A former Bears head coach offers his views on Caleb Williams.
On this episode of Football Night in Chicago, former Chicago Bears coach Dave Wannstedt joins Laurence Holmes to discuss the Bears’ OTAs in the current NFL offseason. Wanny talks about what he expected from players when he was a coach, the new kickoff rule for the 2024 NFL campaign, and what the Bears should look for from former USC Trojan and 2022 Heisman winner Caleb Williams.
Wannstedt caused a stir this past January with remarks about the Bears’ offensive coordinator search:
Bears Wire has more on former Chicago head coach Dave Wannstedt saying Kliff Kingsbury would be a bad choice as the offensive coordinator for the team:
“’I like Kliff, he’s a good guy,’ Wannstedt told the Parkins & Spiegel Show on 670 The Score. ‘But that would be the worst mistake (Matt) Eberflus could make. Now, if they’re gonna hire him as quarterbacks coach that might be good if they draft Caleb Williams. That all makes sense.’”
As it turned out, the Washington Commanders hired Kliff as their offensive coordinator. He will coach No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels, the man who followed Caleb Williams as the Heisman Trophy winner in 2023.
Here’s the NBC Sports Chicago segment with Dave Wannstedt on Caleb Williams and the Bears:
Some names to keep an eye on to be the next linebackers coach at Rutgers.
The Rutgers football search for a new linebackers coach is set to enter its third week, and RutgersWire has updates to the coaching big board for the open position.
No hire has been made yet to replace C.J. Hetherman, who left to become the defensive coordinator at Minnesota. Hetherman will be tough to replace, given that he was a gifted coach and communicator and a strong recruiter.
That of course certainly doesn’t mean that Rutgers isn’t on the move and that head coach Greg Schiano isn’t trying to line up a coach.
Scroll down and check out who made the RutgersWire big board (2.0) to be the next linebackers coach with the Scarlet Knights. There are a few internal candidates for the role as well as a far-fetched name or two.
Dave Wannstedt, Pat Forde praise Greg Schiano and Rutgers football.
With four games remaining in the season, Rutgers football could still get another win. That was the outlook from the Big Ten Network this week as this discussed the program’s rise this season.
On Tuesday, former college and NFL head coach Dave Wannstedt said “Schiano’s not done” when talking about Rutgers facing a challenging schedule. Wannstedt sounded some optimism on the topic of getting one more win when he made that remark.
The comment from Wannstedt came after Big Ten Network’s contributor Pat Forde declared Rutgers his winner of the week. On Saturday, Rutgers moved to 6-2 (3-2 Big Ten) following a 31-14 road win at Indiana.
The win has made Rutgers bowl-eligible and created some buzz around the Big Ten.
“How about Rutgers? State University of New Jersey. Six wins, most in nine years and it is still October,” Forde said on BTN.
“Bowl eligible, and it is October. Defense. Kyle Monangai. Greg Schiano. Chopping that wood. Getting it done. This has been a nice turnaround season for them. Kudos to the Scarlet Knights for what they’ve done.”
Then Forde added the most intriguing part.
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“They may not be done winning,” Forde said.
“The rest of the schedule is challenging but I bet they win more than six before the end of the regular season.”
A seventh win would certainly defy expectations. Rutgers faces two ranked opponents (No. 3 Ohio State, at No. 10 Penn State) in their final four games. The other two opponents (at Iowa, Maryland) both have winning records.
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Host Dave Revsine ribbed Wannstedt for not picking Rutgers, given the former coach’s penchant for talking up Rutgers.
“Schiano’s not done. Pat said it. Schiano’s not done,” Wannstedt said.
Rutgers football has a believer in Big Ten Network’s Dave Wannstedt.
With a strong start to the season, Rutgers football is not just heading in the right direction. But Dave Wannstedt believes that Rutgers is going to be a very tough opponent for some of the traditional powers in the Big Ten.
