NFL coaching ranks flooded by ex-Bears
It's impossible not to notice the swelling numbers of NFL coaches who played for the Bears, especially in the 1980s.
The irony is that none of them coach for the Bears. I wonder why?
Titans head coach Jeff Fisher was a Bears cornerback and punt returner from 1981-84. He spent the '85 season on injured reserve and served as an unofficial Bears assistant coach.
Mike Singletary, the 49er's head coach, a Hall of Fame middle linebacker, was with the Bears from 1981-92.
Saints head coach Sean Payton was a quarterback on the “Spare Bears” team that played three games when the NFL Players Association went on strike in 1987.
Linebacker Ron Rivera (1984-92) is the Chargers' defensive coordinator. He WAS a Bears coach until he was shown the door at Halas Hall after helping the team get to Super Bowl XLI as its defensive coordinator.
Leslie Frazier, the Viking's defensive coordinator, was a Bears cornerback from 1981-85. Center Jerry Fontenot (1989-96) is the Packers' assistant offensive line coach, and Mark Carrier, the Ravens' defensive backs coach, was a Bears safety from 1990-96.
Most recently, Doug Plank was added to the Jets' staff of new head coach Rex Ryan, one of the twin sons of Buddy Ryan, the Bears' defensive coordinator from 1978-85. Plank was a Bears safety from 1975-82. And Al Harris, a Bears defensive end from 1979-84, was tabbed by Singletary to be the Niners' pass-rush specialist coach.
Keith Burns, a Bears linebacker in 1999, has been the Broncos assistant special teams coach the past two seasons. Howard Mudd, a Bears offensive lineman from 1969-71, is the Colts' o-line coach, and Andy Heck, the Bears' offensive left tackle from 1994-98, is the Seahawks' offensive line coach.
For the past three seasons, Bryan Cox (Bears linebacker 1996-97) was the Jets assistant defensive line coach.
Bob... I heard Koz and Memelo interview Rivera recently on WGN, and he may be a nice and friendly guy, but he had difficulty putting three sentences together without stammering. And he was on the phone with friends, so imagine how he'd do in an interview with NFL suits. That has to hurt his chances because a head coach has to be able to address the public and media. Do you think he'll get a shot in the next couple of years, or does his future depend on how Singletary and other defensive coaches do as top dogs?
NONE of them are from the Tony Dungy tree of coaches, as Lovie Dovie likes to say. How many of the Dungy tree, were good top calibur NFL players. Bob thanks for rolling out the full roster of X-Bears coaching somewhere, but the next blog needs more than a roster. How about some comments from the above mentioned as to why this is, or something from LS-JA or even TP why they don't want any of their own back at Halas Hall.
OF course maybe it's DA COACH factor. The last X-bear here that had big success as a coach was old Iron Mike, I am sure Mike McCaskey still looks at him as a PR nightmare. MM will never live down firing Ditka. I am sure Ron Riveria is considered a PR nightmare too by current management, since the team hasn't been back to the superbowl since he left.
Hey mjeff, if I want to hear that kind of rudeness I'll listen to Dan McNeil. Oh wait, he got kicked off the air for that.
To the point: the only one on that list I would be interested in is Jeff Fisher. I liked Chico but according to Bears players he was a me-first guy looking for a new gig. You don't hear any of them defending him.
I think Samurai is a joke as a coach.
So is it easier to re-hash an ariticle from the Tribune from last week rather than thinking on your own?
Evidently only one media outlet can ever address a topic regardless of how popular. After that it's apparentlt off-limits to everyone else.
I guess that means there can only be one Kurt Warner story during Super Bowl week
Thanks