Why Fitzgerald and Bears aren't the right fit

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Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald (R) looks on from the sideline during the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

A few weeks ago on this here very website, colleague JJ Stankevitz wrote a thorough, sensible argument against the hypothetical hiring of Jim Harbaugh that I don't totally disagree with, just mostly. Whether or not the soon-to-be ex-Michigan coach would actually work at Halas Hall is a conversation for another time – like, for instance, any of the dozen or so 'New Coach?!' episodes of the Under Center Podcast that are surely coming this offseason – but JJ's argument did inspire me to think about what other coaches are worth dissuading Bears fans on. Reader, let's talk about Pat Fitzgerald. 

Yesterday, CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora hinted at the possibility that the the Bears and Fitzgerald may be eyeing each other from across the bar. If you want to dismiss La Canfora reports about the Bears, I'm not going to stop you. But then Teddy Greenstein, a Northwestern alum who was writing articles like '100 facts about Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald as he earns win No. 100' for the Chicago Tribune only two months ago, tweeted that if the job opens up, 'look out.' 

This also isn't the first time Fitzgerald and the Bears have shown up in Sunday morning news dumps. The point is: there's clearly someone behind the scenes – whether in the Bears' camp or Fitzgerald's – working to keep this fire warm. Given the Bears' recent habit of, you know, losing, it's also a rumor that's not going away any time soon. And frankly, the best-case scenario at Halas Hall is that a rumor's all it ever amounts to. 

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This is not to say that Fitzgerald's a bad football coach, which is an important distinction to make upfront – mostly just because it's true, but also because we all know how Northwestern people get about Chicago's Big Ten team. 104–80 with two division titles in the last three years speaks for itself; over the last 15 years in Evanston, Fitzgerald's teams have finished at least one game above .500 eight times. Getting within one spot of the AP Top-10 this season is impressive as hell, and more recently, the 'Fighting Rece Davises' stuff – while insufferable – was a testament to the strength of the culture and support system he's spent the better part of two decades building. 

Of course, none of this means he'd be a good coach of the Chicago Bears. You want to parade his winning record around Chicago's northern suburbs? OK! While you're at it, tell me which of his [checks notes] four Bowl wins over the last 15 years is your favorite? Was it the 2017 Music City Bowl, when they beat an unranked Kentucky team by [checks notes again] one point? Their New Era Pinstripe Bowl win from the year before, perhaps? Am I making my point clear? The 2012 Gator Bowl win is, on paper, the high point of the Fitzgerald's time coaching the Wildcats. That game, eight years ago, was also the last (not to mention only) time they've won on New Year's Day. 

And look, Chicago: I get it. I really do. A linebacker! From Orland Park! The idea of Fitzgerald gallantly riding off from the only home he's ever loved to go rescue his childhood team 24 miles north is so Chicago you can practically see it getting in fights under Wrigley's bleachers on Friday afternoon. But you know who probably respects the one (1) Lombardi trophy at Halas Hall as much as Fitzgerald would? Eric Bienemy or Todd Bowles or Jim Caldwell or Robert Saleh or Joe Brady or Greg Roman or Byron Leftwich. Raheem Morris probably would, and Josh McDaniels definitely wouldn't.  There are, quite literally, dozens of qualified NFL candidates that deserve a look because of their work with actual NFL teams, and the Bears would be doing a disservice to themselves and their fans if they were to bypass all of that because Fitzgerald knows what it's like to hit a Portillo's drive thru on the way home from Soldier Field. 

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Fitzgerald's not exactly blowing the doors off the Big 10 with his offense, either. Since that 2012 Gator Bowl win, here's where his teams have ranked in terms of points per game: 10th ('13), 12th ('14), 14th/Last ('15), 7th ('16), 4th ('17), 12th ('18), 13th ('19), and 9th ('20). Points per game doesn't come close to telling the whole story, but finishing near (or at) the bottom of the Big 10 in scoring for the better part of the last decade isn't a great look. Maybe the move would be having Fitzgerald bring in an offensive mind to run that unit and call the plays, but you'd forgive the Bears for not wanting to fire Matt Nagy only to turn around and hire another motivational speaker with a lackluster offensive game plan. The mistake of Nagy's hire wasn't in its intent, but its execution. 

Interest from either side makes a lot of sense on the surface. Chicago, and its media, would eat it up. But being a great fit for a college job doesn't automatically qualify him for a professional one just because it's half an hour down the road. By no means would Fitzgerald and the Bears be the first arranged marriage in NFL history, but if the McCaskeys want to get the next coaching hire right, they'll realize this doesn't need to be the next one.  

 

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