I wouldn't go so far as to say that the new GM/coach shouldn't be judged on wins/losses, but I would say that wins/losses in year 3 should count a lot more than wins/losses in year 1. Make sure the new regime doesn't feel the pressure to sacrifice the future to scratch out a 10-7 season in 2022.

Just now, Jack Parkman said:

I'm not sure Rick Smith is interested in doing football anymore. My understanding is that he quit to spend more time with his kids when his wife died. 

He interviewed for 2 jobs in the past year (Lions and Falcons I think).  But you are right - that is why he left the Texans and what created the environment for the BOB power struggle (which he ultimately won - followed up with his disasterous run as GM).  

1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said:

No matter what George has to get it right - that is always the case - so yeah - you are spot on the whining is just not necessary on that regard.  He also indicated something I didn't realize - as he has said that he will be learning something new as he never had a GM report to him (I actually thought Pace reported to him at some point during his tenure so I was wrong there).  

Re: Ireland - he only excites me if you are getting Harbaugh - otherwise, I'm not in love with him (but what do I know).  Smith, if he really is interested, seems like such an obvious answer (unless he is a royal pain to work with, etc).  

I sorta agree. He seemed like a complete jerk in Miami. But I have respect for people just putting their heads down and working, and he did that in New Orleans for sure. Same reason I'm open to McDaniels. I laughed at his failure over and over, but the fact that he just sorta kept his head down for a decade and hasn't jumped at the first opportunity gets points with me. 

Ireland certainly has an eye for talent. I still can't get over that Kevin Clark piece though, was pretty damn persuasive.

2 minutes ago, CentralChamps21 said:

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the new GM/coach shouldn't be judged on wins/losses, but I would say that wins/losses in year 3 should count a lot more than wins/losses in year 1. Make sure the new regime doesn't feel the pressure to sacrifice the future to scratch out a 10-7 season in 2022.

The Bears just gave their GM what, 7 seasons to figure things out, and 2 coaches got to years 3/4 under that GM?

Interesting response re: Olin Kreutz and $15 dollars. George, if anything, has gotten  better at answering questions. Ted's response on Pace/Nagy was probably the worse. You could see Ted was almost like, we pretty much got it right, we just had a minor miss.  

Bmags - I now need to go find the Kevin Clark piece.  

2 minutes ago, CentralChamps21 said:

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the new GM/coach shouldn't be judged on wins/losses, but I would say that wins/losses in year 3 should count a lot more than wins/losses in year 1. Make sure the new regime doesn't feel the pressure to sacrifice the future to scratch out a 10-7 season in 2022.

Everyone knows the deal though. Flores went to Miami and knew he had a long runway with their tanking. Gets them two winning seasons in first 3 years and is fired. 

Dan Campbell has a long runway with their rebuilding. But i'm sure by end of year 3 he'll feel heat if they aren't winning. 

Good process without good results will get you fired. Hard to argue with much of Rick Spielmans individual decisions, but their defense kept fading and record never matched. He's out.

Just now, bmags said:

Everyone knows the deal though. Flores went to Miami and knew he had a long runway with their tanking. Gets them two winning seasons in first 3 years and is fired. 

Dan Campbell has a long runway with their rebuilding. But i'm sure by end of year 3 he'll feel heat if they aren't winning. 

Good process without good results will get you fired. Hard to argue with much of Rick Spielmans individual decisions, but their defense kept fading and record never matched. He's out.

Spielman is a quality GM. He is a lot like Angelo - good GM, could never get QB or main thing right. Not sure if that was bad luck or what.  I am curious if Bears would look at a Spielman.  The big thing to me with Flores - it seems like there were major cultural issues at play - which does concern. 

1 minute ago, bmags said:

Everyone knows the deal though. Flores went to Miami and knew he had a long runway with their tanking. Gets them two winning seasons in first 3 years and is fired. 

Dan Campbell has a long runway with their rebuilding. But i'm sure by end of year 3 he'll feel heat if they aren't winning. 

