This week has brought some closure to the coaching staff searches but also raised a lot of questions; why Jeremy Bates after he was at first eliminated before the search began? And why didn't he get the passing game coordinator title? Then even more questions were raised, like can Mike Tice even call passing plays? Does Tice even know what a pass looks like? Is he qualified for the position he has?

Well I am here to look at some of these questions and see if I can draw some conclusions about what the offense will look like and how, in fact, the Bears' offensive staff will develop and call plays.

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We all know the offseason is slow, boring, and repetitive; I'm already tired of Peyton Manning news and the million different trade scenarios that would get Brandon Marshall to Chicago (would love him here, but ain't gonna happen). So, to prepare ourselves for the greatest month of amateur sports and professional gambling (March Madness, duh) Windy City Gridiron presents to you: Febearary Fever!

The Febearary Fever tournament features thirty-two contestants vying for the title of "Greatest Bear Ever." However, unlike past polls, no Chicago Bears will be participating; instead, we're having famous bears from television, movies, books, and real life faceoff in a poll-crazy month of head-to-head battles to the death. Ever pondered who is better: Yogi or Smoky? What about Winnie versus Staley? Then this is the tournament for you.

Jump ahead to check out the list of this year's participants and how to get your contestant added to the tournament.

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The Phil Emery hire was a good one, and I like it, as a lot of Bears fans do, but he isn't exactly going to shake up Halas Hall or somehow drastically change the way things are done. The team and the man himself have already said this. Mainly everything is the same as when Jerry Angelo was in charge, except, the hope is that Emery can actually evaluate and pick good talent. One of the bigger things people have been harping on about is that Emery is stuck with, for better or worse, Lovie Smith for the 2012 season.

So then Lovie, let's see what you got.

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For all the ado made about the structure of the Bears' front office, one man gets little love: Senior Director of Football Administration Cliff Stein. He's been with the Bears since 2002, was one of the three men who interviewed potential GMs, but his retention in the current front-office overhaul got only a peep from the sports press. At the GM level, football is as much about dollars and cents as it is Xs and Os, and the Bears have one of the best NFL contract negotiators and cap managers in Stein. Flip below the fold to learn more about this unsung Bears hero and why he should be getting the love he deserves. Onwards!

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Since being named General Manager of the Chicago Bears, we've heard a lot about Phil Emery as a hard-working, nose to the grindstone, scout with a vision kind of guy. Since his first press conference, we've been inundated with articles both in praise of what he said and condemning what he said (and sometimes how he said it). I'm not going to go into detail about my thoughts on the hiring (fyi: not jumping for joy but excited and anxiously waiting to see what he does). Instead, let's take a look at why Emery is the perfect man to be General Manager of the Chicago Bears. Jump in support of bunnies (hop, hop, get it?).

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As indicated by my poll question earlier today, I don't think the Pro Bowl does the job it's intended to. I consider the Pro Bowl to be the NFL's all-star event, and while it does have one thing right - it takes place at the end of the season - it has so much else wrong with it that is isn't a proper celebration of the NFL's best players.

But why not? The first thing is that while it takes place at the end of the season, by that point most of the best players are injured and beat-up over the course of a sixteen-game season and unable, via injury or Super Bowl, to play another game. As such, enough alternates are named to play a game that half of the NFL is a Pro Bowler, watering down the achievement.

So what's the first step in making the Pro Bowl a true all-star celebration? Don't make the game the be-all end-all of it.

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Who am I to say that Rick Telander is a bad writer? The guy has written a few books, worked for Sports Illustrated and is generally considered a good sports writer. In college I had to read his book Heaven is a Playground for a sports history class I took and I will say I didn't much care for it. Anyway, that's kind of besides the point. What I am trying to say is Rick Telander might be a great sportswriter but his January 24 article about Jay Cutler not having "it" is dead wrong.

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That's right, I said doomed. But before you furiously type out some rant-like rebuttal in the comments section, read through my reasoning behind this. And no, it has nothing to do with me disliking Tice as the Bears' offensive coordinator. To err is human; to jump, divine.

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