New Head Coach John Fox was unveiled to the Chicago Bears community yesterday. New General Manager Ryan Pace was hired by the team on January 8th. So is Quarterback Jay Cutler staying for sure? (We’ll discuss that topic with ESPN’s Adam Schefter here)
Yes,ย ESPN’s Adam Schefter,ย the Adam Schefter, was gracious enough to give me a few minutes of his time tim to talk Chicago Bears and NFL news. (Here’s Schefter’s assessment of Peyton Manning’s future)
The podcast of our exclusive conversation is below.
Adam Schefter was named “Most Influential Tweeter in N.Y.” by New York Magazine, and Sports Illustrated‘s “media person of the year. He was also voted the NFL’s best insider by USA Today three years in a row, 2009-11.
“I think they did a lot of due diligence into the background of John Fox so that they would be very comfortable in the man and coach that they would be getting, and I think they are very satisfied and confident,” said Schefter on Fox.
“When you get a guy like that matched with an inexperienced General Manager who’s got a great reputation, it should be a good combination. You’ve got experience, inexperience, young and old, matched together to give you a dynamic combination in Chicago.”
“When you talk about John Fox going forward, you’ve got to get that defense turned around, and he’s been the turnaround artist. He’s turned around a team in Carolina, in Denver, and they’re counting on him doing the same in Chicago.”
Schefter said he hasn’t dealt with new Bears GM Ryan Pace in person very much, but everything he’s heard about Pace’s potential has been overwhelmingly positive.
“The people that I know, similar circles, they rave about him, they really do. They think he’s just a tremendous evaluator. They think he’s been waiting and primed for this opportunity. They believe he’s going to be a star in this role and succeed in his first big chance.”
Next up for the Bears, finding new coordinators. When that happens, I’m guessing Adam Schefter will break the story first.
Paul M. Banksย owns, operates and writesย The Sports Bank.net, which isย partnered withย Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive.
ย You can read Banksโ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him onย Twitter (@paulmbanks)
