When most think about the last truly successful Chicago Bears general manager, they must go all the way back to Jim Finks in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was the architect of the fabled 1985 Super Bowl champion team, even though he resigned two years before that. Since his departure, the organization has had a streak of disappointing men running the personnel department. All of them had bright moments but also made at least one catastrophic mistake that led to their downfall. Ryan Poles is hoping to avoid the same fate.
It’s far too early for him to worry about such things. He has the Bears in the middle of a rebuild and nobody expects him to transform this team into a contender right now. Still, it would be wise for him to learn from the past 30 years and how quickly fans’ patience can evaporate.
Cautionary tales from Chicago Bears GM history.
Ryan Pace: Drafting Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes
This is hardly a surprise to anybody. Pace had done a decent job retooling an old and depleted roster in his first two years. He’d built a solid defense and a capable running game. All he needed was to find that young quarterback to bring everything together. He had the #3 pick in the 2017 draft and three prominent options on the board. Ultimately, he fell in love with North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky. In true Bears fashion, that was the one QB of the three that would not have top-tier NFL success. What makes it even worse is many in the building wanted Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes instead. Pace overruled them. It took a few more years, but the former GM never escaped the shadow of that colossal blunder.
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Phil Emery: Hiring Marc Trestman
Firing Lovie Smith was a major gamble for the new GM in 2013. The guy had just gone 10-6 the previous year. There was no reason to think he’d lost control of the team. Emergy wanted his own guy, someone he hoped could finally unlock the full potential of quarterback Jay Cutler. His choice came down to two finalists, CFL standout Marc Trestman and NFL Coach of the Year Bruce Arians. Emery went with Trestman. Two years later, both men were fired, having overseen one of the most chaotic and demoralizing collapses in franchise history. Arians got Arizona to a conference championship and later won the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay.
Jerry Angelo: Trading Greg Olsen
Unlike other GMs on this list, Angelo’s demise wasn’t brought about by one gigantic blunder but more like a series of them. Taking Cedric Benson in 2005 was notable. Trading Thomas Jones in 2007 was another. However, most would agree his career lowlight was shipping out tight end Greg Olsen in 2011 because he wasn’t the best scheme fit for Mike Martz’s offense. It was already clear Olsen was one of Cutler’s favorite targets. Their connection was a big part of Chicago’s playoff win over Seattle the previous season. It didn’t matter. Olsen was out. He went on to become a three-time Pro Bowler in Carolina. By the end of that year, Angelo was gone.
Mark Hatley: Drafting Cade McNown
Hatley was involved in some truly atrocious moves. He traded for Rick Mirer in 1997 and drafted Curtis Enis in 1998. However, he somehow topped him in 1999 when he traded down from 7th overall, passing on Hall of Fame corner Champ Bailey and future Pro Bowl QB Daunte Culpepper to take Cade McNown. The kid was completely out of his depth from the jump. He looked lost almost every time he stepped on the field, couldn’t stay healthy, and was gone before the start of his third season. While Hatley did survive long enough to land Brian Urlacher in 2000, his fate was already sealed.
Rod Graves: The entire 1995 draft
It’s acknowledged Graves had personnel control after the 1993 season. In hindsight, the Chicago Bears probably wish they’d reconsidered that. While his 1994 draft wasn’t great, his 1995 class was brutal. Top pick Rashaan Salaam was a bust, failing even to reach 2,000 yards rushing in his career. Second rough pick Pat Riley only played one game. Sean Harris, Evan Pilgrim, Jack Jackson, Kenny Gales, Carl Reeves, and Jamal Cox did very little for the franchise. The best pick was Todd Sauerbrun, who was a punter, and they took him in the 2nd round, which was terrible value. Graves survived one more year but was out after the 1996 season.
Bill Tobin: Drafting Stan Thomas
Many feel Tobin was one of Finks’ secret weapons during that successful string of drafts from 1979 through 1983. There is no question the man had a strong reputation for talent evaluation. However, his track record for running a team can best be called average. Tobin did pretty well from when he took over in 1987 through 1990. Sadly, his good fortune deserted him in 1991 when he inexplicably took tackle Stan Thomas in the 1st round despite obvious character red flags. The guy was a head case from the moment he arrived, started only seven games, and was gone after two seasons. Tobin failed to rebound in 1992 and was out along with many other mainstays of the 1980s.
Great article.
The whole last regime was totally without purpose, trading away your future on a player you could have probably had for the pick you already had isn’t smart. Not having a coach or having a coach who thought he was an OC is even worse. Bad thing was he wasn’t worth a shit at neither one. At least now we have a coach proven as a DC and a OC that has at least knowledge of how to work an offense into the players he has. Nagy was trying to make players, play his system that weren’t cut out for… Read more »
I think the terrible selections of Emery, Carimi, and Trestman were made for non-football reasons; mostly public relations and financial ones.
It’s too early to tell anything about Poles. He is Frugal, Seems adamant at building thru the draft. Another thing is, I really don’t know what’s going on in the weight room or the training facilities. Maybe there is an offensive lineman who has been busting his ass trying to get better and become a starter or for that matter any player. If you’re building from within those are the players you’re going to need. Not a star but a good reliable player. Sprinkle in your All Stars at the right position you never know.
Pace gave away most of his draft picks for unaffordable players. He should have been fired much earlier.