Bears

Offense

Shea was supposed to bring the Kansas City/St. Louis offense with him to Chicago. We’d like to see one year with Rex Grossman before calling it a total failure.

The Bears are among many teams believing that a pick in the teens isn’t so valuable in this very deep draft. A few squads are believed to be angling for Oregon St. running back Steven Jackson, but that could just be empty speculation. The two best defensive ends, Kenechi Udeze and Will Smith, could both be gone by Chicago’s pick.

It’s likely for their offensive coordinator vacancy, from which Chargers TEs coach Rob Chudzinski dropped out of the running late last week. Jackson, who apparently won’t go to Oakland after all, joins Bengals QBs coach Ernie Zampese and purported long-shot Mike Martz as candidates for the gig.

The Bears just promoted Tice from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator on January 6. Tice, of course, is the former head coach of the Vikings. After taking over as interim coach late in 2001, Tice was hired full time, guiding the Vikes to a 32-33 record and one playoff appearance before being let go following the 2005 season. Tice has drawn raves for his work with an under-manned Bears’ offensive line the past two seasons. He is the sixth known candidate the Raiders have sought permission to interview to replace Hue Jackson.

It’s unclear whether Tice turned down the Raiders or Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie had second thoughts. Tice was promoted from line coach to offensive coordinator on January 6, after incumbent OC Mike Martz’s contract expired. Assuming expected new GM Phil Emery doesn’t pull a surprise house cleaning, Tice will keep his role and Lovie Smith will stay on as head coach.

Ruskell is currently the Bears’ director of player personnel and has acted as the general manager since Jerry Angelo was fired. He previously spent five years as the GM of the Seahawks. Although the Bears have been linked to multiple hot names, they have yet to formally interview a single candidate since firing Angelo a week ago.

Loggains has been the passing game coordinator in Nashville, and the Bears were interested in him for the same position as a complement to running game coordinator Mike Tice. Jay Cutler, who enjoys a strong relationship with Loggains, has been pushing hard for the Bears to hire him for a couple of years. Tice reportedly wants in-limbo Jags OC Dirk Koetter for the position instead.

Smith has previously been adamant Martz would return when asked by reporters, so this is a change likely hinting that Martz is on his way out. “We did a lot of good things offensively,” Smith said. “But right now we’re evaluating everything. Mike’s a part of that.” Martz’s contract is expiring, and it’s clear that his offensive system no longer suits the Bears’ offensive strengths.

In terms of Martz’s pro coaching stops, he also coordinated the Lions’ offense in 2006-2007 and 49ers in 2008. The Rams won the Super Bowl in Martz’s first season as coordinator in 1999, scoring the fourth-most points in NFL history (526). He replaced Dick Vermeil as head coach the next year, went 10-6, and led St. Louis to another Super Bowl appearance in 2001. Martz’s unit often struggled in Chicago -- his final job -- but he was one of the most innovative offensive minds of his generation. A member of the Don Coryell coaching tree, Martz’s pass-first philosophy left a lasting impression on the way football is played today.

The Bears have tried and failed to land Zorn, Jaguars QBs coach Greg Olson, Titans QBs coach Dowell Loggains, and Falcons OC Dirk Koetter. They now have their sights set on former Bucs QBs coach Alex Van Pelt. Zorn could end up competing with Brian Daboll, formerly of the Dolphins, for Chiefs play-calling duties.