Official 2026 NFC North Thread

[Grid]

Originally Posted by erock28

I always assume when terrible retreads get hired, they are hired to give their honest opinions...and teams then do the exact opposite.

Like Mike Kafka bouncing from the Chiefs to the Giants to the Lions?

Giants at least looked at the 2021 Chiefs and thought he could run their offense for them. Lions just looked at Kafka's Giants go from 6-11, to 3-14 to 4-13 last season and thought. Yeah, thats the guy we need!

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by erock28

I always assume when terrible retreads get hired, they are hired to give their honest opinions...and teams then do the exact opposite.

Is this a defense of terrible retreads?

[erock28]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Is this a defense of terrible retreads?

Only thing that makes sense. If I hire Coach Poopypants, and Coach says draft player X over player Y, and I take Y given Poopypants is a terrible player analyzer, when Y makes my team better...isn't Poopypants worth something?!?!

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by Grid

Like Mike Kafka bouncing from the Chiefs to the Giants to the Lions?

Giants at least looked at the 2021 Chiefs and thought he could run their offense for them. Lions just looked at Kafka's Giants go from 6-11, to 3-14 to 4-13 last season and thought. Yeah, thats the guy we need!

Dan made Benedict great, he can do the same for the two bald guys.

[bojesphob]

As a Packers fan, I will say that I really didn't expect the Pack to progress far this year in the playoffs because of their D without Parsons. Ended up being why they lost. But Parsons coming back again should help solidify them again, and maybe they can get someone new to compliment him on the other side. Heck, I'm just glad they made it and actually made a game of it, despite their defense collapsing in the 4th.

As such, I have only sat down and watched 2 Super Bowls since the 2010 season: The Packers winning it in 2010, and the Bengals losing to the Rams. If the Bears had actually made it to the Super Bowl this year, despite beating the Packers to get there, I would have actually watched that and cheered the Bears on (representing the NFCN). As is, I'll be be watching the Puppy Bowl again this year with my 11 year old daughter.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Dan made Benedict great, he can do the same for the two bald guys.

Like he made Anthony Lynn before BJ? Or like he made John Morton after BJ?

Just trying to gauge your greatness scale.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by bojesphob

As is, I'll be be watching the Puppy Bowl again this year with my 11 year old daughter.

Keep an eye on Scruffy. He is my sleeper for Puppy Bowl MVP (Most Valuable Pup)

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by Grid

Like he made Anthony Lynn before BJ? Or like he made John Morton after BJ?

Just trying to gauge your greatness scale.

No one hits on every attempt.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

No one hits on every attempt.

Why are you so upset at BJ again?

A lot of ppl thought he would be gone after the 2023 season and he did you guys a favor and came back for another run. Lions just couldn't get it done in 2024.

99% of young coordinators want their chance in the captain's chair. If the Lions weren't going to give it to him, what's he supposed to do? BJ even went out of his way to not poach as many Lions coaches as he wanted.

I wish guys like Buddy Ryan and Fangio stayed around forever, but when you have the chance for a promotion, go for it.

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

Why are you so upset at BJ again?

A lot of ppl thought he would be gone after the 2023 season and he did you guys a favor and came back for another run. Lions just couldn't get it done in 2024.

99% of young coordinators want their chance in the captain's chair. If the Lions weren't going to give it to him, what's he supposed to do? BJ even went out of his way to not poach as many Lions coaches as he wanted.

I wish guys like Buddy Ryan and Fangio stayed around forever, but when you have the chance for a promotion, go for it.

Not particularly upset at BJ - just pointing out that not every coaching hire pans out. I'm sure as a Bears fan you can appreciate those circumstances.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Not particularly upset at BJ - just pointing out that not every coaching hire pans out. I'm sure as a Bears fan you can appreciate those circumstances.

Not every hire pans out?

You said Campbell made BJ great, and he can do the same for the two bald guys.

What you really meant was, Dan only ever hit on BJ and no one else ever. So far Aaron Glenn looks like a massive turd in NY.

