The Case Against Jeremy Bates

More important, Fewell coached the Bears’ secondary when it was an elite unit. In 2005, the Bears led the NFC with 24 interceptions, and all four starting defensive backs had standout seasons, including cornerback Nathan Vasher.

That season, Vasher set career highs in interceptions (eight) and passes defended (eight). His play declined in 2006, and he has started only nine games in the last two seasons.

It is unclear if the Bears will keep Vasher, who is set to make nearly $3million and has a salary-cap number close to $5 million. It’s not lost on the team’s brass, though, that Vasher’s best season was under Fewell’s guidance.

I have followed his career in Buffalo pretty closely and he might just be the perfect combination for the Bears.  He’s a believer in the basic system while emphasizing pressure and aggressive corner play.  He’s also the antithesis of Lovie’s calm sideline demeanor.

When the New York Giants finished their season at 8-8, John Mara addressed the New York media with the ferocity of a rabid wolverine.  “I’m less than 24 hours after the end of the season,” he said, “so I’m sure I’ll cool down at some point and try to make intelligent decisions going forward. But obviously I’m not very happy right now. And they know that.”  “They” were two men responsible for a Super Bowl championship only two years earlier: Tom Coughlin and Jerry Reese.

“There’s no doubt that when a player like (Devin) Aromashodu plays in a few games and shows the kind of talent he had, it makes you wonder why he didn’t play earlier. We understand that.”

The Orange County Register tells his story.  You should read the whole thing here.  This part made me laugh:

And Bates does sweat. With Carroll-esque energy, Bates animatedly
instructs quarterbacks and receivers, his arms often flailing, his mind
constantly churning.

“The guy’s 100 miles per hour, non-stop,” No. 3 quarterback Mitch Mustain said.
“He’s on the details and makes sure we have our stuff. Especially for
him coming in this semester, we’re way ahead of where I ever thought we
would be.”

Bates conceded that he was still learning the offense and the players’ names in spring. Now?

“I
understand the concepts,” he said. “It’s like dating somebody for seven
years. Her name’s Laurie. Then all of a sudden you’re dating someone
else, and her name’s Kim. You’ve got to get adjusted to calling her
Kim.”

Before calling his first game for USC in 2009:

“This is a game of entertainment,” Bates said Wednesday. “The fans pay
a lot of money to go to the games and they’re going to have their
opinions. . . . But we’re focused. We can’t deal with distractions and
things outside of the building, so we’re not going to worry about that
stuff.””This is a game of entertainment,” Bates said Wednesday. “The fans pay
a lot of money to go to the games and they’re going to have their
opinions. . . . But we’re focused. We can’t deal with distractions and
things outside of the building, so we’re not going to worry about that
stuff.”

Scott Reid believed Bates to not be fit for the USC coordinator job:

Carroll further compounded the foolishness of his endless promotion
of Barkley by then placing Barkley’s future, and to a large extent that
of the USC program, into the hands of someone just as in over his head
as Barkley — Bates.  Barkley needed to be eased into the starter’s job. Instead, Carroll billed him as the next Palmer-Leinart-Sanchez-Elway-Unitas.

Barkley needed a teacher who would smooth his rough edges and elevate his game. Instead, Carroll handed him over to SlingBates.

Aside from Bates’ obvious shortcomings as a play-caller, his failure
to develop Barkley alone should be enough for Carroll to help him find
a job elsewhere.

So after a few hours of research, here’s what I’ve deciphered.  Bates is a wonderful offensive mind, earning the respect and praise of both Mike Shanahan and Pete Carroll.  He’s energetic, passionate and animated.  He’s a character.  But he also likes to chuck the ball around and USC wasn’t equipped to do so with a freshman quarterback.  The more I read about him, the more I understand why Cutty likes him.  The more I read about him, the more I think this is a chance the Chicago Bears should take.

Jeremy Bates wants to be the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears.  So does Charlie Weis.  So do Mike Martz and apparently every other out of work offensive mind in the football world (including Al “World’s Largest Playbook” Saunders).  There are going to be openings elsewhere – Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Kansas City – but the job on everybody’s mind is Chicago.  Why?  The answers are quite simple.

Here is what the Tribune has to say about Jeremy Bates:

His first qualification for the job is he gets
along well with Jay Cutler, having been his quarterbacks coach in
Denver. But he also is known as an extremely hard working, brilliant
young coach who learned a lot from Jon Gruden and Mike Shanahan. He also worked with Rod Marinelli when he was an offensive quality control coach for the Bucs. Bates, the son of longtime NFL assistant coach Jim Bates, currently is the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Southern Cal. The 33-year old never has coordinated an offense at any level, and his maturity has been questioned.

With Jeremy Bates have never been an offensive coordinator, would Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith be willing to risk their careers in Chicago on an individual without a track record?  I can’t see it happening.  That’s why I think they’ll ultimately go the route of a Mike Martz type.

Side Note: It seems my prediction that Perry Fewell will become the defensive coordinator was not much of a reach.  Fewell already has an interview lined up.

Who the Bears hire as the offensive coordinator really doesn’t matter to me.  If the line blocks and the quarterback doesn’t throw it to the other team, they’ll score points.

But the Bears must bring in a big personality on the defensive side of the ball.  Someone like Ron Rivera.  Someone not afraid to challenge Lovie Smith on a day-to-day basis.  The right guy for the job is Bengals’ defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, a man most believe will be a free agent at the end of the season.

He’s also an Illinois guy – an all-conference athlete at Lockport Township High School and a graduate of Illinois State.

It makes a ton of sense.  Usually that’s reason enough for the folks at Halas Hall to ignore it.  

Three individuals spoke today at Halas Hall.  Ted Phillips, the ringmaster of Chicago’s most popular circus, embarrassed himself with a stunning lack of football knowledge and blind fan pandering.  Jerry Angelo actually believed that “new energy” from new coaches would elevate a 7-9 disaster to a Super Bowl contender.  Lovie Smith sounded exactly like Lovie Smith always does: arrogant, stubborn, boring.