We made a little stir last month by suggesting that the Bears should call the 49ers about a possible trade for coach Kyle Shanahan. Meanwhile, the Bears have spun the dial on the telephone to call the Steelers about a possible trade for coach Mike Tomlin.
Here’s the next question. Who else did the Bears call?
The deeper message of our Shanahan blurb was that the Bears should call any team that might be a year away from a coaching change. We specifically mentioned the 49ers and Shanahan, the Ravens and John Harbaugh, and the Dolphins and Mike McDaniel. (In response to that, a coach from a different team reached out to ask why he wasn’t mentioned.)
In 2022, many chided the Commanders for calling every single team to see whether its starting quarterback is available in trade. But the Commanders decided to be comprehensive, given that they’d been frozen out of the prior year’s inside job that sent Matthew Stafford to the Rams. It was smart to make sure they weren’t missing anyone as they looked for a quarterback in 2022.
The Bears should be comprehensive, too. And if they wasted their time to call a team whose coach publicly said “save your time,” why wouldn’t they call other teams, too?
Two weeks ago, Jay Glazer of Fox reported that multiple teams are interested in trading for Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell. While the Vikings surely wouldn’t ship him to a division rival, why not make the call?
Teams looking for coaches usually look at coordinators who have never been coaches, fired former head coaches, or college coaches. Rarely do teams target coaches currently coaching other teams.
They should. Beyond creating the impression that every stone is indeed being turned, it’s a path toward getting a coach who has proven that he can get the job done well enough to not yet be fired by his current team.
