Bears turn to Bob Winuvas

by Chris Bearman

Blogger, Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Bears have had...issues...keeping a coaching staff in place for long term. Most of this is because of the immense amount of terrible personnel decisions made by the first set of coaches and front office from 2 years ago. With a less than quality offensive line, and no secondary to speak of, calls were made to coach Bob Winuvas to see if he would be interested in taking over in both a coach and GM capacity. With enough money to throw at him, the coach accepted the offer mid-season, taking over before week eight's games began.

"This team needs a stable hand from a general manager perspective. The ownership here has given me full control over the 53 man roster, and I intend to use it in the offseason to get the Bears back to respectability. It will take some time, but I feel like we have the scouting, the coaching, and the talent to do it," Coach Winuvas said during his introductory press conference.

Coach Winuvas inherits a team with a good quarterback in Andy Dalton to go with two big-time wide recievers in Alshon Jeffery and Kevin White. The defense, once geared to a 3-4 style, will be turned fully into a 4-3 set by the offseason, according to sources close to the coach and the organization. While the offensive line leaves a little to be desired, guard Kyle Long and tackle Evan Patrick are building blocks going forward. With only 5 picks in the upcoming draft, however, the front office will have to build, in the short term, using free agency.

"We have to do a lot of evaluating on the fly, and that takes time. We will take the remaining games to figure out who needs to go where, and then we'll go into the offseason with a solid plan and vision to get the Bears back where they belong," Coach Winuvas said.

With a suspect secondary going forward, Coach Winuvas will have to scheme his way to victory on the defensive side of the ball - something he is comfortable doing. But can he make this offense work? That has been his major issue with every team he has taken over. Will this change?