Ranking Chicago Bears' Biggest Offseason Priorities
The Chicago Bears are currently searching for a new general manager and head coach after the team parted ways with Phil Emery and Marc Trestman early last week. In addition to needing to hire a new general manager and head coach, the team has a growing list of priorities to address this offseason.
The team hired former Baltimore Colts and New York Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi as a consultant to help find a new general manager, and it appears that Kansas City's Chris Ballard, Tennessee's Lake Dawson and Houston's Brian Gaine currently sit atop the interview list, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:
"After Lake Dawson (#Titans) & Chris Ballard (#Chiefs) interview in Chicago, Brian Gaine (#Texans) is next. Should be later in the week
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2015"
Jeremy Stoltz of BearReport.com reported on Monday night that a source said Ballard is close to becoming the team's next general manager:
"Source: Chris Ballard on the verge of becoming the next #Bears GM. Talks ongoing since last week. Ballard "very likely" will accept offer.
— Jeremy Stoltz (@BearReport) January 6, 2015"
Regardless of who the team decides to hire as the next general manager, not much can be done in terms of addressing the team's biggest priorities this offseason until a decision is finally made.
Once a general manager is in place, the new man in charge will have to determine what the Bears need to do this offseason in order to get back on track in 2015.
Here is our ranking of the Chicago Bears' biggest offseason priorities.
5. Re-Sign Defensive Tackle Stephen Paea
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Chicago's defense struggled as a whole in 2014, but defensive tackle Stephen Paea shined in his first injury-free season since entering the league in 2011.
The former Oregon State star racked up 33 tackles, six sacks and two forced fumbles—all career highs. He is set to become a free agent for the first time but made it clear he would like to stay in Chicago.
"I want to come back to Chicago," he said, via Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Best fans, best media, best teammates. It’s home for me, so I’d love to come back."
According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Paea finished the season as the league's 11th-best defensive tackle with a plus-14.4 grade. He finished fourth among defensive tackles in quarterback hurries with 31 and finished third in quarterback hits with 11.
He showed off his great strength all season long, as well as a terrific first step. After years of struggling with injuries, he showed just how disruptive he can be on a weekly basis when he is healthy.
Even with Jeremiah Ratliff, Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton currently on the roster, re-signing Paea should be a no-brainer for the right price.
Last week I projected Paea to receive a deal similar to the one Jacksonville's Ziggy Hood signed last offseason. A former first-round pick in 2009, Hood inked a four-year, $16 million deal after putting up similar career numbers as Paea. The final number could push closer to $18 million, but it would still be a good deal for a 26-year-old coming off a career season.
If the team can re-sign Paea, the Bears will not have to worry about the defensive tackle position in 2015 barring any sort of major injuries.
4. Sign a Starting Middle Linebacker
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Ever since Brian Urlacher's departure following the 2012 season, the Bears have struggled to find a suitable replacement at middle linebacker.
The team drafted Jonathan Bostic in the second round of NFL draft that offseason, but he has shown over the course of the last two seasons he is best suited to play weak-side linebacker.
In addition to drafting Bostic, the team signed veteran D.J. Williams to control the middle of the field. Age and injuries appeared to catch up with the 32-year-old, who appeared in just 18 games with 14 starts over the last two seasons. He recorded 73 tackles and two sacks during that time.
With Williams' contract set to expire, the team should look in free agency for a veteran middle linebacker who can help Bostic and former undrafted rookie Christian Jones grow at outside linebacker.
One player who should be on Chicago's radar is Buffalo's Brandon Spikes.
A former second-round pick of New England in 2010, Spikes started 28 games in four seasons with the Patriots before signing with the Buffalo Bills last offseason.
He finished with 54 tackles in 10 starts and is expected to hit free agency this offseason. While he does not have eye-popping numbers, Spikes plays well against the run and is known for being a leader in the locker room. Even though he joined the Bills this past offseason, his teammates selected him as a captain. For a team that lacks discipline and leadership on defense, Spikes would be a welcome addition.
Another veteran who can bring leadership and steady play to the middle linebacker position is Cincinnati's Rey Maualuga. He finished the season with 59 tackles and one interception but missed four games due to injuries.