Good process without good results will get you fired. Hard to argue with much of Rick Spielmans individual decisions, but their defense kept fading and record never matched. He's out.

NFL=Not For Long. 

2 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Spielman is a quality GM. He is a lot like Angelo - good GM, could never get QB or main thing right. Not sure if that was bad luck or what.  I am curious if Bears would look at a Spielman.  The big thing to me with Flores - it seems like there were major cultural issues at play - which does concern. 

Yeah, not sure I'd pair a young QB with him, but there is a chance Tua was the problem. I'd be surprised though.

1 minute ago, bmags said:

Yeah, not sure I'd pair a young QB with him, but there is a chance Tua was the problem. I'd be surprised though.

I actually thought Tua was maybe a sign of how he could win without a good QB. Eventually he got Tua into a place where they could win together and I think better managed his development. I don't buy Tua (like at all) - but I would also admit the whole back and forth with Fitz and other things probably weren't handled so great (at least if you had a view of the long-term).  

5 minutes ago, Chisoxfn said:

Spielman is a quality GM. He is a lot like Angelo - good GM, could never get QB or main thing right. Not sure if that was bad luck or what.  I am curious if Bears would look at a Spielman.  The big thing to me with Flores - it seems like there were major cultural issues at play - which does concern. 

I'm pretty sure Speilman used to work for the Bears, so if they liked him, I'm sure he will get an interview.

I used to think the "Fire McCaskey" people were just meatballs, but after today they're probably right. The Bears aren't cheap, but they are stupid. 

1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said:

I actually thought Tua was maybe a sign of how he could win without a good QB. Eventually he got Tua into a place where they could win together and I think better managed his development. I don't buy Tua (like at all) - but I would also admit the whole back and forth with Fitz and other things probably weren't handled so great (at least if you had a view of the long-term).  

suppostedly his relationship with Tua is pretty bad. Might be a red flag.

21 minutes ago, bmags said:

I find the response to this press conference kind of obnoxious. The same people who 12 hours ago were saying how stupid the bears were because they are keeping Pace and are hopeless just seamlessly transition into how hopeless everything is because Ted Phillips is drawing up a contract and Bill Polian is consulted. It does suck that the Bears are the Bears but at some point they need someone to hire someone and even if they hire a President of Football, George McCaskey still needs to hire them. 

Then I don’t think you understand what people are upset about. 
 

They fired Nagy and Pace. That was the easy part. Anyone could have done that. The issue is after hearing from George and Ted…the process to find the next GM and HC will be the exact same process that they used to find Pace and Nagy. Ted Phillips will once again be involved. Why should any fan expect a different result? 
 

The entire organization needs to be re-done. No one expects George to just sell the team. But until he keeps relying on Ted Phillips to have a say in football decisions, this is just another day in Bears Land. 

Just now, Jack Parkman said:

I used to think the "Fire McCaskey" people were just meatballs, but after today they're probably right. The Bears aren't cheap, but they are stupid. 

What does it matter - you can't fire an owner. It is what it is.  

1 minute ago, Dick Allen said:

suppostedly his relationship with Tua is pretty bad. Might be a red flag.

Yeah - I agree.  I stand corrected on interest in Flores. There are other, better candidates, without that red flag.  

1 minute ago, Chisoxfn said:

What does it matter - you can't fire an owner. It is what it is.  

Ownership is the biggest problem in Chicago sports. All 5 teams. 

Edited January 10, 20224 yr by Jack Parkman

Just now, Jack Parkman said:

I used to think the "Fire McCaskey" people were just meatballs, but after today they're probably right. The Bears aren't cheap, but they are stupid. 

People inherit companies every day and have no idea how to run the business. The smart ones either sell or hire someone who knows what they are doing to make them some money. These guys make money in spite of themselves. If they had a clue, their asset would be worth even more.

One interesting tactical point I heard; With Bears prioritizing GM first (unless a home run HC candidate pops up) - they shouldn't be caught behind in the hiring cycle. With there being one extra team in the playoffs in each conference and one fewer bye week - the reality is the whole hiring process will likely be slower vs. faster.  