DC was just lucky BJ stumbled into Detroit. And as soon as he could, he got the hell out of there!

DC without Ben winning % .421

DC with Ben winning % .794

Ben without DC winning % .647 as a rookie HC VS DC .206

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by Grid

Not every hire pans out?

You said Campbell made BJ great, and he can do the same for the two bald guys.

What you really meant was, Dan only ever hit on BJ and no one else ever. So far Aaron Glenn looks like a massive turd in NY.

DC was just lucky BJ stumbled into Detroit. And as soon as he could, he got the hell out of there!

DC without Ben winning % .421

DC with Ben winning % .794

Ben without DC winning % .647 as a rookie HC VS DC .206

Anyone would be a massive turd with NYJ - get serious.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Anyone would be a massive turd with NYJ - get serious.

Somehow, Namath's legend continues to grow.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Anyone would be a massive turd with NYJ - get serious.

That is 100% fair!

Originally Posted by Asian62150

Somehow, Namath's legend continues to grow.

Caleb tossed 3942 yards this season. 618 more in the playoffs. And some NN Jets fan was making posts in one of my groups, how the Bears still didnt have a 4,000 yard passer. Which is fair.

But the Jets have only done it once, and that was in 1967 with Broadway Joe had 4007. I dont know if I would be shatting on other teams with something like that. And less so, when your 2025 passing leader was Justin Fields and his whopping 1,259 yards over 10 games

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by Grid

Caleb tossed 3942 yards this season. 618 more in the playoffs. And some NN Jets fan was making posts in one of my groups, how the Bears still didnt have a 4,000 yard passer. Which is fair.

But the Jets have only done it once, and that was in 1967 with Broadway Joe had 4007. I dont know if I would be shatting on other teams with something like that. And less so, when your 2025 passing leader was Justin Fields and his whopping 1,259 yards over 10 games

I couldn't care less about 4,000. It's just a number at the end of the day. Other fans and the media just like to throw that number out to jab us.

Da Bears just gave us one of the most memorable seasons of the past 15+ years with Ben and Caleb leading the way. I'd venture to say Caleb is one of the most exciting players in the NFL, maybe the #1 most exciting player. Bears will be playing a lot of prime time night games next year.

If Caleb stays healthy and keeps improving, the numbers will come. But more importantly, so will the wins.

If he wins a few SBs and never passes for 4,000 in a regular season, I'll enjoy the parades just fine.

[Asian62150]

Congrats to Ian Cunningham. Been hearing his name rumored for GM positions the last few years. Glad he's getting his chance in ATL.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

Congrats to Ian Cunningham. Been hearing his name rumored for GM positions the last few years. Glad he's getting his chance in ATL.

He is a fool. I know he was super desperate to get his own GM job. As he has been interviewed all around the league for the past few cycles. He is a good dude, dont get me wrong. And he can help the Falcons. But I just posted this in the Black Monday thread a few days ago

I just read about the mess in Atlanta. They hired Matt Ryan to be the president of football operations.

He hired Kevin Stefanski.

Kevin Stefanski hired Bob Quinn and gave him the title “senior advisor to the head coach"

All while not hiring an actual GM. Who would take that GM job? GM would have to talk to Quinn, who reports to Stefanski who reports to Ryan. And Ryan has never ran a football team before. Or even worked in team management.

Thats some Cleveland Level Malpractice right there.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by Grid

He is a fool. I know he was super desperate to get his own GM job. As he has been interviewed all around the league for the past few cycles. He is a good dude, dont get me wrong. And he can help the Falcons. But I just posted this in the Black Monday thread a few days ago

I just read about the mess in Atlanta. They hired Matt Ryan to be the president of football operations.

He hired Kevin Stefanski.

Kevin Stefanski hired Bob Quinn and gave him the title “senior advisor to the head coach"

All while not hiring an actual GM. Who would take that GM job? GM would have to talk to Quinn, who reports to Stefanski who reports to Ryan. And Ryan has never ran a football team before. Or even worked in team management.

