Marshawn Lynch Destroys Saints Defense

Flat out Beast Mode. One of the greatest NFL runs I've ever seen.

No other run in Lynch's career has better defined him as a player. Gawd, what a ridiculous run.
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Harbaugh Nonsense Needs to Stop...Like Now

Adam Shefter of ESPN is reporting via Twitter that Jim Harbaugh has agreed to a five year contract with the 49ers.

Thank God.

And I say this not because I wanted Harbaugh to leave. Quite frankly, I could give a flip about where he ends up.

I thank the good man upstairs, because this current obsession with trying to know where exactly Harbaugh will be coaching next season has become flat out ridiculous. Like Bieber fever ridiculous.


Distressing is how much some of the Cal fan contingent has apparently been taken up by Harbaugh fever. Will he stay or will he go? How will Luck's staying in school affect his decision? Why wasn't Tedford as heavily pursued by the NFL? How was his steak cooked last night? What consistency was his crap in his golden toilet seat this morning?

On the BearInsider boards, right now 17 of the 40 threads on the front page concern Harbaugh in some capacity. That's nearly half of all the front page threads.

People, get a hold of yourselves.

Look, I get some of it. Sorta. As the head coach of our rival school, and fresh off one of the best seasons in school history, it’s easy to get sucked up in a little envy of Harbaugh. And the prospect of Harbaugh leaving probably does invoke some level of emotion. It’s of some relevance.

And before I proceed any further, I recognize that Harbaugh is a good coach. Probably a great coach, though we don’t know that yet. I say that because I think it’s one thing to turn a program around, it’s another to sustain that level of success on a consistent basis. Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Bobby Bowden, regardless of your opinions of them, they knew how to win.

So I get that some might be a bit interested in the topic of Harbaugh’s future.

But when I start to see inane levels of discussion on the topic, and begin reading how posters and bloggers begin hoping that Harbaugh leaves because it’s better for Cal, I begin to throw up a little.


When did some fans get to such levels of desperation that they begin following our rivals’ coaching career to obsession levels and begin wishing for his departure?

I could care less where Harbaugh ends up. If he jumps ship, I’ll look forward to the prospect of our team whupping the next coach. If Harbaugh stays, bring it on, I say. Yeah, we might get throttled again, but it’ll feel that much better when we do take them down.

And believe you me, as amazing of a team that Stanford was this past season (and they were very good), Harbaugh and the Furd can be beaten. And I still have strong doubts that Harbaugh would be able to sustain the current level of success.

Do I hate losing to Stanford? Probably more than anything. But I enjoy the competition. And I know our team does as well.

To put it succinctly, Harbaugh leaving will do nothing to help the Bears become a better teams. Coach Tedford, the coaches, and the players will help the Bears be a better team. Let’s spend more time following and supporting that notion.
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Coaching Carousel Thoughts

Most of these thoughts are a bit belated, but here are a few quick hits regarding some of the more recent coaching changes this off season.

Four coaches have already been let go or "allowed to pursue other opportunities" in this off season, so it appears that Tedford wasn't messing around when he said every component of the program was going to be evaluated, and evaluated closely.

Wide Receiver Coach
Out: Kevin Daft
In: Eric Kiesau

I feel bad for Daft. By all accounts, he seems to have been well liked by the players and coaches, and is said to be a quality individual all around.

But he was put in a difficult position of coaching the wide receivers back in 2009, when his background was in playing as and coaching quarterbacks. It was hoped his knowledge of the passing game would help the quarterbacks and wide receivers build a stronger connection, but that would not be the case during his stint as the WR coach.

Despite the emergence of Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen as the Bears' go-to receivers, Cal's passing game regressed to inept levels the past season (174.8 ypg). While much of that falls on the problems at quarterback and o-line, there had been too many dropped passes the few seasons, and no visible improvement in rapport with the receivers and quarterback.

It was simply an experiment that didn't pan out.

I am excited however about the return of Eric Kiesau to the Bears, who served as Cal's WR coach from 2002 to 2005, which also happened to be the best three seasons of passing offense of Tedford's tenure. Kiesau coached up McArthur from underachieving to being the second best receiver in the nation during his 2003 campaign with an amazing 1,504 receiving yards. Walk-ons like Burl Toler and Vinny Strang also became critical components of the passing game.

I don't buy the notion that Tedford is hoping to relive the past instead of trying to move forward and improve his units. Kiesau can coach and knows what's he's doing. He's got a young corps of talent waiting in the wings, and I'm excited to see what pans out. This blogger likes the hire.


Defensive Back Coach
Out: Al Simmons
In: Ashley Ambrose

I thought this was one of the more surprising moves. I fully expected a number of coaches to be on the hot seat this offseason, but I'd be lying if I said I thought Simmons would be one of them.

In my opinion, I thought Simmons had done a solid job with the defensive backs since rejoining the Cal staff and had apparently been a stickler for details and technique.

In an interesting sidenote, the story first broke courtesy of CJ Moncrease's twitter. I'd have liked to have been there when Tedford called in Moncrease to "discuss" Moncrease's decision to make private info public. Simmons re-energized a unit that had previously finished last in the conference in 2007 with just 10 interceptions and 9th in passes defended and broken up, by coaching Cal's secondary to notch 24 interceptions and finish tops in the conference in all three aforementioned categories.

As CGB notes however, those numbers dropped off the following two years:

However, after 2008, those figures dropped to 58 and 56 the next two years--still effective, but the interception totals dropped precipitously (only 20 combined picks those two years). It's possible defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was displeased by the lack of turnovers forced by his defense (Cal only intercepted nine passes this year, 88th in the country).

