The McCaskey's need to go or nothing will ever change

[JAF-N72EX]

Another decade has gone by and this organization still doesn't have anything to show for it after 34 YEARS! When will it end...

Once every decade, the folks at Halas Hall will bless us with the occasional hanging of "hope" over our heads for 1 or 2 consecutive years, like the best-cooked steak we ever had that always seems to get taken away at the last minute, only to be left very disappointed because of poor choices by the staff.

And by the time "they" realize the real problems are, it's already too late because the core talent that we did have has either regressed due to poor coaching, or age or because of "their" failures as talent evaluators to begin with regarding both staff and players, alike.

After that, it's back to the bottom barrel. Back to the same barrel with THE SAME 4 constants to blame. 

1. The McCaskey's and Ted.
2. The wrong GM was chosen by McCaskey and Ted.
3. The wrong staff selected by the wrong GM.
4. The wrong QB was chosen by all of the above--who they decide to draft, trade, &/or keep as a starter.

 
Halas is rolling over in his grave watching this atrocity that we call "Bears football" for the last 35 years. 

During his time, George Halas set the gold standard on how to properly operate a football team. A gold standard that stood for decades and is still recognized today. His vision was well ahead of his time, and that vision not only led to the success of the team but also played a pivotal role in helping create a 15 billion dollar industry and become the most popular sport in the country. He knew how to manage his staff, evaluate players, develop talent, and design schemes built around all of this. He would even go as far as to helping other teams by giving them talent. 

Since then we have all witnessed just how bad things can get when the wrong people, make the wrong decisions, at the worst times. Yes, staff, I'm talking to you. It's been happening since the '70s and it continues to happen today.

Once every decade, we have a roster that looks likes it's heading in the right direction and it always ends up getting butchered because of either poor decisions by the staff and/or their lack of ability to properly develop players.

Let's look at just how much all of these poor decision has cost us over the years.

1980-1989

• We should have won 2 consecutive Super Bowls but didn't because of Ditka's egotistical decision to start Rudy...I mean Flutie...in the '86 playoffs (That and the dirty fudge Packers hit on McMahon).
• We should have also won in '87 but was again derailed by injuries and poor play-calling that led to a 2nd consecutive one and done in the playoffs to the same Gibbs led team after being out-coached.

1990-1999 
The roster was good enough to compete in the early '90s and was only missing a few key players. QB included. But all of these poor decisions would eventually lead to the Bears becoming a laughing stock for nearly a decade, (and I didn't even get into the poor drafting, trades, and terrible contracts. This regime wasted talents such as; Minter, Conway, Harris, and Flanigan.)

• Ditka was canned (long overdue) <<< 1 good decision
• McCaskey promotes Ted.
• McCaskey hires Stedt to be the GM and HC (It made no sense then, and makes even less sense now)
• Stedt hires who would soon become the worst OC in the history of the franchise--Turner!
• Ted mismanages the money and puts us in a bind for years to come.
• McCaskey and Stedt butchers the roster.
• McCaskey, Ted and Stedt pay Harbaugh top QB money.
• McCaskey and Stedt release Harbaugh one year later.
• Still no QB.
• Still whiffing on several draft picks
• McCaskey promotes Graves, despite all of his shortcomings (see a pattern here)
• McCaskey, Ted, and Graves trade away a #1 pick for Mirer and pay him top QB money
• McCaskey and Stedt release Mirer after one year. Played 8 games.
• Stedt wants to leave after a few years (THANK GOD) but McCaskey talks him into staying and gives him more money!?! 
• McCaskey and Stedt thought it was a good idea to use a 2nd round pick on a freaking cocky *** Punter.
• Said cocky Punter was bullied in the locker room and was sent packing after 5 years.

2000-2009 (The age of good 'ole JA)

Defensive minded coach Jauron is hired and thrown into a disastrous state. Stedt, Turner, and Graves are all gone, but McCaskey still has his hands in the daily operations and Hatley was still employed. 

In just one year, Jauron turned a complete mess into a good, young defense by hitting on players in two drafts that included Zoom in the 5th, Colvin in the 4th, Urlacher in the 1st and Brown in the 2nd.  He also went on a free agency shopping spree by obtaining R-Dub, Philip Daniels, and signing vets like Washington and Traylor as stopgaps.

