Fire the head coach. Fire the GM. Chicago Bears fans are shouting their anger at the team in various ways. The overarching message is clear enough. Get rid of the guys in charge because they’re responsible for this 4-10 mess. Yet there is a considerable section of people who continue to say the problems go higher than Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. It goes straight to the top with Ted Phillips.
He took over as team president 22 years ago. In that time, he has overseen every major organizational decision from both business and football standpoints. Considering the fact Phillips never played a snap of the game in his life? That should’ve raised a huge red flag even back then. Since taking over, the Bears have just seven winning seasons and six playoff appearances. For a charter organization like this? That is unacceptable. It could explain why an undercurrent has surfaced that the 63-year old might contemplate stepping away from football operations moving forward.
Adam Jahns of The Athletic had some revelations on the subject.
“Retirement is thought to be on the table in the near future for Phillips, who was promoted to his current position in 1999. Phillips’ potential departure could be the driving force behind changing how the Bears function.
But there is a new wrinkle, albeit an extremely important one, on the table for McCaskey: the Bears’ potential move to Arlington Heights and the building of a new stadium.
The Bears arguably need Phillips for what’s next for their franchise as a business, even if he shifts into an advisory role. Phillips could also temporarily remain in charge of the Bears’ business operations while leaving the football side.”
This feeds into a lot of the rumors surrounding the Bears’ power structure. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog hinted a few weeks ago that Phillips could be gone from the organization by the end of 2023. Coupled with now two statements about leaving the football side of things? It suggests he might be planning to focus on business-related issues for the next two years. Especially getting things with the new Arlington Heights stadium off the ground.
If all of this carries weight, then it leans further into the growing belief that George McCaskey might be considering a restructure of the football operations. One that could include the team’s first-ever President of Football Ops. Or some title similar to that. It would be the biggest organizational shift seen in the franchise since they hired their first GM way back in 1974.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Ted Phillips’ legacy will be a mixed bag
Most fans will call him a complete failure as a team president. In reality? That isn’t true. For all the lacking consistency of on-field success, the man did get the Bears to a second Super Bowl. He also helped grow the franchise into one of the most valuable in all of American professional sports. Nobody can argue his business sense has been excellent. The problem is that was always his expertise. Football never was.
Michael McCaskey failed to realize that mistake when he promoted Ted Phillips back in 1999. Having a team president with zero football background was always a mistake. The man had no solid foundation to work with when it came to finding the right people for running the organization. He didn’t know what to look for. That is why the majority of his GM and head coach hires ended up being disappointments.
At some point, a man has to stop getting so many chances.
Phillips had 22 years to get it right. That is way longer than most men in his position probably would’ve gotten under the circumstances. The only thing left to find out is whether McCaskey is willing to revamp the power structure or if he simply cuts the team president out of the football picture. In other words, just having the GM report directly to him. Next month is going to be wild.