Still, the Bears allowed the fewest yards per game through the air in the conference this past season (185.5) and I did think our backfield (when healthy) was one of our strongest units on the team.

Since I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, I can only speculate that both Tedford and Clancy Pendergast felt the time was ripe to go with a change, and pursue a younger coach that might again instill a more aggressive discipline with his unit.

They wasted no time, announcing Ashley Ambrose as Simmons' replacement so this clearly was a situation where they had a coach in mind from the early going.

Ambrose is the second coach to come over from Colorado after Kiesau, having coached the defensive backs for the Buffaloes for one season, and the wide receivers the year prior. He's a 13 year veteran in the NFL, and was the 1996 AFC Defensive Player of the Year. The guy knows how to play, it's still to be seen how well he can coach.

Tedford and Pendergast seem to think the upside is worth the risk however, with Tedford citing Ambrose's level of football experience and his ability to coach that to his players.

The jury is still out on Ambrose in my mind. Like many, I'm hoping Tedford has again struck gold like he did when hiring Tosh Lupoi as his defensive line coach in 2009. Ambrose is clearly experienced at the DB position, and seems like a bright young guy with the potential to really connect with recruits. Also, given that Pendergast is a secondary guy, it appears he's found the coach he'd like to mold and help with as Ambrose continues to develop as a coach.

Also on the way out...
Out: Steve Marshall (Offensive Line Coach)

This was the most obvious move in my mind. Cal's offensive line is nowhere near the quality it had been under Coach Jim Michalczik. While you can't blame all of it on Marshall, given that Coach Michalczik wasn't the best recruiter and the cupboard was a little light upon Marshall's arrival, I can't see how you would justify keeping Marshall around for another few years.

You don't need stats to back up how the Bears have either underachieved with their talent at the offensive line, or how they have missed in their scouting evaluations of talent they thought would be ready to be starters at the division one level. I've also disagreed from the getgo on Marshall's insistence on slimming down his linemen to become more athletic and quicker. I've also felt he waited far too long to push for some personnel changes, and was a bit too indecisive in finding the right spot for certain linemen. (I'm sorry, but Matt Summers-Gavin simply isn't meant to be a tackle.)

I guess you could say the Bears improved marginally from 2009 to 2010 at the offensive line position, but the overall performance was too mediocre and inconsistent to entrust Marshall as the answer for the foreseeable future.

Marshall has since moved on to Colorado, and we're still in the hunt for a few offensive line coaches.

With Tom Cable's firing with "tha Raiduhz," I've heard some grumblings that Coach Michalczik might actually return to the Bears, which I'd wholeheartedly welcome.

I've also heard Nevada's o-line coach Cameron Norcross mentioned, as well as Idaho's Dan Finn. Both seem like strong up and coming coaches, but I can't confirm or deny how serious the interest is in these coaches at this point.

Out: John Krasinski
Another move I was a bit surprised about because A) he seemed to be fairly well regarded by what I had heard, B) was one of the few remaining coaches Tedford brought over from Oregon and C) had a lot of input on the development of the SAHPC.

Shows how little I know. I had heard grumblings about how much weaker our team had been by opposing teams, but I thought that was typical post-game banter. In hindsight, I do think the Bears look as athletic but appear to be lacking in the physical toughness category over the past few seasons.

Krasinki's firing may also do with the fact that he's one of the highest paid coaches on the staff, reportedly making close to 150 K. We're still in a budget crisis, y'see.

Regardless, I wish all the departing coaches the best, regardless of my opinions on their performance. I also have my fingers crossed that the new coaches (whoever they may be) have the best things in store for the Bears.
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Shane Vereen to Declare for NFL Draft

In a move that should surprise no one, runningback Shane Vereen has decided to forego his final year of eligibility and will enter the NFL Draft in April.

Vereen cited that the decision was a difficult one, but it's hard to believe that Vereen was headed towards returning for his senior year. He has already earned his degree in communications, having graduated in 3 1/2 years, and had little to gain in terms of improving his draft stock with another season. He's currently considered one of the top five junior runningbacks according to Mel Kiper Jr., and will probably be a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick.

One has to also consider that Vereen ends his career on a fairly healthy note, and anyone who follows football knows that the shelf life of any NFL runningback is limited. Vereen is in prime position to follow his dream of playing in the NFL, and more power to him.

I've long said that Vereen has been one of my favorite backs to follow, and has been one of the most complete and versatile backs during Coach Tedford's tenure at Cal. While his accolades will likely be a bit overlooked in Cal history, he'll end his career at Cal as one of the most productive runningbacks the school has seen. His career numbers give him 2,834 rushing yards (5th all time) and 29 rushing TDs (tied for 2nd all time).


Vereen leaves behind a larger question at the Cal tailback position, with junior Isi Sofele, RS junior Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson, RS sophomore Dasarte Yarnway, RS freshman Trajaun Briggs, and true freshmen RBs Brendan Bigelow and Daniel Lasco all vying for playing time. In addition to quarterback, it will be one of the more interesting position battles to follow.

But at the end of the day, this post and this moment is about Vereen and his future. I loved watching him play, and I'll always appreciate his contributions on and off the field. Few will forget his legendary 2009 Big Game performance, which I still think is one of the gutsiest performances by any collegiate football player ever. I think he'll have a solid NFL career and I wish him the best with everything he does. Go Bears.
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