The Bears have officially scheduled their interview with Jeremy Bates, the man who quickly found himself as the front-runner for the Offensive Coordinator position in Chicago. The front office doesn't seem to be dragging their feet too much on getting their people locked in, with both interviews scheduled one week after the big fire sale.
Brad Biggs writes that the Bears have scheduled an interview with Bates for Tuesday afternoon. A key point Biggs mentions:
If the Seahawks pursue Bates, the Bears could find themselves in a bidding war against the owner with the deepest pockets in the NFL, Paul Allen. Seattle would also seemingly offer more job security with Carroll just getting started and Smith facing a playoffs-or-bust scenario.
Is this a guy worth getting into a bidding war on? I guess we'll find out how the Bears feel soon.
With Fewell already scheduled for Monday, and now Bates on Tuesday, we could have a big and busy week for the Bears so early in the offseason.
As Biggs mentioned in the above article, Bates may not necessarily be the lock at OC. He may be considered for QB coach, if they decide to go after a more seasoned play-caller.
The problem with that is that Bates should have enough ability to go get a position, so would he settle for being QB coach under what could be a lame duck head coach? I think the lure to get him here would be that he could fast track to a Head Coaching position if he has success and the team doesn't. I've heard that he has his own offense he'd like to install on a pro team, and I don't know if being buddies with Cutler is enough to get him to come here with out the OC position.
What's the consensus out there in Bear Territories?