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Ex-Bears aide Spencer restless on sidelines
Former Chicago Bears running backs coach Tim Spencer. (HANDOUT / May 5, 2006)
By Vaughn McClure, Tribune reporter
June 24, 2013
Tim Spencer, who coached the Chicago Bears? running backs for nine seasons, isn?t just a proud former Ohio State standout. His son, Evan, is a receiver for the Buckeyes. And Spencer has a lot more free time to catch a Saturday game these days.
"I?d rather not spend the time watching him," Spencer said with a laugh. "I?d rather be out there working."
The timetable between the Bears? decision to part ways with coach Lovie Smith and their decision to relieve some assistants of their duties worked against Spencer. He believed there were about seven job openings he was unable to pursue while still under contract with the Bears.
"In the coaching world, sometimes moves are made a little quicker than they?re announced," Spencer said. "And we weren?t allowed to talk to anybody."
Once Spencer got released and was able to seek other opportunities, he was a step behind. Regardless, he interviewed for the Cowboys? running backs coach position vacated by current-Bears running backs coach Skip Peete. The Cowboys hired former Browns running back coach Gary Brown.
"I felt good about it, but you just never know," Spencer said. "The interview went well. But obviously, they picked someone else."
Then Spencer took a step back to the college level. He interviewed at both USC and Tennessee, two programs rich in running back tradition. He was unable to land either position. Spencer last coached in college back in 2003, when he was the running backs coach at Ohio State.
"One of the things that came up through the course of the interviews was recruiting," Spencer said. ``Recruiting was one of my stronger points. I can relate to players. The rules changes haven?t been that drastic from nine years ago.
"But when you haven?t been in the (recruiting) game for a while ? these coaches want guys who have contacts and know the area. So, neither of those jobs panned out."
Spencer remains on the job hunt and has explored the possibility of becoming a coaching analyst, a new football position most noticeable on the Alabama Crimson Tide staff. Since he had one year left on his contract, Spencer is due to get paid by the Bears this year. But if he lands another job of any sort, the Bears only would pay the difference in salary if his new job pays less. If he makes more, the Bears are off the hook totally.
It wouldn?t be a surprise to see Spencer reunite with Smith if Smith lands a head-coaching job in 2014.
"If Lovie gets back in the league and he feels like I can contribute to his team, I would hope that he would consider me," Spencer said.
That wouldn?t be too much of a stretch, considering Spencer was on Smith?s Bears staff from beginning to end and helped discover Matt Forte.
"Coach Spencer is a great coach," former Bears fullback Jason McKie said. "He?s got a lot of knowledge, plus he played the game for a long time. And look at the guys he?s coached in Forte and Thomas Jones and even back to college with Maurice Clarett.
"I?m surprised he didn?t find work this year, but I think he?ll be employed fairly quickly next year."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...go-bears-tim-spencer-20130624,0,1647576.story
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