Wannstedt, a former head coach at the college level and in the NFL, has been impressed with how Rutgers (4-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) is performing this season.
Very few people know Schiano as well as Wannstedt, who loves to drop that he is a texting buddy with the Rutgers head coach. In 2013, Wannstedt was part of Schiano’s staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In an appearance this week on the Big Ten Network, Wannstedt liked the direction and the way Rutgers has started their season. The Scarlet Knights have beaten two Power Five teams to start the season.
“Greg -I was texting with him this week. I mean, they’re right where they need to be I mean the quarterback played clean last week, that’s a goal for him,” Wannstedt said on the Big Ten Network.
“Obviously the turnover thing, but I’ll tell you what Rutgers will be a tough out. This will not be easy, even though Wisconsin has more overall talent. This will not be an easy game. There’s gonna be a good game to watch.”
Dave Wannstedt singles out Greg Schiano and Rutgers football on the Big Ten Network this week.
Rutgers football, off to a 3-0 start following Saturday’s win over Virginia Tech, finally has an identity according to Dave Wannstedt. That identity, Wannstedt said, is centered on head coach Greg Schiano’s vision for the team.
In ‘Wanny’s Winner of the Week,’ Wannstedy praised the strong start to the season for Rutgers. A former head coach in the NFL and in college, Wannstedt sees Rutgers evolving and developing.
Rutgers has allowed just 30 points in three games and has just one turnover on offense this season. Speaking on the Big Ten Network this week, Wannstedt singled out the performance of Rutgers this season in what is the fourth year of a rebuild under Schiano
“They don’t turn the football over, right? They don’t turn the football over. They run the ball successfully, and they play outstanding defense and specialty. That’s who Greg Schiano is. That’s his message. And that’s what we’re seeing on the field right now.”
When Schiano was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two seasons, Wannstedt was his special teams coordinator in 2013. It was Schiano’s final season in the NFL.
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Rutgers has limited turnovers and are strong on defense. They face No. 2 Michigan on the road this Saturday in what is a huge
On their way to 3-0, Rutgers has beaten two Power Five teams. In addition to this past weekend’s win over Virginia Tech, they beat Northwestern in their season opener.
Wannstedt sees a more disciplined and tougher team this year at Rutgers.
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“They won’t beat themselves,” Wannstedt said.
“You’re going to have to line up and make plays to beat them.”
Dave Wannstedt dissects Rutgers football’s latest win.
Dave Wannstedt was impressed by what he saw from Rutgers football and Greg Schiano in the first week of the season. The former NFL and college head coach believes that the blueprint for Rutgers to have success this season was seen in Sunday’s win over Northwestern.
An efficient offense that didn’t turn the ball over and dominated the time of possession complemented a defense that limited Northwestern to just 201 yards of total offense. The defense is likely to be the identity of this team, Wannstedt said, and the offense must find a way to continue to move the ball reliably.
Speaking on the Big Ten Network this week, Wannstedt liked what he saw from Rutgers on both sides of the ball. He said it is vintage Schiano.
“But when you took a look at the defense (with) two interceptions, five sacks, eight tackles for loss, holding Northwestern to 12 yards rushing. I don’t know what more….the defense is where he wants it.”
The offense wasn’t gaudy but they did score on their first three possessions. They also didn’t turn the ball over against a Big Ten opponent.
“And offensively. I’ll tell you, you know, Gavin Wimsatt, the quarterback and having texted with Greg a little bit… He is right where he needs to be. But they need to be playing games that are close, or they have a little bit of a lead,” Wannstedt said.
“You know, I mean, I think the concern that I have with Gavin personally is if there are two or three touchdowns behind and they can’t be balanced. Rutgers needs to be a balanced offense.
