Riddick: Bears' job is most attractive, with a condition

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The Chicago Bears are looking for a new head coach after firing Matt Nagy.

And they face some stiff competition. The Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars are all looking for a head coach. The Las Vegas Raiders could be too if they don't retain interim head coach Rich Bisaccia.

But which job is more attractive?

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"I think Chicago, obviously, because they have a young quarterback in place," former front office exec Louis Riddick said on the Dan Patrick Show.

Now to be fair, Patrick phrased the question as choosing between the Bears, Vikings and Broncos.

But it's Fields that makes the Bears opening attractive.

"I mean, every coach right, Dan you know this, they go into situations going well, I'm going to be the one who builds it from the ground up and I'm going to be the savior," Riddick noted. "I'm going to be the next hot thing. I'm going to be the guy. Well, I mean, in most times, they can connect that with having a young quarterback who they feel as though they can take to the kind of levels that really are commensurate with being a championship caliber football team.

"And I think a lot of people look at Justin Fields like that."

Now the elephant in the room, coming off Bears chairman George McCaskey's disastrous press conference, is the front office. The Bears fired general manager Ryan Pace and are looking for his replacement. The future general manager will report to McCaskey directly.

Ted Phillips is still roaming Halas Hall, but supposedly will be focused on non-football business. After he is a part of the team that hires the head coach and general manager...

And Riddick didn't hesitate to point that out.

"I think the issue in Chicago will be, how do they revamp the front office? Do they revamp the front office? Starting from like the level right below ownership on down," Riddick said. "And how and do they stock it with football people, so to speak, although I don't like necessarily using that term.

"Let me just put it this way that people who really do understand what coaches need in order to be successful, what front offices need to be successful? Do they do that if they can? If they do that, I think everybody will be lining up at the door to try and get that job."

Given that McCaskey described himself as just a fan and indicated no desire to install a head of football operations, the answer is probably no.

But when Riddick was informed of Pace's firing during the show, he noted it becomes the top job.

"That's what they needed to do. So now I I do believe that that becomes job number one, that people would want," Riddick said. "Now we don't know what's happening with Ted Phillips, who's also there in the front office. But I think that becomes job number one because of Justin Fields."

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