The rumblings continue to get louder with each passing week. Nobody can say for certain when they began, but it is clearer than ever now. Changes are coming to the Chicago Bears. Obviously, the roster will be a focus. When a team sits at 4-9 and nearing its worst season in five years, that is inevitable. George McCaskey has important business to deal with before reaching that point though.
What does he do with the men at the top? Most would agree Matt Nagy is out as head coach. After four years it’s obvious he isn’t getting the job done. However, it feels like the problems with the organization go higher than that. A team doesn’t have just two winning seasons in a decade because of the head coach. Such a failure feels systemic. That would explain what Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago keeps hearing. He told Bernstein & Rahimi of 670 The Score that momentum continues to pick up on changes being made.
A full housecleaning could be on the way.
"The #Bears are looking at significant changes behind the scenes and I think it's at multiple positions. I think they're doing their homework at general manager." –@AdamHoge
— The Bernstein & Rahimi Show (@BernsteinRahimi) December 20, 2021
Hoge usually isn’t one to mention sources often. So when it does, it is pretty significant. He must have a strong sense this is where it’s headed. The fact other sources including former players like Olin Kreutz and Lance Briggs along with Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune have hinted at the same thing? It’s apparent something is happening up at Halas Hall. The big question left unanswered is exactly what that is.
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McCaskey hasn’t met with the media since his ill-fated press conference back in January where he announced Nagy and Pace were being retained. So nobody has any idea what he is thinking. They can only go based on anonymous sources and careful speculation. The only thing obvious at this point is he’s frustrated and about ready to try something else.
George McCaskey at least knows his limitations, which is a start
Back in 2015, the team chairman made it clear that he was not football-savvy. He was a fan more than anything. This is why McCaskey sought the help of former GM Ernie Accorsi in conducting the search for a new GM and head coach that year. That was a sensible thing to do. There was a flaw in the process though. Accorsi was only a temporary measure. He wasn’t going to stick around and supervise the process. They basically left Pace, a 37-year old GM, to his own devices.
Not to mention the fact Ted Phillips was still team president. Another guy with zero background in football. Even his fate is now in question as Wiederer stated the 63-year old has admitted behind closed doors it might be best for him to step away from football-related decisions. This along with Hoge’s details seem to suggest George McCaskey might not be doing a housecleaning.
He might be doing a total renovation.
That would be a remarkable change of events. The Bears haven’t made any significant changes to their power structure since back in 1974. That was when they made Jim Finks their first-ever general manager. Given how well that worked out, it isn’t a surprise they stuck to thank structure for so long. However, times change. Front offices have become more intricate and building rosters more difficult. It is long past time the Bears adapted.