Thats some Cleveland Level Malpractice right there.

It's not ideal, but Cunningham was probably getting thirsty for a GM job and I think he's from ATL? Maybe he just wanted to go home.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

It's not ideal, but Cunningham was probably getting thirsty for a GM job and I think he's from ATL? Maybe he just wanted to go home.

For sure. The kicker is, since Cunningham isn't a "true" GM. But rather a guy who reports to a guy (Matt Ryan of all people). The Bears will not receive any compensatory picks. As its just a lateral move for him. Outside of title that is.

He is just second fiddle in Atlanta the same way he was second fiddle in Chicago.

But when you are the massive success the Bears are. You expect other teams to try and steal the secret sauce with these hires. I expect us to lose more staff as well as some of our Free Agents as well.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by Grid

For sure. The kicker is, since Cunningham isn't a "true" GM. But rather a guy who reports to a guy (Matt Ryan of all people). The Bears will not receive any compensatory picks. As its just a lateral move for him. Outside of title that is.

He is just second fiddle in Atlanta the same way he was second fiddle in Chicago.

But when you are the massive success the Bears are. You expect other teams to try and steal the secret sauce with these hires. I expect us to lose more staff as well as some of our Free Agents as well.

Yeah that's the problem with being "ahead of schedule."

It would have been nice for a lot of these behind the scenes people to stay at least another year to build up the team/players.

Also, not sure if this factors into it, but it feels like people from big market teams like the Bears get poached more often because of the attention the team gets. One good season with a big market team and you're in high demand whereas it takes a few years with less popular teams to get noticed. But maybe I'm just making that up in my mind.

[erock28]

Originally Posted by Grid

For sure. The kicker is, since Cunningham isn't a "true" GM. But rather a guy who reports to a guy (Matt Ryan of all people). The Bears will not receive any compensatory picks. As its just a lateral move for him. Outside of title that is.

He is just second fiddle in Atlanta the same way he was second fiddle in Chicago.

But when you are the massive success the Bears are. You expect other teams to try and steal the secret sauce with these hires. I expect us to lose more staff as well as some of our Free Agents as well.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...bring that Hiawatha Hype train back to Union Station. One playoff win in 15 years and a single division title after 3 straight cellar seasons is a "massive success"? Better be careful...Hairy will be chomping at the bit to retort!

[Grid]

Originally Posted by erock28

Whoa, whoa, whoa...bring that Hiawatha Hype train back to Union Station. One playoff win in 15 years and a single division title after 3 straight cellar seasons is a "massive success"? Better be careful...Hairy will be chomping at the bit to retort!

No one is out there recruiting from the 2010 Bears staff right now. Not sure what 15 years ago has to do with anything.

Right now, the Ben Johnson staff is being raided. Why? Because it was a success. The Eagles were trying to interview our OC, who doesn't even call plays.

The Chiefs just took our RB coach to become their OC.

The Falcons just took our assistant GM to be their actual GM.

Everyone wants a piece of the Bears staff or head office it seems.

Hairy will agree. As he set the stage for "It doesn't matter what happened in the past. Only the here and now"

Not that I buy into that, as my team has a glorious past as well as present. And its also funny that Harry now wants us to forget about the 2025 Lions and go back to the 2023 ones!

[Viking6]

Minnesota fired the GM Kwesi. Today is a good day.

[Grid]

Originally Posted by Viking6

Minnesota fired the GM Kwesi. Today is a good day.

Congrats! The Bears interviewed him for GM before settling on Poles. Dodged a bullet there it seems

[Grid]

Bills fired Sean McDermott, and promoted his OC Joe Brady as Head Coach.

Bills knew Brady was the genius behind their success. And couldn't risk losing him to all the other teams that were trying to hire him to be their HC.

Meanwhile, the Lions held onto Campbell and let Ben Johnson leave.