Bears
Bears’ search ramps up as team meets McDaniels, Shurmur Friday
The Bears interviewed two of the most popular offensive-minded candidates in this hiring cycle Friday. They met with Vikings coordinator Pat Shurmur in Minnesota and then traveled to New England for a nighttime session with Patriots coordinator Josh McDaniels.
The Bears confirmed their interviews with Shurmur and McDaniels raising their official total to four. Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio interviewed Wednesday and Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards interviewed Thursday.
Shurmur has emerged for his work with quarterback Case Keenum this season, and three other teams are considering him. He met with the Lions and Cardinals on Thursday and is expected to meet with the Giants on Saturday.
The 52-year-old had a 9-23 record as head coach of the Browns in 2011-12, a record that would be celebrated in Cleveland the last few seasons. He went from there to the Eagles, where he picked up some offensive concepts from Chip Kelly. The Vikings hired him as their tight ends coach in 2016 and promoted him to coordinator after Norv Turner’s resignation that season.
Shurmur was far from a hot candidate at the start of this season, but the Vikings offense thrived when Keenum, a journeyman, was pressed into action. They finishing 10th in total yards despite losing their starting quarterback for all but two games and running back Dalvin Cook in Week 4.
Keenum went 11-3 record as the starter and passed for 3,547 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions while posting a 98.3 passer rating. Shurmur tailored the scheme to the strengths of Keenum, who is much more athletic and mobile than Sam Bradford, whom he replaced.
The buzz around the league is the Bears are interested in finding a way to keep Fangio on the staff if he’s not hired as head coach, and it’s possible Shurmur could consider Fangio as defensive coordinator and form an appealing option for general manager Ryan Pace. Fangio is coming out of his contract, so he will be unencumbered to explore coordinator options elsewhere if a head-coaching position doesn’t materialize for him. The Packers likely will be interested in him after firing defensive coordinator Dom Capers, and there could be other suitors.
As the Bears gauge a potential fit with McDaniels, they must sell their vacancy to a candidate who will have options because of his five Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, including three working with quarterback Tom Brady.
McDaniels, 41, interviewed with the Colts and Giants this week. The Lions also might meet with him. From his perspective, meeting with the Bears is an opportunity to measure how he would mesh with Pace, who will maintain final say over the roster.
McDaniels’ candidacy is colored by his failed coaching stint with the Broncos in 2009-10. After a preseason fallout in 2009 with incumbent Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler, McDaniels’ Broncos won their first six games. But they lost 17 of the next 22, and he is perceived to have lost the locker room before being fired.
As his career circled back to the Patriots and regained momentum, McDaniels believes he matured from the Broncos experience. In a 2016 feature in Bleacher Report, McDaniels openly discussed how his impulsiveness, stubbornness and naivete facilitated his quick flameout in Denver.
He insisted he is more cognizant now of the value in cultivating healthy relationships with players and other coaches, listening to colleagues and teammates and having an open mind to alternative lines of thinking and ways of doing things.
McDaniels ventured back onto the coaching interview circuit last offseason, meeting with the 49ers, Rams and Jaguars, according to multiple national reports. After staying with the Patriots, he coordinated the NFL’s top-ranked offense in 2017. The Patriots were fifth in yards per play and second in scoring.
Each season since McDaniels returned to the Patriots in 2012 as offensive coordinator, they have ranked in the NFL’s top four in scoring. Only once have they ranked lower than seventh in total yards.
As the Bears and McDaniels get to know each other Friday, it’s worth noting that McDaniels’ 37-year-old brother, Ben, held the title of offensive assistant on John Fox’s Bears staff the last two seasons. So McDaniels will enter the meeting with a good idea about the inner workings of the team and its personnel.
The Bears are expected to meet with Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo on Saturday and Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy next week after the Chiefs’ wild-card game Saturday against the Titans. The Cardinals interviewed DeFilippo on Friday evening. The Colts are expected to interview Nagy.
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