People slam the guy a lot these days, which isn’t really fair. Love or hate him, former Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo deserves respect. He oversaw the second-most successful run of the Super Bowl era in this town which included four division titles and a Super Bowl berth in 2006. Nobody since him has done better, including Ryan Pace. So maybe it’s okay to hear what the guy has to say.
He took time to jump in on 670 The Score with “Mully & Haugh” to talk about the current state of the Bears. Everything from the recent signing of Roquan Smith to their prospect for 2018 were discussed. It was then that Mike Mulligan took the conversation in an interesting direction. One he knew Angelo has some experience in.
Among the hottest NFL stories of this offseason is the ongoing holdout of star Oakland Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack. Communication over a new contract between him and head coach Jon Gruden has been minimal based on the latest information. This has led many to speculate that the team might consider trading the 27-year old rather than drag out talks as they’ve gone.
This has opened the door to major rumors involving whether the Bears, who badly need pass rush help, might make the bold move to go after him. So what does Angelo think about that?
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Jerry Angelo says he’d go hard after Mack if he still ran the Bears
One thing that Angelo always believed about having success in the NFL is a willingness to be bold. Don’t be afraid of making the big blockbuster move if you feel it can put your team in position to go after a championship. That was his thinking back in 2009 when he took his swing for the fences on Jay Cutler. So when confronted with the Mack idea, he jumped on board right away.
“In Khalil Mack? Absolutely. Just like a Julius Peppers. You have to be interested…My philosophy is anytime you have an opportunity to get a special player, you go for it. You know we made the trade for Jay Cutler. I would do that all over again…His arrow was going up, he had a lot of special traits at arguably the most valued position.
When you get a defensive player of Mack’s ability, it speaks for itself. I can’t answer that question, Mike, I don’t follow the Bears day to day. I’m sure there are things that I’m not seeing or you’re not seeing…But you know my philosophy is if you have an opportunity to get a special player, particularly on defense, you know you go after him.
The blueprint in the league is if you don’t have an elite quarterback, and hopefully Trubisky will work himself into that status, you’ve got to go with defense.”
This has been the truth for the Bears for ages. Until they’re certain of what they have in Trubisky, they have to continue feeding the defense at every opportunity. It’s already a top 10 unit in the NFL as last year proved. The one thing they’re missing is an elite pass rusher. With all due respect to Leonard Floyd, he just hasn’t shown those qualities.
Mack has. He’s in his prime and a virtual guarantee for at least 10 sacks a year. The combination of him and Floyd in the same front seven along with Akiem Hicks, Eddie Goldman and now Roquan Smith too? It’s hard to stop one’s mouth from watering at the possibilities.