Bears' Gase could have been the 49ers' coach
The San Francisco 49ers' head-coaching vacancy that went to Jim Tomsula was one of five that Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase interviewed for last off-season.
A whirlwind of activity began when then-head coach Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers parted ways and then-head coach John Fox and the Broncos did the same after a first-round playoff loss. Gase was Fox's offensive coordinator in Denver.
It seems like ancient history to Gase, who was asked how close he came to getting the 49ers' job.
"I don't even know," he said. "It's been such a ... I haven't even thought about it. It's so in the past right now."
There's little doubt that the 37-year-old Gase will be a head coach in the NFL - maybe as soon as next month - and he said the experience after last season was positive.
"That whole experience was great for me," Gase said. "It was a crazy two days, and unfortunately we lost the first round of the playoffs. Any time you get a chance to do something like that, it's a great experience."
Gase found a comfortable landing spot on Fox's Bears staff.
"I'm excited that I was able to come here," he said. "This is where I wanted to be. I feel like this is where I was meant to be - working with this group on offense, being with Coach Fox. So this has been a great spot for me."
Gase claims there's no extra incentive for this week's game against the 49ers at Soldier Field.
"Any time you're playing in (any) game, you want to win," he said. "I know when we played Denver (Nov. 22), that's just as big as what this game is for us. As a group, we're trying to win this week, and it just happens to be the 49ers."
Getting to know you:
Former Bears and now Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach coach Lovie Smith liked to break the season into four-game segments with each representing one quarter, as in a football game.
In those terms, John Fox's team has improved in each quarter as they approach the final game of the third quarter Sunday against the 49ers. The Bears were 1-3 in their first four games, 2-2 in their next four and are 2-1 in the last three.
Fox credits the increased familiarity he and his staff have with the roster for some of the improvement. It's a tendency he observed in his two previous head-coaching stints, with the Carolina Panthers (2002-10) and Denver Broncos (2011-14).
"We're a lot further ahead than we were to start," Fox said. "The first quarter of the season, having done this (for the) third go-round, you don't really get to know your team really the first quarter of the season. The first four games are like another preseason.
"This game's about what to do, how to do it and being able to operate under pressure. The games are that pressure. It does take a minute to see how guys react under pressure, what they can do. The preseason's close to what you're trying to simulate, but not quite the same as when people pull out all their bag of tricks and start playing real football when it counts. It's just different."
Long-snap decision:
Inconsistency on shorter snaps led the Bears to release eight-year veteran long-snapper Thomas Gafford earlier this week and sign Patrick Scales, a first-year player out of Utah State.
"When you're talking about a field goal, the more accurate the snap, the longer the ball is going to stay on the ground," special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said. "(So) the longer the kicker is going to be able to see the ball. When he's got more time, he's going to have a better kick than (on) some sort of errant snap where the ball may get down late and you're trying to guess where the ball is going to be."
The same is true on longer punt snaps, Rodgers said.
"The more accurate the snap," he said, "the more (time) the punter is going to have to receive it, step, get in his line, and do whatever he's trying to do with the ball, whether it's punt left or right."
Injury update:
Wide receivers Eddie Royal (knee) and Marquess Wilson (foot), defensive lineman Bruce Gaston (illness) and safety Antrel Rolle (knee) did not practice. Linebacker Pernell McPhee (knee) was limited.