texasthunder Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Thanks to Bubba for posting this article upstairs. http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/co...ssa&id=4770648 Some interesting parts of the article - >A close friend of Mike Shanahan's said the Chicago native and two-time Super Bowl winning coach with the Denver Broncos would be "extremely interested" if the Bears' head-coaching job were to become vacant. >"The job is really attractive to Mike," the friend said. "It's home [with relatives of his, including his dad, in the Chicago area, and wife Peggy's family still in the Bloomington area]. >Among the misconceptions about Shanahan is that he has to have total control over football operations. >As with most veteran coaches though, Shanahan would want final say on personnel decisions. >The single biggest reason why Shanahan would be a perfect and obvious fit for the Bears is Cutler, whose disastrous 2009 season now makes his further career development a precarious and urgent need. >Shanahan, who spearheaded trading up to draft the young quarterback from Vanderbilt, got along well with Cutler. >Shanahan's closest friend in coaching, Mike Heimerdinger (the Tennessee Titans' offensive coordinator) is another potential coordinator candidate. >Defensively, Shanahan, like Bill Cowher, would undoubtedly employ the 3-4 defense, The two biggest things that concern me is the trading up in the draft and the 3-4 defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrupt3d Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 He wont run a 3-4 if we don't have the personnel to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSHRedskins3ATLBraves3 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 That bit about the 3-4 is interesting. I wonder how that would play out. I hope we would stick with the 4-3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheismannQuote Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Any notion of switching to a 3-4 defense would set this team back another few years. After fixing the o-line, ofcourse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Any notion of switching to a 3-4 defense would set this team back another few years. After fixing the o-line, ofcourse. I would've said that about any of the Redskins' rosters up until this past offseason. You've got your 2 gap Nose, you've got outside LBer's who can rush in Wilson, McIntosh, Orakpo and Jarmon could be tried here, you've got 2 solid ILBs in Fletcher and Blades. Really all we'd need to do is trade Andre Carter after this season, when his value is high coming off a great season and he's hitting 30 years old. Pick up some depth in the form of bigger, run oriented DEs and some LBer depth and you'd be solid. The keys to the 3-4 are a true 2 gap NT and OLBs who can rush the passer. Everything follows from that. We have all the necessary ingredients. Edit: As a side note, 3-4 OLB might just be Orakpo's best fit at the Pro level. He's just a little small for every down run responsibilities, he seems more like a Demarcus Ware or a James Harrison, to me, than a Julius Peppers or Jared Allen. Edit numder 2: It could also help extend the career of someone like Philip Daniels, who as a 3-4 DE wouldn't have final outside contain (the OLB would). He could concentrate on anchoring his gap and eating blockers, what he's best at, and stop putting him in the position of being the primary containment against bootlegging QBs and screens out of the backfield, where his lack of speed hurts him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapsSkins Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I think the most interesting thing to watch if Shanahan does indeed come to Washington will be how he handles the defense. He must be aware that his defense in Denver was his undoing, but to what does he attribute that failure? Whether he will realize our personnel are better suited for a 4-3 and leave the defense largely intact or give Slowik a major share of responsibility and try and convert to a 3-4 will be the big question. I honestly have no idea what he would do, but if you guys think Orakpo playing linebacker is bad, the worst may be yet to come. While the headlines this season have been our anemic offense, I'm sure he and Dan will have some interesting conversations surrounding the defensive side of the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTribeVA Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Why would anyone think Shanahan would necessarily want to switch to a 3-4?? Denver only switched to a 3-4 this year, post-Shanahan. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Denver always ran a 4-3 under Shanahan. I think Shanahan's the type of coach who would be open to making that transition if he believed he had the personnel for it, but we don't (and I don't think Chicago does either). I was anti-Shanny at first, but the more I hear/read/think about Shanahan, the more I want him here, especially if he brings his son or Kubiak as OC and does NOT bring in much of his defensive staff from his last few years in Denver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtyler42 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 He wont run a 3-4 if we don't have the personnel to do it. Not true if it's what he wants to run it's what he will do...Denver was a 4-3 team and McDaniel switched them to a 3-4 team this yr... IMO 5 technique DE's are easy to find, we already have the rush OLB's in Orakpo, Jarmon and Wilson, we would just have to add a NT, and some ILB's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTribeVA Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I'm sure he and Dan will have some interesting conversations surrounding the defensive side of the ball. If/when he comes, hopefully he has as little football convos with Dan as possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapsSkins Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 If/when he comes, hopefully he has as little football convos with Dan as possible! Haha I meant before his hiring, although I guess that would be Bruce Allen's responsibility? Honestly who knows how it's working at this point. o_0 Shanahan would be the perfect fit for this team. A winning coach who can restore the culture of the team while providing some semblance of continuity with his WCO, all while putting us in prime position to get a shot at one of the potentially great next young head coaches in his son Kyle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grego Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 i thought the most interesting part of the article was that he would be a perfect fit for chicago. i'm not sure everyone noticed this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAATopDogg Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Just a way to drive up the price. If Snyder wants him, Snyder will have him. Also, he'd have personnel say in DC that he wouldn't in chicago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTillIDie Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I think this is the most important part of the article: Shanahan was offered several network television jobs, said his friend, but preferred not to put himself in a position to have to say negative things about prospective employers.Instead, Shanahan took an office not far from the Broncos' complex and spends three to five hours a day studying film. During the offseason, NFL and college coaches came in to confer with him. During training camp, Shanahan visited four or five college and pro teams -- including Urban Meyer's Florida Gators and Bill Belichick's New England Patriots -- to study what they were doing. Shanahan spent his his "year off" working hard, studying, trying to improve upon his hall-of-fame credentials. Learning from the best in the business in New England, maybe even picking up some tips from the college ranks. Along with Bruce Allen, Shanahan has been given incredible access to other teams' information, seeing what they do well. He will undoubtedly hit the the ground running if we can get him in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTillIDie Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Another passage of note: No coach in the modern era has developed quarterbacks any more effectively than Shanahan. John Elway (in Denver) and Steve Young (in San Francisco, when Shanahan was offensive coordinator) have said it was only under Shanahan's guidance that they developed into Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Whether we keep Campbell at the helm or draft a rookie with our first rounder, we can certainly expect significant growth from the quarterback position if Shanahan comes here. And a final point: what really makes Chicago a great fit for Shanahan other than the fact that he has family there and that Jay Cutler is the quarterback? We have a much better base of talent, all-around on defense and with a much deeper and younger pass-receiving group. And if I'm not mistaken, Campbell not only has had a much better year than Cutler, but he's more mature, more of a leader, and more mobile as well (4th in the league in rushing for quarterbacks, ideal in Shanahan's bootleg offense). We also have two premier pass-catching tight ends, a tremendous fit for his 2-TE singleback offense. Not to mention we have Bruce Allen already in charge, a supposed Shanahan favorite, and an owner who will spare no expense to make the team better (which can't be said in Chicago). Chicago is only a perfect fit in Melissa Isaacson's eyes because she's writing for ESPNChicago.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 Chicago is only a perfect fit in Melissa Isaacson's eyes because she's writing for ESPNChicago.com sums it up pretty well. Chicago is owned by a tight fisted family ownership.... I doubt they will dump Smith, still owing him $11 million, then get into a bidding war with Danny "deep pockets" Snyder for Shanny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Shanny is coming here. His choices for DCs are all 4-3 guys, just like they always were in Denver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veretax Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 this all assumes that the Shanahan to DC thing is not just a smoke screen. I kind of fell something un orthodox for us, not sure why.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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