The Bears were willing to go anywhere to try to solve their quarterback problem — even Fargo, N.D.
On March 12, 2021, the day of the North Dakota State standout Trey Lance’s pro day, then-Bears general manager Ryan Pace met with his Seahawks counterpart, John Schneider. Russell Wilson, the Seahawks’ star quarterback, wanted out and was willing to go to Chicago.
Pace delivered his trade offer: three first-round picks, a third-rounder and veteran players to offset Wilson’s contract.
Schneider brought the pitch back to head coach Pete Carroll, who wasn’t ready to end the marriage with Wilson quite yet. Carroll said no — but a year later would say yes when the Broncos called, landing two first-round picks, two seconds, a fifth and three veterans. Not a bad return for a quarterback drafted in the third round.
Carroll, who interviewed for the Bears’ head coaching vacancy Thursday, is the most accomplished unemployed coach in America. He’s one of three people ever to win championships in both the NFL and college. He certainly has more experience to discuss than the other head coaching candidate the Bears interviewed Thursday: Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
Carroll’s strength is culture-building. He’s so dynamic that he doesn’t get enough credit for his on-field innovation. His greatest NFL accomplishment is building the “Legon of Boom” defense, but the Seahawks wouldn’t have gone to two Super Bowls without developing Russell Wilson into a star. That’s of critical importance to the Bears, who need to find a head coach who can develop both a locker room and its quarterback, Caleb Williams.
A standout passer at both North Carolina State and Wisconsin, Wilson stands a hair under 5-foot-11, considered too short to excel as an NFL quarterback. In 2012, Carroll and Schneider drafted him with the 12th pick of Round 3 despite having just given quarterback Matt Flynn $10 million guaranteed.
The Seahawks named him the starter during training camp. He went 11-5 and went to the Pro Bowl in Year 1, prompting the Seahawks to push all in on a strategy that other teams — including this version of the Bears — has tried to duplicate ever since. With their quarterback on a cheap rookie deal, they spent big on other positions for a Super Bowl push. They won one in Wilson’s second year and lost one in his third. He went to the Pro Bowl in eight of his 10 years in Seattle.
The Bears don’t have an undersized third round pick at quarterback — they have the No. 1 overall in Williams. But they need their quarterback to be developed the same way the Seahawks helped grow Wilson.
Because he doesn’t call offensive plays — Carroll is a defensive coach by trade — he needs a clear quarterback plan to be a convincing choice for head coach. Something that won’t help Carroll’s cause: the last offensive coordinator he hired was Shane Waldron. Waldron joined the Bears weeks after Carroll left the Seahawks — and was fired midseason. Prior to Waldron, the Seahawks employed Darrell Bevell at play-caller from 2011-17 and Brian Schottenheimer from 2018-20. The former is the Dolphins’ pass game coordinator, the latter the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator.
The Bears need to be comfortable with why Wilson was so eager to leave. He was upset by the Seahawks’ lack of pass protection, skill-position help and a playbook that leaned on the run. While he was in Seattle, only three teams called fewer designed pass plays.
The team also needs to know if Carroll, who had control over personnel in Seattle, would insist upon the same in Chicago. The biggest personnel decision he and Schneider made in Seattle wound up being correct — trading Wilson. Wilson struggled mightily in two years in Denver and spent this season making the veteran minimum for the Steelers.
The Seahawks dodged a bullet. So did the Bears.
NOTE: Bears interim coach Thomas Brown is expected to interview for the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator job, while assistant general manager Ian Cunningham is line to interview for the Titans’ GM job.