Updates

The Bears got some bad news, I think, when offensive line coach Jim Michalczik decided to go to Washington and be the offensive coordinator for the Huskies. Coach M is a great offensive line coach, and is a tremendous developer of line talent.

On the one hand, he has been with the Bears for 7 years, and sometimes that gets stale. But I think the bigger reason is that he was the offensive coordinator last year, and essentially was demoted this year to co-offensive coordinator, after the implosion last year.

If you remember, last year was the year when Coach Tedford decided to call plays. It did not work out so well. But the Bears did have a pretty good offense last year (certainly better than this year under new offensive coordinator Cignetti).

Now, when I say demoted, I am sure that it was not a real demotion - because in fact, initially, it was not a real promotion. He was not making, for example, the type of coin that Defensive Coordinator Gregory is making - about 30% more than Coach M. He did not have total responsibility for that side of the ball, as that was mostly Tedford's side of things. And, Tedford did spend a good deal of time there, considering that he decided after the season that he was not doing enough of a good job managing the team. And so when he went to get an offensive coordinator, he did not hire the guy already in the job in name - he went out and got someone who could actually be an offensive coordinator - at least in JT's mind. And Michalczik went back to the line coach and co-offensive coordinator.

Prior to last year, Michalczik was also Assistant Head Coach - which means that you get to do a lot of the crappy administrative things that head coaches have to do - and so he probably learned quite a bit about dealing with the administration, the athletic department, etc.

All of this means is that he though he had some upward mobility as a Bear coach, and he found out he did not - they brought in the other guy. But he is so well respected that he deserves a shot at an offensive coordinator spot - you are never going to be a head coach until you are a coordinator. And so, when a slot opened up in Washington (his home state) he grabbed it.

Looking ahead, this is a two step process for Michalczik. First, he is going to learn from Sarkisian the USC method, as well as the BYU method. He already has the Tedford method. And the Tedford method and the USC method are probably not too dissimilar. But the next step for Michalczik is to wait for the coaching opportunity to open up at his alma mater in another year when Paul Wulf gets canned at Washington State.

Unless Sarkisian is a complete idiot (and he did not take the Raider job, so me might not be a complete idiot), then the huskies will do better. And with Locker back, they may do significantly better, and maybe even get to a bowl game. They are not playing Oklahoma and BYU - they will get Idaho, some second tier school, and then maybe even beat a reeling Notre Dame. In any event, the Huskies will win at least 4 games next year. So when Washington State is looking for a alumni connection with some good experience, he will be the guy.

Of course, there is tremendous downside to this move for him as well. He will not be calling the plays, so he still will not get the experience that he needs to be a true offensive coordinator. Also, it is possible that Sarkisian will be a total disaster, and the Huskies go through a second year of crap.

As far as the Bears go, we need to get someone who is really, really good. We have had a huge run of great lines thanks to Michalczik, and we need to have that continue. I am sure there are guys out there. But we need to get someone in who is top-notch in what I consider one of the most critical position coach jobs on a football team. Let's face it - skill guys have it or not. Linemen do not have it - they need to be coached. And a good coach can make all the difference. Maybe that is a little simplistic, but there is a good bit of truth to that.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The good news is the exciting world of defensive recruiting. The Bears are lighting it up on that side of the ball recruit wise, with more to come. And that is based solely on our switch to the 3-4 defense, in my opinion. We are getting guys in the mold of Zack Follett, who can come off the edge and get the QB, or are fast enough to drop back and play pass. It is very exciting, and I think the defensive recruiters have done a wonderful job.

This is shaping up to be a tremendous recruiting class for the Bears - filling the spots that we needed on the defense to maintain our momentum, while at the same time watching our offense get a year older and better. We should be much improved next year, and, frankly, I think a top 10 team.

GO BEARS!!


All this