Bears shouldn’t be above embracing Mike McCarthy: Silvy

The Bears got burned.

Everyone knew it was time to move on, but the team doubled down believing he could turn it around.

And finally, after it was obvious with all of the flubs capped by the big one on national TV, the Bears had no choice but to get rid of him. And because they had trust for so long in the incumbent, they erred on the side over correcting their past mistake by lining up several candidates for the job, some who weren’t even qualified. The NFL world just laughed and shook their head.

That story sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

It’s not about the current Bears coaching search and the flawed belief in Matt Eberflus, it’s what the Bears did after Cody Parkey’s double-doink against the Eagles. An unheard of nine kickers reported to Halas Hall for a competition [circus], and the team still didn’t solve the issue picking Eddie Pinero, who lasted only a year.

Good organizations have a process. Bad ones panic.

NFL insider Albert Breer believes the Bears have set a league record with the most interviews/candidates for a head coaching vacancy. Due diligence or just more doo doo? Breer also pointed out that the Chargers interviewed 15 coaches last offseason before landing Jim Harbaugh, but remember the Bears weren’t even wise enough to move on from Matt Eberflus and identify Harbaugh as a game changer. So I simply can’t accept that comparison.

Don’t get me wrong, the Bears still can get this right, but their processes veer from one direction to another.

Nine kicking prospects in 2019.

Ryan Poles only interviewed three coaching candidates in 2022.

The Bears interviewed 10 offensive coordinator candidates in 2024.

In the meantime, Poles only brought in one QB to Halas Hall for a visit before last year’s draft – Caleb Williams.

Now there are 20 head coaching candidates in the queue. The Bears swerve with their processes more than a malfunctioning Waymo car.

Explain to me how it makes sense to interview Mike McCarthy in person and take him out to dinner but only talk to other Super Bowl champions like Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel virtually?

McCarthy could be a saving grace for this franchise who happens to check a hefty number of boxes for the Bears. And most of all, he’s a safe hire. He won’t rock the McCaskey boat.

I can hear the press conference now:

“We turned over every stone in our coaching search and conducted weeks of research, but once Mike McCarthy unexpectedly became available we were nimble, swift and pivoted our search to him. There are few coaches around who have won at his level and can command a room like Mike.”

And yes, Bears fans, while you and I may respond with a “meh” and are as skeptical as we’ve ever been, McCarthy’s record is impressive.

174-112-2 overall record.

11-11 in the postseason.

1 Super Bowl title.

4 conference championship game appearances.

12 postseasons, 8 division titles.

Let’s put that into perspective courtesy of ESPN stats and info:

• In the same years as McCarthy, the Bears are 141-167–22. That ranks 22nd in the NFL.

• The Bears have played just seven postseason games compared to McCarthy’s 22 and are 3-4. One of the losses came to McCarthy and the Packers.

• While McCarthy has 12 postseason appearances going back to 2006, the Bears past 12 postseasons have come over a span of 39 years.

So who are we as Bears fans to scoff at McCarthy?

Besides the numbers, McCarthy oversaw the development of a talented but raw Aaron Rodgers from the ground floor. He also took a solid Dak Prescott and helped him grow into an MVP candidate and one of the highest paid players in the game. If McCarthy can do that for Caleb Williams, his career win total will go well above 200 and the Bears could become relevant again. Plus, Williams grew up idolizing Rodgers and could play for the same coach which would help buy-in. Sort of like Kobe playing for the same coach as Michael.

I know, I know, McCarthy isn’t Phil Jackson. Think more Doc Rivers.

And while I can rally myself to get behind the Bears hiring McCarthy, I still can’t shake the home run potential of Ben Johnson. As much as we love to hate the Packers, look at how they do it – they don’t hire the recycled McCarthy, they hire the first one. They took a chance on Mike Holmgren the coordinator. They took a chance on Matt LaFleur the coordinator. No Super Bowl winning coach has ever won a title in a second city, and we are the ultimate second city.

Johnson in my opinion is worth it – at least worth waiting to give him the same in-person interview and dinner as McCarthy got this week. If you lose McCarthy in the process, so be it. And if Johnson doesn’t choose you and both are off the table, you move on to Joe Brady or Todd Monken.

Don’t panic with a quick hire of McCarthy, the goal shouldn’t be “we could do worse than Mike.” That’s the equivalent to a coach playing not to lose. As flawed as this search may be, see it through and play to win by hiring Ben Johnson.

And then we hope this is the last Bears search for years.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.