I picture Bears chairman George McCaskey deep in concentration, a No. 2 pencil in his hand, a legal pad in front of him, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he writes. I see him putting together a list of pros and cons while contemplating whether to hire Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh as his next head coach.
Harbaugh Pros:
- Is a former Bear.
- Has won at the NFL and collegiate levels.
- Possesses an uncanny ability to know what his opponent is going to do before the ball is snapped.
Harbaugh Cons:
- Played for Mike Ditka.
- Has a big personality, like Mike Ditka.
- Could be another Mike Ditka.
As far as we know, the Bears aren’t yet in the market for a new coach, but Matt Eberflus’ 7-22 record and a lack of clear progress during the team’s rebuild have made him vulnerable. That, of course, has led to public discussion about possible replacements.
That has led to Harbaugh, the successful, complicated, sometimes-difficult coach of the Wolverines. And that means he has two things going against him: The McCaskeys don’t like complicated, and they don’t like difficult. They definitely don’t want personality in whomever is running the show for them.
Look at the coaches they’ve hired since they canned the bigger-than-life Ditka after the 1992 season and tell me what they have in common:
Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron, Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy and Eberflus.
If you guessed “tameness’’ as a common denominator, treat yourself to a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Only Wannstedt and Nagy tested positive for a personality.
The next wave the post-Ditka group makes will be its first.
Harbaugh, on the other hand, is a storm surge.
The McCaskeys’ historically bland choices have not been a coincidence, and that’s why it’s extremely difficult to see them hiring Michigan’s coach. I’m not making a judgment about whether the Bears would be doing themselves a favor by hiring Harbaugh as a leader of men, a builder of quarterbacks and a winner of games. That’s for another day. I’m dealing in reality here, and the chances of ownership wanting a headstrong head coach who might demand major input in personnel decisions are slim.
Harbaugh just finished a three-game suspension that the Big Ten imposed on him. He was in charge of a program that operated an illicit sign-stealing scheme. At a minimum, he seems to have been guilty of lax oversight. That doesn’t sound like a McCaskey hire. Too much controversy there, with suggestions of immorality thrown in. The Bears’ human-resources department already has had to deal with two assistant coaches in this turbulent season.
Harbaugh wouldn’t restore peace and quiet. Just like Ditka didn’t.
Iron Mike is the No. 1 reason for Harbaugh’s disqualification in Chicago. He’s the man who made the McCaskey family oh so uncomfortable, even through all that winning, even through that one glorious Super Bowl. Better to be mediocre or worse, apparently, than to have to put up with someone whose volatility might, on any day of the week, lead to an owner with singed eyebrows.
Is Harbaugh a Mini-Mike? No, he’s not. But there’s something about him that’s a degree or two off, something that makes him seem to wear out his welcome wherever he goes … except for Ann Arbor, Mich. It’s a convenient narrative until you get to his stay there. He coached four years at Stanford, four with the 49ers … and nine at Michigan.
So, he’s stable, right? The McCaskeys like stability, like to plant their feet on the ground and know it won’t shake. Look at Harbaugh, the rock of Michigan!
And, yet, wasn’t that Harbaugh talking with the Vikings last year about their then-vacant head coach position? It certainly was. He reportedly thought the job was his when he went to Minneapolis to interview, but the Vikings never offered it to him. Was it because of his personality? Had the 49ers badmouthed him? No one involved would say.
If he was too much for the Vikings, you’d have to believe he’d be too much for the McCaskeys. Casual Friday is too much for the McCaskeys.
Ditka’s time as head coach in Chicago was a wild ride and his end here a 50-car pileup. It’s safe to say the McCaskeys didn’t like any of the spectacle … safe because every hire since has been the opposite of that.
So Harbaugh as the next Bears coach? Hard to see it, no matter how much he’s won and no matter how much he might win. The pros get blown out by the cons.
