Chicago Bears: Head Coach Search Dependent on 3 Keys

The Chicago Bears appear on the precipice of a head coaching change and it’s one they absolutely cannot afford to get wrong if they ever want to start winning.

Marc Trestman was a failure. John Fox was a failure. Right now the Bears’ ability to identify a head coach who’s poised for future success is at rock bottom. Though Fox was a turnaround kingpin once upon a time, it’s clearer than ever he’s lost his edge. At age 62 that isn’t surprising. He’s been at the job for well over a decade. After a certain amount of time a man just can’t summon the same will power and attention to detail required.

So now the question becomes if and when a change is made, who will the Bears get? No doubt it has to be a hit, regardless of who it ends up being. While it’s difficult to determine what precisely makes a top NFL head coach, there is at least a common thread among them that lends an idea as to the probability they pan out. It comes down to three basic keys.

#1:  History of success

Good head coaches don’t just suddenly become good out of thin air. These are men who tended to build a track record of success often going back a decade or longer. Bill Belichick was a highly successful defensive coordinator in New York and New England before he got the Patriots head job. Sean Payton was a long-time offensive coordinator that helped the Giants to a Super Bowl six years before he arrived in New Orleans. Do the research and make sure the guy had his own success, that he wasn’t just carried to it.

#2:  Had good teachers

Anybody who bothers to look a little closer shouldn’t be the least bit surprised Doug Pederson is doing so well in Philadelphia. Great head coaches tend to get bred by other great head coaches. It’s how the system has always worked. Pederson played quarterback for 12 years, during which time he learned under Don Shula in Miami and Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. After becoming a coach he was further honed by Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City. The man was prepared well. If a coach had good teachers, odds are he’ll have good lessons to apply.

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#3:  Chip on the shoulder

This last one can be a bit ambiguous, but it’s no less true. Head coaches are not far off from being like players. One must give them a cause to rally against, something to motivate them to work harder and give greater effort to their job. For Mike Zimmer it was having to wait probably a full decade longer than he should’ve to get his shot. John Harbaugh held the stigma of being primarily a special teams coach. Sean McVay no doubt want to show everybody that he was not too young for the job. When men come in with that chip on their shoulder, success tends to follow.