When healthy, Maualuga is one of the league's best middle linebackers against the run. According to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey, when Maualuga was out of the lineup in 2014, the Bengals gave up an average of 4.9 yards per rush. When he was in the lineup, the defense allowed just 3.6 yards per carry.
The Bengals will likely do whatever they can to keep him in Cincinnati, but if he decides to test free agency, Chicago should give him a look.
The Bears could always try to find a middle linebacker in the draft, but with two youngsters slated to start the 2015 season at the two outside linebacker positions, bringing in a guy like Spikes or Maualuga should be high on the new general manager's list of priorities this season.
3. Keep Kyle Long at Guard and Build Around Him
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After having the same five guys start all 16 games along the offensive line in 2013, Chicago's offensive line was decimated by injuries in 2014.
All five starters missed at least one game, but guard Kyle Long was once again the star of the show. After making just five starts in college, Long started all 16 games last season and 15 this season. He was named to his second straight Pro Bowl late last month.
When he was drafted, some believed he would eventually make the transition to tackle.
"He's one of my favorite players in the draft," NFL Network's Mike Mayock said at the time, via NFL.com. "He's immediately a starting guard that down the road is a starting tackle."
CBSSports.com's Pat Kirwan believed Long's best position was at guard, but an offensive line coach told him otherwise. Kirwan wrote at the time:
"Many have claimed his best position in pro football is guard and it may very well be true. But I had an offensive line coach tell me he really likes Long as a right tackle and was impressed with how much the former Ducks player understood about the position after just five major college starts.
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Despite the struggles of left tackle Jermon Bushrod and right tackle Jordan Mills this season, Long does not see himself making the transition from guard to tackle anytime soon.
"I want to do whatever I can to help my team," Long said, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. "But I have found a home here at guard, and you are going to have to fight me to get me to change positions."
He knows he has the ability to play the position, but he feels the team has the right pieces in place with Bushrod and Mills.
"I feel like I am athletic enough to play tackle, but it is not like you can just throw someone out there and say, 'He is going to have success.' The reps are really important (in) getting comfortable with what you are trying to do," he said. "We have a left tackle. We have a right tackle."
While Long could have success at either tackle position, why mess with what has been working?
The team should continue to play Long at guard and look to find at least an upgrade at right tackle. Mills started 13 games at right tackle last season and finished with a minus-15.7 grade, according to Pro Football Focus. In addition to his poor grade, Mills allowed 31 quarterback hurries, six quarterback hits and six sacks.
Mills has been serviceable as a former fifth-round pick, but he has looked like nothing more than a backup through his first two seasons.
If Chicago can add a new tackle through the draft or free agency, it will allow Long to continue to develop into one of the league's best guards. If Matt Slauson can return to old form following an injury-plagued 2014, Chicago could have one of the best guard duos in the league in 2015.
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2. Fix the Safety Position
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Not since the days of Mike Brown and Chris Harris in the mid-2000s have the Bears had a viable safety tandem.
Brown was a playmaker who had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, while Harris played tough against the run and came away with the occasional interception. Brown's tenure in Chicago was marred by injuries, while Harris played well for the organization from 2005 to 2006 before he was traded to the Carolina Panthers. He was then traded back to the Bears in 2010 before he was cut after three games in 2011.
Although the two only played a handful of games together over the course of two seasons, the pair was undoubtedly the best tandem to play the position in the last 15 seasons.
The Bears signed veteran Ryan Mundy last offseason to play strong safety, and the six-year veteran finished 2014 with career highs in tackles (103), passes defended (six) and interceptions (four).
According to Pro Football Focus, Mundy finished with a plus-1.8 overall grade. He finished with a plus-2.6 grade against the pass, and quarterbacks registered just a 75.9 quarterback rating when throwing in his direction.
He was put into some tough situations against the pass this season, particularly against some of the league's best tight ends, but he is a good stopgap at strong safety, while the Bears look toward the team's long-term future.
While the team could make do with Mundy next season, Chicago will likely need to find a new free safety this offseason. Chris Conte showed some improvement after a lackluster 2013 season, but he was injured far too much last year. He is scheduled to become a free agent, and it is unlikely he will return in 2015.
The team traded up in the fourth round to select Brock Vereen, but he mostly disappointed on the field. He spent much of the offseason with the first-team defense before Conte returned healthy in time for the regular season opener.