5 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

I used to think the "Fire McCaskey" people were just meatballs, but after today they're probably right. The Bears aren't cheap, but they are stupid. 

It doesn't matter.  They own the team, they aren't getting fired.  Whining about it on Twitter IG or the score won't change it.

1 minute ago, Tony said:

Then I don’t think you understand what people are upset about. 
 

They fired Nagy and Pace. That was the easy part. Anyone could have done that. The issue is after hearing from George and Ted…the process to find the next GM and HC will be the exact same process that they used to find Pace and Nagy. Ted Phillips will once again be involved. Why should any fan expect a different result? 
 

The entire organization needs to be re-done. No one expects George to just sell the team. But until he keeps relying on Ted Phillips to have a say in football decisions, this is just another day in Bears Land. 

Is George McCaskey himself hiring a GM just astronomically better than including Ted Phillips? It's the same, it may be marginally improved with ted. It doesn't matter. The inclusion of Polian, etc is about as good as it can get with the ownership they have. They aren't going to fire themselves. And they would still have to hire a President, I really don't understand the difference.

They can still get this right because they are going to pay tens of millions of dollars of someone with a highly sought after job opening to a whittled down group of candidates. And they can still get it wrong because this shit goes wrong every year anyway to lots of organizations. Who knew the giants would become such a shit show with a much more successful family ownership.

6 minutes ago, Tony said:

Then I don’t think you understand what people are upset about. 
 

They fired Nagy and Pace. That was the easy part. Anyone could have done that. The issue is after hearing from George and Ted…the process to find the next GM and HC will be the exact same process that they used to find Pace and Nagy. Ted Phillips will once again be involved. Why should any fan expect a different result? 
 

The entire organization needs to be re-done. No one expects George to just sell the team. But until he keeps relying on Ted Phillips to have a say in football decisions, this is just another day in Bears Land. 

Hopefully Polian has the loudest voice in the room. As great as the NFL is, it's better for the league if the New York teams and the Bears are actually good.

5 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

Ownership is the biggest problem in Chicago sports. All 5 teams. 

Cool man you figured it out lol

2 minutes ago, Dick Allen said:

People inherit companies every day and have no idea how to run the business. The smart ones either sell or hire someone who knows what they are doing to make them some money. These guys make money in spite of themselves. If they had a clue, their asset would be worth even more.

But that is the thing - to me - those that want a president - well the president gets hired by George (so not a GM rather a president...but same thing in grand scheme of things). It was why I said for those that complain George was making the decision - would it really be worth if Ryan Pace was instead?  I still think as an ownership group - the Bears job is relatively attractive relative to majority of the crappy openings.

Bears brass admits they don't know football and therefor will give them a ton of control and flexibility.  It is on them to make it happen. I'd also argue they are generally more patient (as long as you aren't a complete clown from a relationship perspective) than a lot of the franchises who, like the Bears, are regularly a part of the hiring cycle.  

If I was a candidate - the Bears would be really attractive because of the flexibility ownership would give me - especially now that Phillips is officially removed and I now report directly into the owner. I also will say - its semantics - but Polian is a huge upgrade over Acorsi. Polian has been a front office guy for 3 separate teams - all of which made the Super Bowl under his watch (Bills, Panthers, and Colts).  That is pretty impressive. My only question is the obvious - how can he truly know what to recommend without really seeing how things work, but it does seem like the Bears have made major improvements within the building and around and the fact that they hit on late round picks is a testament to the scouting team they have developed (which the new GM can inherit and obviously refine from there). 

9 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

It doesn't matter.  They own the team, they aren't getting fired.  Whining about it on Twitter IG or the score won't change it.

I know, and it sucks. It's part of why I have this love/hate relationship with my teams. It's why I go through fits of rage where I want to quit sports, and make posts like I did in the Lockout thread. 

The sad thing is, I don't think I'd have the same connection to another team if I fired ownership. It just wouldn't be the same. 

Edited January 10, 20224 yr by Jack Parkman