NFL Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears Must Land Rex Ryan As Next Defensive Coordinator

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The Chicago Bears‘ 2014 season is all but over, and as it becomes increasingly clear that Marc Trestman will remain the Bears head coach at least through 2015, it seems more and more likely that the scapegoat for this season is going to be Mel Tucker. After another disastrous defensive performance against the Detroit Lions, there is zero chance that Tucker can keep his job. With some more big offenses that Chicago must face on the horizon, the Bears’ defense is going to look weaker and weaker as we approach season’s end. Tucker will be gone.

General manager Phil Emery could handle the job search quietly. He could promote Paul Pasqualoni internally. Pasqualoni has done an excellent job with the team’s defensive linemen, but is an internal promotion really what this defense needs? The voice changes, but the message remains mostly the same. There are plenty of quiet hires that Emery could find from around the league or from the college ranks that won’t excite the fanbase or make much of a splash on the news cycles, but there is one name that would be the exact opposite and is exactly what the Bears need.

That name is Rex Ryan.

The New York Jets head coach is almost certainly going to be fired at season’s end. The Jets are guaranteed a losing record and they haven’t been to the playoffs since 2010. The Jets have plenty of personnel problems and more fault is almost certainly on the GM rather than the coach, but regardless, the Jets are in need of a new voice leading that organization so Ryan will be shown the door, despite Woody Johnson’s love for the bombastic coach.

Television is going to come calling for Rex. Any of the networks would hire him in a second. He has personality, charisma and a sense of humor that television audiences would eat up. There is also a chance that Ryan could be offered another head coaching position, but based on the organizations that will most likely be looking for a head coach, there aren’t many fits, except potentially the Atlanta Falcons.

The perfect spot for Ryan is the defensive coordinator position in Chicago. He has an innovative defensive mind and has the personality that can rally and inspire a locker room. With Trestman’s quiet demeanor, Ryan could be the more outspoken leader in the locker room. Players like playing for Ryan and there is an excellent chance that free agent players would be more drawn to coming to Chicago if he was in the defensive coordinator position.

Emery can also put pressure on Trestman with the hire. Ryan is a coach who has been to two AFC Championship games, and if Trestman gets off to a slow start in 2015, the Bears could make an in-season move to promote Ryan or even promote Ryan to head coach after the 2015 season if the Bears struggle again.

The fit in Chicago is perfect. Bears fans would love Ryan’s personality. The idea of bringing the “Monsters of the Midway” back to Chicago would ignite the fanbase and bring optimism and credibility immediately back to the organization. Ryan loves a good rivalry — his contention with Bill Belichick is the perfect example — and you can bet he will put a focus on the Green Bay Packers and game planning against Aaron Rodgers. Plus, it would be a homecoming of sorts for Ryan, as his father, Buddy Ryan, engineered the 46 defense on the 1985 Super Bowl Champion team.

Convincing Ryan to take a defensive coordinator position won’t be easy. Ryan knows he could probably spend two or three years in television and get another head coaching position without ever having to return to being a coordinator. If Ryan does choose television, it will most certainly only be a temporary stop; coaching is in his blood, and there is zero chance that Ryan chooses to stay in television if coaching is a legitimate option.

If there is one team that Ryan would drop to coordinator for, it would be Chicago. The franchise prides itself on defense, and Ryan would enjoy working with the organization his father helped turn into a dominating force 30 years ago.

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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