how petty of the Packers administration to stand in the way. Lateral moves I can understand but unless Clements is promised the GB offensive coordinator position within a year or two then the Bears should file a complaint with the league. Still, I have the feeling Lovie prefers Mike Martz.
Watch how bad it gets, no one want to work for J.A. or Lovie. It's like pimping backwards, what's the sense. You have a head coach who under cut a fellow coach that is prob the best D.C. in the league cause he felt less significant after ridding him to the super bowl. (What did he say then 3 years ago? Trust me?- look at the results of that move since then. Trust only decline in stats not his words) I ask you who would want to work for some one like that and then to top it off its a one and done situation? This is nothing short of choosing your death. Plank or firing line. What a choice. lol are you kidding...? Let's get real; at least just for a sec. If you would have fired the coach who is not providing result you would have a plethora of coaches dying to work for such a team with many opportunities and a rich history, head and assistant coaches alike. Nobody wants to work with the current situation, plus what kind of signings are going to be made? i know that comes up because they aren't any picks. So here's the bottom line; on top of a working for Lovie and his under cutting ways and J.A. (and his lack of impact choices in the draft) its a one and done and you have no players or desire of making future signings that they see is worth while putting their hat of years of hard work on. They can't climbing the NFL latter using this infrastructure. It will probably hurt their stock and set them years back. I wish the Bears nothing but the best of luck because I'm a die hard, but it doesn't mean by any means the we should die hard. You can't question our loyalty, now show us you care. Make the right moves.
DA-NI
Wow just ridiculous! This up coming season has all the makings of a disaster. The Bears should really press on the packers and clements for the bears to get him. If nit then who knows maybe we can get him the following year. I wonder how many years are left on his contract.
Gimme the job! COMEON!!!!
Mike Leach for OC; Jim Mora for DC. Both are out of work. Both are very good at these respective jobs. And neither is an incompetent crony of Angelo or Lovie. Enough said.
I realize the Bears are messed up, and will probably stay that way, while the McCaskey family owns them. However, Mike McCarthy and Ted Philips were wrong to deny one of their assistant coaches an opportunity for advancement.
I realize the Bears are messed up, and will probably stay that way, while the McCaskey family owns them. However, Mike McCarthy and Ted Philips were wrong to deny one of their assistant coaches an opportunity for advancement.
Can they do this? Aren't assistants allowed to interview for positions with other teams if the new position would be a promotion?
Why would the Bears even ask? How many teams are stupid enough to let their people go to a dvision rival. Coaches don't make intradivision moves, never happens while they are under contract. Just like GB wouldn't trade Favre to MIN, Doh! You think your rival is going to help you, stupidity continues to flow out of Halas hall. I can't believe they just asked the Packers to essentially help them. Basically crawling over to GB and begging for help. "Can we talk to your coaches? Ours suck!" "Could you please tell us how to draft?"
This is getting really pathetic...