Someone in the Bears’ organization at a level above general manager Jerry Angelo has begun surveying options for changing the coach or general manager, or both, according to Hub Arkush, a football expert on WSCR-AM 670 and publisher of Pro Football Weekly.

“Inquiries have been made, feelers have been put out,” Arkush said on the radio station today regarding the initial step of gauging interest and affordability of some of the big-names candidates available.

Arkush specifically named former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who groomed Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and helped him earn a Pro Bowl berth in Denver; former Steelers coach Bill Cowher and former Buccaneers and Raiders coach Jon Gruden. All three have won Super Bowls.

Asked about the report, a team source said, “There’s absolutely no truth” to the report.

Hub is a great guy and I am inclined to believe he heard that.  My guess would be that someone at the McCaskey level is reaching out behind Angelo and Lovie’s backs to see what options are available.  As much as I want a new coach, this is no way to treat Lovie and a backhanded way to conduct a new coach hunt.  Hopefully everyone up at Halas Hall gets on the same page.

h/t Pic: WCG

In a sign of how difficult things have become in the Bears’ world, the beleaguered team stunned a network giant Wednesday by rejecting NBC’s request for prime-time access to coach Lovie Smith, quarterback Jay Cutler and general manager Jerry Angelo.

Smith and any requested players, including Cutler, will be made available to NBC for standard pre-production meetings Friday with announcers Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. Such sessions always are off-camera. But no Bears personnel will be on-camera for NBC’s pregame show.

I’m not sure what this is meant to accomplish.  As the article points out, an opportunity to talk to Costas is usually a chance to put your own spin on the story.  That being said, I’m sure the frustration of the last month or so is difficult to deal with and having to explain to the media over and over again what’s wrong can’t be good for anyone’s confidence.

Or maybe the Bears are just hoping that if they don’t talk about how bad things have been, those things will just go away.

Starting with defensive tackle Jarron Gilbert Angelo addressed the defensive line, which he called the “cornerstone of the franchise.”  Gilbert weighs in at 288 pounds and at 6′5″ still manages to move remarkably well.  For example:

After filling a need on the d-line, the Bears grabbed Juaquin Iglesias to fill a need at wide receiver.  Iglesias is a guy that many analysts believed the Bears would target with their second round pick, so for Chicago to grab him late in the fourth round is a big win.  Iglesias doesn’t have the size or the speed to be a top receiver, but should be a solid possession guy with his good hands and route running.

Then it was back to the defensive line a few picks later, taking Henry Melton who used to be a fullback at Texas before moving to defensive end.  He shows the athletic ability to be a great pass rusher, but is obviously still learning the position.  Melton and Gilbert should be great projects for assistant Rod Marinelli, a noted defensive line guru.

The Bears then got a steal with corner D.J. Moore out of Vanderbilt in the mid-fourth round.  From there the Bears took a couple of wide receivers later in the draft, one burner and one possession guy; an outside linebacker in Marcus Freeman of Ohio State; a safety from Oregon State; and an offensive guard.

For what it’s worth, the Bears generally got draft grades from the major sports outlets in the B-range.  I’d say that considering the picks they had, the Bears did at least that well and probably deserve an A when you include Cutler in the discussion. As opposed to a team like the Lions, who drafted what they considered the best player regardless of need, the Bears addressed their major needs with guys who can contribute at almost every spot they needed.

I’d probably say B+

Had Jerry hit the board, the Bears could have ended up with Mohamed Massoquoi or any number of other talented players who were still waiting by the phone.  Unfortunately he missed the board entirely with his magical draft dart, trading the Bears second round pick and putting them in a position to draft a gaggle of shittier players on Day 2.  I’m not saying this will turn out badly, but for now I’m not too happy with it.

“When we did our research, we know he goes out, we know he does those things,” Angelo said. “We talked to our medical people, we talked to the Denver medical people. It comes with the territory. We’re comfortable with it. I really can’t answer it beyond that.

“I’m not going to micro-manage a person. If we have to do that, that’s not a good sign. Some lessons, they have to see and learn for themselves. I don’t think that’s a big thing at this point. It’s what he does on Sunday is how we’re going to evaluate him. That’s the bottom line. He’s got a good foundation coming in here. He’s a young quarterback, he’s played in this league, he’s shown what he can do. He gets it. That’s the biggest concern. He gets it.”

Whoa Jerry.  So you’re saying that it’s ok for a young man to go out drinking with friends?  How unusual.  Jerry gets a gold star for being reasonable where the rest of the world seems to have gone insane.

h/t: Smells Like Mascot

LM: After the 2008 season ended, you said that you believed in Kyle Orton and liked some of the things he did, but you needed to see more before anointing him the long-term solution at the position. You also indicated that the Bears were fixated on getting the quarterback position stabilized. With all that in mind, why are the Bears seemingly not interested in pursuing a veteran in free agency or via a trade?

Yeah, what gives Jer?  There are certainly plenty of quarterbacks out there that the Bears could try and bring in to compete with Neckbeard for the top spot, but the Bears have seemingly been idle.  Angelo said he didn’t want to hurt the progress of Orton like they did last year with him and Rex competing for the job.  Understandable, as a guy competing for the job would steal reps from Orton, but if the guy, whether it be Simms, Leftwich, or anyone else, is better than Orton, isn’t that worth the lack of reps? For what it’s worth, Angelo said they could look for a veteran back-up after the draft.  Woo!

LM: Why haven’t the Bears tried to sign any of this year’s big-name free agents such as wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh or safety Brian Dawkins, both of whom are productive veterans who seemingly would provide major upgrades?

Money.  That was Angelo’s answer in a nutshell.  The Bears didn’t want to shell out the money for a guy like T.J. at the top of his market, or to an aging Brian Dawkins.  Dawkins I understand, but you’re going to have to spend money to upgrade at wide receiver.  Angelo said Seattle’s situation was different in that they had an “inordinate amount of injuries with their wide receivers” and were looking for someone healthy and stable.  Umm, what?  Well, the Bears have an inordinate amount of suck with their wide receivers, let’s address that.  The more you read this, the more you get the feeling Angelo is the kind of guy that steals the butter from the dish at restaurants.

LM: How much of a priority is upgrading the wide receiver position either in free agency or the draft?

Angelo says they have guys they like as “twos, threes, fours and fives, and if we carried six, a sixth receiver.”  Translation: one two, three fours, and a couple five or sixes.  He says they’re in the market for a number one receiver and will likely pursue it through the draft.  You hear that first round mock drafters?  He also said that they would look at premium receivers available through free agency too, but umm…referencing the last question, I don’t think that’ll happen.  They cost money you know.

h/t: Chicago Bears and Judd!