Vereen played 513 snaps in relief of Conte, according to Pro Football Focus. He finished the season with a minus-1.2 grade.
There is still hope Vereen can develop into a starter, but since he was drafted by a general manager who is no longer with the organization, there is no guarantee he will still be a part of the team's plans moving forward.
The team could look to the draft for the answer at free safety, but there will likely be better options in free agency. New England's Devin McCourty will likely be the best free safety available on the market, and the Bears would be wise to try and sign him. If he is unavailable, guys like Louis Delmas, Kendrick Lewis and even restricted free agent Tashaun Gipson could be viable options.
If the Bears can nab a free safety in free agency, they could find their long-term answer at strong safety in the form of Alabama's Landon Collins. A projected first-round pick, Collins played both free and strong safety in college, but his best fit is at strong safety in the NFL.
He is a terrific open-field tackler who plays great against the run up in the box. He still needs to improve in pass coverage, but he is quick in his backpedal and has good fluidity in his hips.
Combining Collins with at least an average free safety next season could be the answer to Chicago's woes at the safety position moving forward.
1. Hire a Head Coach Who Can Control the Locker Room and Instill a New Identity
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After two listless and disappointing seasons under Marc Trestman, the Bears desperately need to hire a head coach who will give the team a new identity.
For years Chicago was known for its strong defense under head coach Lovie Smith, but that changed when the team decided to hire Trestman back in 2013. The Bears placed more focus on the offense in Trestman's two seasons, but when the team started to struggle, he lost all control of the locker room.
Whether it was Lance Briggs skipping the team's first regular-season practice or Brandon Marshall deciding to fly to New York each week to make a television appearance, it was obvious that many of the players did not respect Trestman.
When Phil Emery was going through the hiring process in 2013, he made it known what type of coach he wanted.
"I want somebody that has high energy, somebody that pulls people together in the building," Emery said at the time, via Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com.
Unfortunately for Trestman and Emery, the former CFL coach could not simultaneously control his locker room and install a potent NFL offense. Because of the duo's many miscues, they were fired following the team's Week 17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Trestman addressed the team after he was fired, and cornerback Tim Jennings said the meeting wasn't "heartbreaking."
“I can honestly say it wasn’t as heart-breaking and it wasn’t Lovie-like,” he said, via Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “But it’s always a bad, always a sour feeling when you lose a guy, a guy that you spent all your blood, sweat and tears with, a player it’s always heart-breaking."
While the team obviously did not spend as much time with Trestman as it had Smith, Jennings' comments further show how much disconnect there was between the coach and the locker room.
Now that Trestman is out of the picture, team chairman George McCaskey and president Ted Phillips are faced with the difficult challenge of trying to resurrect the franchise. The team still needs to get a general manager in place before any real decisions are made at head coach, but McCaskey made it clear last week the team needs a new identity.
“When you look at successful teams, they have an identity,” McCaskey said, via John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. He continued, "There will usually be, at some point in the season, they’ll be called upon to overcome adversity. There will be a point in the season where the team jells, where they come together. That’s what you want to see. That’s what we’re looking to see, somebody who can help make those things happen for our Bears.”
McCaskey is not the only one who wants the team to hire a new coach who can help give the team a new identity.
“The right coach for Chicago is one that wants to instill an identity, demands a team that has an identity,” guard Kyle Long said, via Finley. “And when we play opponents, we should say, ‘We don’t want to play those guys.'"
According to Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com, the Bears have already conducted interviews with Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for the head coaching position. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the team will interview Arizona's Todd Bowles on Saturday.
Along with Gase, Quinn and Bowles, a handful of former head coaches are available whom the team could speak with.
Former Buffalo head coach Doug Marrone, Denver defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and Baltimore offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak all have previous head coaching experience and would have no problem gaining respect in the locker room.
Although inexperienced as head coaches, Gase has received nothing but praise from Peyton Manning, while Quinn and Bowles have helped develop two of the league's best defenses.
In the end, the best fit for the Bears is someone who can instill a new identity, whether it is on offense or defense, and can take control of the locker room from Day 1. Without a true leader running the team, Chicago will likely struggle once again on the field in 2015.
Record/statistical information provided via email from the Chicago Bears and NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is an NFL/Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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