Sorting out Chicago Bears Replacements for Jerry Angelo and Mike Martz

The Bears made a lot of fans happy today. Ding-dong, the witch is dead, and such.  

But let's step back a moment and take a look at the specifics of what is going on here.

Sure, two of the most controversial figures in Chicago are exiting: Jerry Angelo via pink slip and Mike Martz on his own terms. Martz will take failed quarterbacks coach Shane Day with him out the door.

Sounds great, right? And Lovie Smith escaped the headman's ax. This provides a little continuity for a team that chairman George McCaskey and president Ted Phillips felt lacked more in talent than in coaching skill.

Forget that the Bears actually have a lot of talent on the team. The argument can be made that the talent balance is seriously lopsided to one phase of the team.

And forget that Martz would probably not have been asked back, meaning that coaching was, in fact, part of the problem.

And pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.  

The Bears instead created a situation that puts any incoming GM at a disadvantage. It's the same disadvantage that the Bears put Jerry Angelo in when they hired him 11 years ago.

The incoming general manager will have no say in who his head coach is. In a backwards move, the Bears will determine their general manager based on how well he "understand's Lovie's philosophy."

Really? So the man in the GM position is not only coming into a team that won't allow him to choose his own coach, but is being brought on based on his ability to serve that coach's philosophy?

Do the Bears understand that this ties the next GM even more closely to Smith than the last? And do they understand that they could then be looking for another GM next year?  

Think about that. If Smith is fired after 2012, what good is a GM who was hired based on an adherence and understanding of a single coach's philosophy after that coach is gone?

And what kind of opportunity does that actually create for an incoming offensive coordinator?

The Bears will have to answer these questions with hires one way or the other.

So who could the Bears be looking at to replace the outgoing Angelo and Martz? Ahead, we'll look at a list of possible candidates to fill the Bears vacant general manager and offensive coordinator positions.

Warning: The names presented here are some of the most likely candidates, not necessarily the best candidates. Reading this list could result in deflation of any hope the firing of Angelo and the resignation of Martz may have induced. Possible side effects include watering of the eyes, headaches, nausea, vomiting, confusion and rage. You have been warned.

OC Candidate: Todd Haley

Todd Haley has to be considered. He has ties to the Bears (wide receivers coach from 2001 to 2003), and his style is something of a match to the personnel the Bears have on the roster.

Having worked under Bill Parcells and Ken Weisenhunt doesn't hurt, either.

Haley's not the best option, but he's one the Bears will almost surely look at.

GM Candidate: Bill Polian

A popular name that will immediately be thrown around will be that of fired Colts president Bill Polian.

Polian wouldn't be a bad choice, though his eye for talent and his reliance on his son as GM of the Colts both played a part in his firing.

But the chances of Polian coming to Chicago aren't great. Halas Hall will be interested, but Polian is far too smart to allow himself to play second fiddle to the coach who is supposed to be underneath him in the hierarchy.  

OC Candidate: Clyde Christensen

Sticking with a Colts theme here, let's mention Clyde Christensen as an OC candidate.

Lovie Smith has a history with Christensen, and the Colts might not want to bring him back after the disaster that was 2011 for the Colts.

We all know how much Lovie likes his own guys, and Christensen definitely qualifies.  He was also listed as a candidate during the 2010 coordinator search.

GM Candidate: Tim Ruskell

Oh, boy.

This is possibly the worst idea out there...and maybe the most likely scenario.

Not many GMs are going to want to be saddled with a head coach they have no control over. Meanwhile, Angelo has been grooming Ruskell as his successor since the Bears snagged the Seahawk killer up after his firing.

Convenience and cronyism may guide Ruskell right into the position.

OC Candidate: Jeremy Bates

Bates was a guy the Bears wanted for the job during the 2010 OC search, and that they lost to Seattle, likely because of the uncertainty of Lovie Smith's future at the time.

But after sitting at home a year, the job has to look a lot nicer to Bates than it did previously.

Bates has experience working with Cutler in Denver, and even if he's not the eventual OC, there's also a chance he could be brought on as the quarterbacks coach.

GM Candidate: Lake Dawson

Another name that has popped up in regards to the Bears GM search is Lake Dawson, former NFL wide out and current VP of Football Operations in Tennessee.

Some of the names surfacing concern me, and this is one of them. There is nothing about the Titans recent drafting and free agency moves that should make anyone on the payroll the target of consideration for the Bears GM spot.

If Dawson really is on the minds of the Bears front office, what does this say about the Bears' focus on bringing in the best?

OC Candidate: Dirk Koetter

Dirk Koetter's contract with Jacksonville is up, and his name is being bounced around for the Bears OC spot.

Let's be honest here, folks, anyone who has run the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach jobs for the Jaguars probably shouldn't be on any NFL team's short list of OC candidates.

GM Candidate: A Couple of Packers

John Dorsey might be the best candidate to surface so far. He is Green Bay's Director of College Scouting and a large part of the success of the Packers.

Reggie McKenzie, the Packers Head of Football Operations, is said to be close friends with Lovie Smith, and the Bears are reportedly interested in McKenzie as a possible replacement for Angelo.

Anyone associated with the Packers organization is worth a look.

OC Candidate: Mike Tice

Tice may be the best chance the Bears have at maintaining some sort of continuity on the offense while still returning to the direction of run-first offense.

Cutler learning adjustments to a scheme rather than an entirely knew one would be beneficial to him, and the Bears and the running game can only improve with Tice at the helm.

I'd consider Tice to be one of the safest bets to be the Bears' next offensive coordinator. 

GM Candidate: Lovie Smith

I haven't seen the idea posted anywhere else yet, but it makes a ton of sense.

If the Bears are going to force a GM to bend to the will of the head coach, then why not just save the middle-man and lay those responsibilities on Smith.

While Smith may not be the ideal candidate, choosing him as the general manager isn't unprecedented and would save the Bears the trouble of replacing another GM should Smith falter in his coaching duties.  

Remember that the new GM is being hired in Smith's image and that this will cause some problems in the hiring process. What authority can a GM wield when he is hamstrung by a head coach that resides above him on the food chain?

But it will also cause problems if Smith's firing becomes necessary. What use will a GM tailored specifically to a coach be if the coach is gone?

Considering this, making Lovie the GM makes a lot of sense. He already has power over his staff and a considerable amount of contractual say in the draft. Hire a decent director of personnel and a solid scouting director—both with similar philosophies to the head coach—to aid Smith and allow Smith GM powers.

While it makes for an easier fix if this all falls apart, it also serves to remove clashes in personality at the top that have been said to plagued the Bears in recent years. That alone may make a big difference in the end product and actually give Smith a better chance to succeed while also avoiding the creation of a power struggle that is inevitable when you bring in a GM who is going to be placed in a subservient role even from a high perch on the chain of command. 

For my money, if the Bears want to succeed with Smith, the best chance of that comes from granting him GM powers and then surrounding him with talent at the personnel and scouting positions.