NFC North Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings

Bears

• Bears CB Kyle Fuller was asked if he knew all along that Chicago would match the Packers’ offer sheet: “I had a feeling inside of me somewhere, just knowing it was a possibility. I think everyone in the situation knew that.” (Ryan Wood)

Lions

According to Howard Balzer, the Detroit Lions brought in seven free agents for workouts this week including:

1. DT Joshua Frazier
2. DT Greg Gilmore
3. DT Elijah Qualls
4. DE Alec James
5. DE Jonathan Wynn
6. OT Jarron Jones
7. LB Jacob Pugh

Of this group, the Lions signed Frazier, Wynn and Jones to their practice squad.

Packers

• Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt writes that his sense regarding Green Bay’s decision to fire HC Mike McCarthy midseason is that they have their eye on a college coaching candidate that they would like to contact now.
• Brandt believes they didn’t want to reach to anyone while McCarthy was still in place as their head coach.
• The notion that the Packers wanted to get a jump start on their head-coaching search doesn’t make a lot of sense if they want to speak with NFL candidates, seeing as they can’t interview anyone until the season is over.
• While Packers president Mark Murphy said they won’t consult QB Aaron Rodgers regarding their next head coach, Brandt believes they do want player input.
• Brandt notes that Murphy is also close with the search firm who ultimately helped him get the job in Green Bay and is “keenly aware of potential candidates inside and outside the NFL.“
• As for the attractiveness of the Packers’ head coaching job, Brandt writes that “there is no working environment in the NFL, indeed in all of professional sports, that puts coaches in a better position to succeed than in Green Bay.“
• Brandt doubts that Murphy ultimately holds more power than the prior CEOs of the franchise, even with the organization changes made this past offseason.

• The Packers worked out DB Tevaughn Campbell this week. (Howard Balzer)

Vikings

Vikings HC Mike Zimmer says he plans to be more involved in the offense now that Kevin Stefanski will take over offensive coordinator duties on an interim basis.

“I think the biggest thing with Kevin is he has been here for a long time, so he knows how we do things here, No. 1,” Zimmer said, via ESPN.com. “No. 2, I think he has a good grasp of his players. Kevin is a very brilliant guy. I interviewed him for the coordinator job this past offseason. We’ve got a lot of smart guys in that room.

“I will try to help him the best I can and so will everybody else, and hopefully the players will too.”

• Vikings QB Kirk Cousins was asked if he takes ownership for the state of the team’s offense: “If I had played at a higher level, we’re probably not talking about things that we’re talking about.” (Courtney Cronin)