“They need to complement him with being able to run the ball and I don’t care how many yards, run the ball and now his play-action passes, his athleticism – he’ll make some plays for you. and then they’re gonna come up with plays on defense but 38 minutes possession time- that’s hard to do. I mean, that’s hard as we know, too, and any audio thing I’m giving up on a little bit too much love here, maybe…He’s my guy but you know what? They have two drives 16 plays. You know how hard it is to with a defense to run 16 plays in a row without somebody dropping a ball or jumping off or holding somebody? So that tells me that these kids were focused. They really were -to be able to do that twice. on any level. The high school junior high NFL 16 plays in a row twice and not shoot yourself in the foot. That’s a disciplined team”
Dave Wannstedt turned down a possible role with Northwestern’s football program.
Veteran NFL and college head coach Dave Wannstedt turned down a role on the Northwestern coaching staff, underscoring the instability around the program. Northwestern opens their season in five weeks at Rutgers football.
Given the state of the Northwestern football program following the firing of Pat Fitzgerald last week, it appears that Wannstedt was approached by the university for an oversight role of the football team. What that role exactly was, looks and sounds vague, especially with David Braun being named interim head coach last week.
But Wannstedt was definitely approached and claims that he had two conversations about it with people from Northwestern over this past weekend.
The role, according to Wannstedt, was to provide support for the coaching staff and the players, noting that “Cleanup wasn’t a part of it.” The focus during his conversations with the Northwestern athletic department, he said, was purely on football.
Braun. hired in January to be the defensive coordinator at Northwestern, was elevated to interim head coach several days after Fitzgerald was let go.
“I heard rumors last week that they were going to bring in another defensive coordinator and let Braun was going to be the head coach type of guy, and then they’re brilliant enough to Skip Holtz or whoever to oversee the overseer, I guess I don’t know.,” Wannstedt told 670 The Score in Chicago.
“It was very fluid to me. You know, I’m a little bit anal, but I got to be exact on everything and there wasn’t a lot of exactness and I respect that because they were trying to do the right thing. They were trying to give these players and coaches some help at the end of the day and I respect that part of it.
“And I understood that and we were talking back and forth the seven day a week thing and everything you know was not going to fit what what my mindset is right now as far as me personally and what I’m doing with.”
Wannstedt is currently an analyst for the Big Ten Network. He has connections to Rutgers football and head coach Greg Schiano.
In 2013, Wannstedt was the special teams coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Schiano was their head coach. Had he taken the role with Northwestern, he would have gone against Schiano in the season opener on the first weekend of September.
Dave Wannstedt reacts to the firing of Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald this week.
Dave Wannstedt has seen plenty in his nearly four decades along the sidelines, but what happened at Northwestern surprised the veteran coach. Now with Northwestern set to take on Rutgers football in six weeks, Wannstedt can’t help but wonder what happened with the Wildcats program that has led to this turmoil.
The firing of Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald over hazing allegations is certainly a messy situation. Complicating matters is that Northwestern had originally suspended Fitzgerald for two weeks, only to fire him a day later following a media backlash.
For Wannstedt, the firing doesn’t make sense. A head coach at the college level and in the NFL, he doesn’t see how any new evidence could have emerged between the time that Fitzgerald was suspended and then ultimately fired.
When asked this week if it was appropriate for Northwestern to fire Fitzgerald, the response from Wannstedt was clear.
“Not the way it was handled. Not at all, and I’m still kind of baffled as I think most of the alumni are as are most of the football community. How do you have a piece of information and you’re studying it for four months, and you make a decision and I’m assuming it’s a collective decision with a lot of different opinions from a lot of different areas,” Wannstedt said in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago.
“And here’s what we’re looking at.- what do we want to do about this? This is the decision (that was) made 24 hours later because of a newspaper article that I don’t believe that the paper that they were studying for four months changed, right? If that didn’t change, how do you go from two weeks suspension to firing somebody? That’s what makes no sense to me in this whole thing.
“And I don’t get it. I mean, that is that’s not the way to handle first-class business. And we know that Northwestern – I mean, as a first-class institution on all levels – and this is not good for them. I mean, I feel for the young people involved, I feel for Fitz and I feel for the school.”
