The Chicago Bears continue their search for finding the “winning way.” It looked like they had it for a brief period from 2005 to 2010 but for one reason or another, they couldn’t quite close the deal. So why is that? What was different about their championship runs in ages past that they couldn’t quite figure out 10 years ago?
After doing some digging in hopes of finding some common thread between those eras, I found something interesting. It’s what the courts would call “circumstantial evidence.” Yet at the same time, there are too many coincidences to ignore. It involves two key positions on their roster, both central to the success of the offense and defense: quarterback and middle linebacker.
What people don’t know is the greatest runs in Bears history were sparked when they secured one and then the other in a space of one calendar year high in the draft. That may sound a bit complicated, so here’s a quick breakdown to explain.
Sid Luckman and Bulldog Turner (1939 and 1940)
This came during a period when the “middle linebacker” position didn’t exist. However, Bulldog Turner played its spiritual successor. This was during a time when players played two ways. Turner was primarily their future Hall of Fame center but also manned the middle on defense. He went 7th overall to the Bears in 1940.
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This came one year after the team took their quarterback Sid Luckman 2nd overall in 1939. The two led the way to the first of four championships Turner’s rookie season, smashing the Redskins 73-0 in the NFL title game. Both ended up in Canton.
Mike Singletary and Jim McMahon (1981 and 1982)
Is it any coincidence then that the second-greatest run of winning for the Bears came in the 1980s? A decade that began when a slightly undersized kid from Baylor named Mike Singletary arrived in 1981. Then the next year he was joined by a rebellious kid from BYU in Jim McMahon. They would go on to form the brains behind the juggernaut Chicago became in 1985.
McMahon was a superb tactician, turning a boring offensive scheme into something defenses struggled to stop when needed. Singletary directed the swirling maelstrom of destruction that was the “46” defense which set records, claiming Defensive Player of the Year honors twice. The Bears won a Super Bowl and made the playoffs five times.
Where things get weird is that this phenomenon tends to happen every four decades or so. It’s been 37 years now since the Bears secured their last pairing and by coincidence, their past two drafts set up a remarkably similar scenario.
Mitch Trubisky and Roquan Smith arrive just one year apart
Keep in mind the Bears haven’t fulfilled that exact scenario since Singletary and McMahon. So imagine knowing all this and then recalling that GM Ryan Pace just fulfilled those exact parameters when he drafted Mitch Trubisk 2nd overall in 2017 and then Roquan Smith 8th overall this year. Almost in the exact same draft slows as Luckman and Turner, no less.
Given how superstitious football fans can be, it’s hard to not feel like this might be fate. Trubisky is garnering loads of respect already from teammates, coaches and even national media. His mixture of talent and leadership qualities had Mike Ditka label him as an upgraded version of McMahon.
Smith became the first inside linebacker since Brian Urlacher to be drafted by the Bears in the 1st round. He won the Dick Butkus award in 2017 for his play at Georgia. It seems like complete destiny that he was going to wear navy blue and orange. Like Trubisky, he’s heralded for his intelligence and leadership qualities.
Have the Bears found their two newest pillars to build a champion around? Only the games to come will reveal that. Even so, it’s hard not to feel like the winds of fate might once again be blowing in Chicago’s direction.