If George McCaskey has proven one thing since becoming Chicago Bears chairman in 2011? It’s that he has a tendency to do the unexpected when it comes time to make changes at the top of the organization. This has proven true not once but twice now when it comes to the GM position.
In 2012, he hired Phil Emery to the surprise of many. Emery had never even been a director of personnel, serving as Chiefs college scouting director. McCaskey passed over Patriots personnel director Jason Licht in the process. He would go on to win a Super Bowl as Tampa Bay Buccaneers GM.
Then in 2015, everybody expected Chicago to hire Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard for the job. Many viewed him as one of the best candidates in the league. One with ties to the Bears as a former scout. Then McCaskey pulled another shocker by hiring Pace instead.
Now it appears Pace is on his way out.
Multiple former players have hinted they’re hearing the Bears are searching for a new GM. It appears McCaskey is leaning towards a full housecleaning. A fresh start for the organization as they try to move on from one of their more frustrating periods. One that saw the team post a winning record just once in Pace’s tenure. While this is welcome news to many, others are terrified.
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It means George McCaskey will again lead the search for a replacement. Given his track record to this point? All one can say is to expect the unexpected. So let’s give it a shot. Who could be that next shocker candidate nobody sees coming that the Bears might hire? Here are some names to watch carefully.
Candidates George McCaskey may swerve us for
Dwayne Joseph (Raiders director of pro personnel)
Remember that McCaskey values men who might have previous ties to the Bears. That is why Emery got the job in 2012 and why Ballard was a finalist in 2015. So one should not discount this possibility. That is why Joseph should be getting more attention. He was a scout with the Bears from 1998 to 2003 and returned briefly as their assistant college scouting director in 2012 before becoming assistant director of pro personnel until 2015.
Yannick Ngakoue beats his blocker with the cross chop/club. Gets the strip-sack & Philon recovered! #passrush #raiders pic.twitter.com/9bi0g4PPQ7
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) November 7, 2021
He’s had considerable success since leaving in 2016. As director of pro personnel in Philadelphia, he helped construct the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship roster with names like Rodney McLeod, Brandon Brooks, Alshon Jeffery, and LeGarrette Blount. Then he took the same job with the Raiders in 2019. Since then they’ve scored several hits like Trent Brown, Richie Incognito, Correy Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, Yannick Ngakoue, and Casey Heyward.
Kevin Abrams (Giants assistant GM)
Remember how George McCaskey said he consulted other owners for advice on what to do about Pace back in January? One of them was John Mara of the New York Giants. He seems to admire that organization and has flirted with poaching from their front office in the past. Marc Ross, their college scouting director at the time, was a final candidate for the Bears job in 2012. So who exactly is Kevin Abrams?
He has held the title of assistant GM in New York since all the way back in 2002. In that time he helped construct two Super Bowl champions. Both were headlined by great talents like Jeremy Shockey, Osi Umenyiora, Eli Manning, Chris Snee, David Diehl, Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Linval Joseph. The Giants actually promoted him in 2018 to ensure he stuck around after they hired Dave Gettleman as GM instead. A sign they value him.
Omar Khan (Steelers VP of football and business administration)
The other owner McCaskey spoke to about the GM position? That was Art Rooney II of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is a genuine shock that more teams haven’t tried poaching from that organization over the years given they haven’t had a losing season since 2006. Omar Khan is not a name that comes up often despite him being a central figure of their football operations since 2001. During which time they reached three Super Bowls and won two.
Things elite guards do via David DeCastro: pic.twitter.com/3ioOXTMZnz
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) November 5, 2018
Khan has learned at the right hand of GM Kevin Colbert for two decades. During that time the Steelers have drafted over 30 Pro Bowlers. Among them are some all-time greats like Casey Hampton, Troy Polamalu, Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, and Antonio Brown. Not to mention several other notables like Casey Heyward, David DeCastro, and T.J. Watt. Khan was there through all of it AND he even has ties to the Bears being good friends with college scouting director Mark Sadowski.
Dave Ziegler (Patriots director of player personnel)
McCaskey has flirted with the Patriot Way for several years now. As stated earlier he came close to hiring Licht as GM in 2012. Then in 2018, they came close to hiring Josh McDaniels as their head coach before going with Nagy. So it’s safe to say the Bears chairman is envious of the success New England has had. As that organization once again sits atop the AFC this year, it’s fair to wonder if he might finally pull the trigger.
Ziegler is somebody they clearly valued as they convinced him to withdraw his name from the Broncos GM list this year to become their director of player personnel. Then the team had probably the best offseason of any in the entire NFL with big scores like Kendrick Bourne, Matthew Judon, Hunter Henry, Trent Brown, Mac Jones, Christian Barmore, and Rhamondre Stevenson. Not bad for his first offseason as Belichick’s right-hand man.
