Bears
Bill Polian is assisting the Bears in righting the ship, telling ESPN that it will likely take some time for things to come together
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Polian said, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. “Is it going to take five years? I don’t think so. Not with this regime. We’ll be competitive sooner than later, but it’s going to take some time. There’s a lot of work to be done. The general consensus is that the Bears have 6-9 blue-chippers on this team. That’s not enough. You need 10-12 to be in the hunt. Ryan has a task in front of him to add those kinds of players. There is no question about that. That means it’s not going to happen overnight.”
Polian also commented on the development of QB Justin Fields and pointed out that he didn’t get a fair chance at taking over the team during his rookie season.
“What he needs to do is to learn his craft, to learn what the pro game is all about,” Polian said. “He didn’t have a chance to do that last year. He was thrust into a complex offense that he had no experience with; under center where he had no experience at Ohio State. He wasn’t ready to play and it showed. But there is a lot to work with there. You look at what Justin has going for him, which is a remarkable arm, great mobility, good size (6-3, 228), good ability to run the ball. Highly combative (competitive) guy. Also, Justin has a lot of work to do to develop into a first-rate NFL QB. It takes four years for a rookie QB to come in and learn the job and be able to compete at the highest level in the NFL. That’s just a fact. It took Peyton Manning four years, and he had more tools to work with than most people.”
Polian was also asked if he was immediately sold on new GM Ryan Poles.
“I wouldn’t say it was love at first sight because there was a lot of ground to cover, but by the end of the interview, I was convinced,” Polian said. “He’s very forthright. There’s not a lot of fluff there. There’s a lot of substance. The bottom line is how he approached discipline. You’re going to do it the right way or there will be consequences.”
Lions
Lions GM Brad Holmes said during the Senior Bowl that he would certainly consider trading the team’s first-round pick in order to gain more capital.
“I’m always open for whatever,” Holmes said, via Tom Pelissero. “We’re still in the early stages of it, we’ve got a good feel of the class, we’re at a much better place at this stage of the process than last year. But, still, we’ve got a lot more work to do. But, I’m never scared to move around, so we’re definitely open for business, always.”
- Lions WR coach Antwaan Randle El wants the team to add a playmaker at wide receiver and hopes the team will draft two receivers and sign one in free agency. (Kyle Meinke)
- Lions TE coach Ben Johnson confirmed that he interviewed with HC Dan Campbell for the team’s vacant offensive coordinator position: “We’ve talked for at length a couple of different occasions. We’ve had good conversations.” (Eric Woodyard)
Teryl Austin
Eric Metz, the agent for Steelers DB coach Teryl Austin thinks that the team used his client in order to fulfill their requirements for the Rooney Rule.
“Bob Quinn knew he was hiring Matt Patricia and used Teryl to comply with the Rooney Rule,” Metz told The Associated Press. “Didn’t work out well for the Lions. Never should’ve fired Jim Caldwell.”
Former Panthers DC Steve Wilks declined an interview request with the Lions at the time, as he believed the team was all in on Matt Patricia.
“They didn’t tell me at all, but it was one of those things that you know just from history, the New England connection, and whatnot,” Wilks said, via Dave Birkett of Detroit Free Press. “So I really wasn’t in the process of just trying to take an interview, so I figured they were going that route, and once again, I think they got a great guy in Matt Patricia.”
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