The allegations around Northwestern surprised many given Fitzgerald’s stature within the program and the university as a whole.
Fitzgerald played as a linebacker at Northwestern before becoming head coach of the Wildcats in 2006. His head coaching tenure has been an unqualified success. During that time, Northwestern made 10 bowl games.
David Braun, hired in January as the team’s defensive coordinator, is now the interim head coach.
“To me what you need is you need stability right now, you know, and you need to have those players motivated and playing for the school. Right now. They’re playing for Northwestern you know, they’re playing for the ‘N’ on that helmet. Let’s get real. Let’s get right down to it. And, it’s not about the x and o’s. In my mind, it’s not about offense or defense,” Wannstedt said.
“It’s about getting those players, making sure that your coaches because their coaches will start working those phones, and where’s my next job? This isn’t gonna work out for me, and now all of a sudden – so, to me, what they really need is just somebody kind of put her arms around the players, somebody that can put their arms around the coaches and maybe the alumni I don’t know and, and get the most out of this situation that you possibly can in a positive way until they make a decision on the replacement.”
Braun’s first-ever game as a head coach at any level will be at Rutgers in the season opener for both teams. He is considered a young, exciting coach.
Wannstedt also appears on the Big Ten Network as an analyst.
Kickoff between the Vols and Gamecocks is slated for 7 p.m. EST at Williams-Brice Stadium. ESPN will televise the SEC East matchup.
Tennessee’s 2022 regular-season schedule features home games against Ball State (W, 59-10), Akron (W, 63-6), Florida (W, 38-33), Alabama (W, 52-49), UT Martin (W, 65-24), Kentucky (W, 44-6) and Missouri (W, 66-24).
The Vols’ 2022 schedule features road contests at Pittsburgh (W, 34-27 OT) in the second edition of the Johnny Majors Classic, LSU (W, 40-13), Georgia (L, 27-13), South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
Ahead of Week 12 games, former head coach Dave Wannstedt announced his top six college football teams on Big Ten Network’s “B1G Today.” Wannstedt’s top six teams are listed below.
The Big Ten Network doesn’t think Rutgers football has a great bowl outlook.
Sitting at 4-4 and given their remaining schedule, Rutgers football faces an uphill climb if they are going to be bowl-eligible this season. At one point this season, all four of Rutgers’ remaining opponents were either ranked or receiving votes.
Such is life in the Big Ten’s Eastern Division, one of the toughest divisions in college football.
On Saturday night, Rutgers (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten) will host Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten). In this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, the first of the season, Michigan checked in fifth overall.
The tough schedule, coupled with their struggles on offense (see Saturday’s 31-0 loss at Minnesota) leaves Dave Wannstedt and Joshua Perry thinking bowl eligibility is a bridge too far this season for Rutgers and head coach Greg Schiano.
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Wannstedt, a former head coach in the NFL and in college, points to last week’s loss to underscore the difficulty Rutgers faces in coming up with two more wins for bowl eligibility.
“It’s gonna be tough. I mean, last week I was disappointed that the one thing that I thought they could do is stop the run, right?” Wannstedt said. “And they couldn’t do it against Minnesota. It’s gonna be a challenge. Greg got his work cut out.”
Wannstedt and Perry were on the Big Ten Network this week and one of the topics they discussed was bowl eligibility for Rutgers.
Perry, a former standout linebacker at Ohio State, broadened the point further to include the remaining schedule for Rutgers, which isn’t easy to say the least.
“I just don’t know if they have the offense. Like I look at three of these teams up here, Michigan, Penn State and Maryland and say that they’ve got offenses that can put up some points,” Perry said.
“And I’m not sure Rutgers can match. That’s the biggest question to me is can Rutgers match the offense some of the teams that they’re going to see here at the end of the year?”
