The New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers started making plans for the Super Bowl Monday, and the Bears were not all that different.
The Bears began addressing what they need to do to have a realistic chance of getting there in the next two years, not the next two weeks.
Two years is all it took coach John Fox to take Carolina from the NFC cellar to the Super Bowl. Restless Bears fans want new coach Lovie Smith to follow the same fast track. With Fox reaching the Super Bowl this season and Bill Callahan of Oakland getting there last year, experience no longer appears to be a prerequisite.
A big part of Smith’s grand plan–some say the biggest–went into action Monday at Halas Hall when the Bears took a step toward becoming more innovative by interviewing Terry Shea for the offensive coordinator’s job. A source close to the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach said Shea has strong interest and likes the idea of working in Chicago.
Shea has never been an NFL offensive coordinator but would come with a background of 35 years in coaching and the reputation for being a passing-game guru. He has written a book, “The Quarterback,” and produced a video, “The Making of a Quarterback.”
In Kansas City, Shea helped orchestrate the NFL’s highest-scoring offense, which was 56 percent pass and 44 percent run. Quarterback Trent Green threw for 4,039 yards and completed 63 percent of his passes, compared to 2,905 yards and 53 percent for Bears’ quarterbacks.
With previous college head-coaching stops at San Jose State and Rutgers, Shea didn’t join an NFL staff until Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil hired him three years ago. His only previous exposure to professional coaching came in 1995, when Shea coached running backs and quarterbacks for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League for one season.
In an interview with a Canadian newspaper before taking that job, Shea described himself as a “maverick.” Former 49ers coach Bill Walsh thought so much of Shea that he gave him autonomy over the Stanford offense when Walsh was head coach and Shea the offensive coordinator in the early 1990s. Walsh said the Bears couldn’t hire anybody better equipped to develop quarterback Rex Grossman.
If Shea gets the job, as expected, former Bears wide receiver Ken Margerum could receive consideration for a job on the staff. Margerum, 44, has college coaching experience at California and Hawaii and is preparing for his second year as an offensive coordinator in NFL Europe, this season for the Berlin Thunder. He played for Walsh at Stanford and adheres to the same offensive philosophies Shea would practice with the Bears.
A member of the ’85 Bears, Margerum fits the mold of an ex-player that Smith said last week he would welcome on the staff.
Smith’s expertise on defense makes hiring a defensive coordinator slightly less significant, if not complicated. With Tampa Bay blocking the Bears’ bid to interview assistant head coach Rod Marinelli and with St. Louis hiring defensive coordinator Larry Marmie, who was also high on the Bears’ list, the focus shifts.
One possibility remains elevating linebackers coach Bob Babich, Smith’s first hire. He coached Smith’s system last season with the Rams and has been good friends with Smith for almost 20 years.
A potential drawback with that decision: It could mean the Bears would enter next season with a head coach and two coordinators who have no NFL experience at their current jobs.
