When word broke of the Bears firing Matt Nagy, the entire city of Chicago awaited a final decision on embattled General Manager Ryan Pace. Since Pace’s arrival this time in 2014, things haven’t exactly panned out as expected or promised.
Within a fifteen minute stretch that separated the news of Nagy and Pace, reports of demotion, promotion, status quo and dismissal soared on social media. It wasn’t until an Adam Schefter tweet confirmed the hopes of many; and finally, a sigh of relief and a weight lifted off of every Bears fan’s shoulders.
Bears ownership was two-for-two to start the morning — batting 1.000%. And Bears fans, even following a 6-11 finish to the season, had hope again.
“Maybe they’ll get it right.”
“Maybe they’ll hire a football guy.”
“What if we’ve seen the last of Ted Phillips?”
Shh-shh-shh-shh… It’s not worth getting your hopes up. And George McCaskey took matters into his own hands on Monday afternoon to assure a worrisome, yet optimistic fanbase that this was once again the case.
Instead of holding a brief press conference to exhibit his disappointment with his own failures to operate the charter franchise, McCaskey used an hour long Q&N/A (non-answer) to inflate his ego, talk about his mom and tell the crowd he read a book on vacation.
Walk away from your mistakes.
McCaskey struck three chords that certainly resonated with the online community of Bears fans:
- Invoked Parker Dickerson’s name, the son of the late ESPN.com writer Jeff Dickerson, while inappropriately segueing to lambasting fans that heckled Nagy’s son at a recent high school football game;
- Called Olin Kreutz a liar.
- Refused to elaborate as to whether or not a candidate could disqualify themselves from an opening by not accepting 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields as the future quarterback of the franchise desperate for its first.
The most jarring aspect of #3 is that Fields is the likely reason for the reported high interest in the head coaching position. While Joe Judge was busy arguing stats in New York, it’s important to embrace the rocky freshman year for Fields and commit to significant improvement.
Not doing so is an affront to everybody with a set of eyes that watched a Bears game this past season. Fields has plenty of room for improvement, and unavoidable injuries and illness prevented the rookie from building some much-wanted momentum for 2022.
But the flashes shown throughout the year brought tears to eyes in the Chicagoland area under the influence of having a superbly promising quarterback on the Bears.
Fields is as good as Chicago’s ever seen — probably better — and any coach taking an interview at Halas Hall is sitting across a table from George McCaskey with an interest in developing the quarterback into one of Chicago’s greatest success stories.
Maybe McCaskey misunderstood, or couldn’t properly convey his opinion, or maybe he really cannot comprehend hypothetical questions. But the headaches in Chicago only worsened as the presser continued.
Turn your back on what you do.
Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Potash grilled McCaskey about his record in Chicago since taking over in 2011. McCaskey refused to accept blame, but was fast to acknowledge his mother’s approval for his work:
670 The Score’s David Haugh took a jab at the poor quality and inability to appear forthcoming in McCaskey’s answers following the chairman’s wisecrack about Haugh’s previous line of questioning:
Bears writers took the fifty-eight minute press conference as an opportunity to sternly yet respectfully demand accountability for Chicago’s consistent failures since a Super Bowl championship won nearly thirty-six years ago.
McCaskey used the presser as an opportunity to regurgitate many of the same clichés used in 2018, 2014 and 2011. The cycle doesn’t end. After all, it is a cycle. Aside from a few bumps in the road, like the abysmal reign of Marc Trestman, or the disappointing end to Nagy’s career, the cycle continues on. If the media availability made one thing absolutely clear, it’s that Ted Phillips and George McCaskey still reign supreme regardless of their message.
After a morning that allowed fans to take baby steps toward the bandwagon again, by 1 PM CST, George McCaskey’s two-for-two start now included a platinum sombrero.
As Adam Hoge and Adam Jahns would kindly say, that’s so Bears.
Just a little smile is all it takes.
Even in the best of mornings to reunite a shattered fandom, McCaskey cannot step out of his own way. It’s a common occurrence within an organization that makes more headlines due to coaching changes than sustained success.
This isn’t new. So why should we trust the process of George & Co. in 2022? The committee tasked with finding the next general manager and head coach consists of a failed owner, failed team president, a retired executive, and two fresh voices within the organization. But who’s held accountable if things go awry yet again?
Bill Polian’s reputation and legacy is untarnishable at this point. Ted Phillips is supposedly moving out of football operations following the hire. George McCaskey isn’t going to fire himself.
Tanesha Wade possesses familiarity with the organization. Formerly the Director of Events and Entertainment, Wade currently holds the title of Senior Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. The former Director of Operations for the now-defunct Arena Football League’s Chicago Rush, Wade brings a business mindset to the room.
Soup Campbell’s time spent playing in the NFL as well as his relationship to the locker room gives another promising perspective.
You can have your cake…
Polian’s football savvy led to Marv Levy’s and Tony Dungy’s employment as premier head coaches in the NFL. Polian’s the definition of “Football Guy.” When Bears fans proclaim their desire to see a “Football Guy” running the show, Bill Polian fits the bill. But Polian retired as an executive in 2011.
The reserved response to McCaskey invoking Polian’s name on Monday is due in large part to the former Indianapolis General Manager’s age and his lengthy departure from football. But it’s also important to note the lack of consequence that falls upon Polian if things go south in Chicago again.
It doesn’t require a gigantic leap to conclude the very real possibility things shake out the same way in another four years. The ability to give the benefit of the doubt to George McCaskey and Ted Phillips soared out the window years ago.
Bill Polian disappears upon the hiring of a general manager and head coach. Back to retirement, back to watching the games on Sunday like the rest of us. And if you think the hesitation to trust Polian to suggest a fireproof candidate is shortsighted, maybe it’s because a search party led by former executive Ernie Accorsi in 2015 is what landed the Bears Ryan Pace and John Fox.
And eat it, too.
As the marathon list of candidates for both gigs within the organizations grows, even with names that inspire confidence and hope for a positive direction, there’s simply no guarantee the Bears end the drought and hit a home run.
Gone is the trust between ownership and the fans. And it’s not for one specific move, nor is it because of one bad season. The trust dissipated over the course of time. Twenty-three years with Ted Phillips. Eleven years with George McCaskey. But twenty-four hours with Bill Polian in the room is enough to change our minds about the failed leaders that have brought the organization to this very point multiple times in the last decade? Not so fast, my friend.