Things were finally looking good after a 13-3 season in 2001. Except, for the same old mistakes made by the staff that would eventually lead to just 1 Super Bowl appearance and no trophy.

• Still no QB. 1st round prick (misspelled on purpose), McCown, turned out to be a bust instead of "the next Jim McMahon" that McCaskey and Hatley thought he was.
• Still whiffing on several draft picks
• McCaskey and Ted were still mismanaging money
• Makes Philip Daniels the richest Bears player in history, despite him only having one solid year and a 1 good one.
• Jauron lost control of the locker room.
• Lovie is hired (good move)
• McCaskey and Lovie bring back the worst OC in the history of the franchise
• Rex was injured every year earlier on and so the staff holds out hope, year after year.
• "Rex is our QB".
• Rex was trash
• Orton goes 10-5 and gets benched in favor of Grossman one game before the playoffs.
• McCaskey and JA draft Benson in the 4th despite already having Jones on the roster.
• McCaskey and JA pay Nathan Vasher like a top corner after just 1 solid year and 1 good one.
• McCaskey and JA waste ~25 million dollars to sign a troubled Manning to play nickel when Lovie's defense was primarily ran out of a base.
• Berrian had 30 starts at WR which is 30 more than he should have had.
• McCaskey and JA extend Turner because his run, run, pass offense was so potent 
• McCaskey and JA trade the farm for a QB (who was not as good as his stats indicated in Denver) despite not having a good OC, or OL, or receivers, and an aging defense.

2010-2019

• Micheal McCaskey steps down (Hurrahh).
• JA sign an aging Mike Martz in hopes of recreating the GSOT 
• Offense goes from run, run, pass to pass, pass, pass and Forte is confused
• Jamarcus Webb, Chris Williams, and Omiyale were all starters at one point and Tice thought this was a good idea.
• "Jay is our QB" 
• JA thought trading Olsen away for a 3rd round pick was a good idea. We haven't had a good TE since.
• Still whiffing on several draft picks
• Still no QB.
• JA hires the robot Phil Emery
• Emery fires Lovie after an 11 win season
• Emery hires CFL robot Marc Trestman
• Emery treats legends Urlacher and Briggs like crap
• .....then drafts linebacker busts such as McClellin and Bostic
• Trestman loses the locker room.
• Ryan Pace is hired
• Pace hires the old Fox
• Fox hires the 2nd worst OC in franchise history.
• Offense goes from run-run-pass to pass-pass-pass back to run-run-pass
• Pace refuses to let go of hope on Kevin White
• Pace trades up one spot to draft Trubisky
• Pace signs long neck to a rediculous contract
• Fox stops caring
• Fans are depressed
• Pace hires Nagy and fans are excited
• The team goes 12-4 behind a historic defense
• Fans have high hopes of winning a title
• The offensive "genius" flops in his 2nd year with poor play-calling and game plans but some fans blame it on the QB (for whatever reason)
• Still no QB.
• Fans are left depressed again

Happy Holidays everyone.......

 

Edited November 24, 2021 by JAF-N72EX

[Heinz D.]

Yikes. 

[Sugashane]

Well Bears fans, its a new year. But still the same start to the new year... in our offseason.

 

 

[Heinz D.]

11 minutes ago, Sugashane said:

Well Bears fans, its a new year. But still the same start to the new year... in our offseason.

 

 

A much more agreeable post than that horrorshow JAF laid out for us. I mean, holy flirking shnit! 

[JAF-N72EX]

I felt this thread was still relevant enough to resurrect. I changed the title to reflect the 30 years of flaws from the McCaskey and Teddy Ruxpin era.

Nothing will change until the McCaskey's sell the team to someone who actually cares less about profit and more about winning. It all starts and ends with them, period. And we will never feel confident in our team with them in control.

Nagy needs to be fired and I'm glad to hear the McCaskey's are holding him responsible but I can't even get excited about it because the McCaskey's will just turn around and hire another cheap inexperienced coach or a retread at the end of his career to be the HC because it's cheaper.

Money is all that matters to them when looking for replacement coaches. Just like everything. They don't give a damn if the teams wins or not because already own and control a top-5 NFL market and that alone guarantees them profit either way.  The first question they ask themselves in any business decision is "how is this going to effect our bottomline"?

And the coaching hiring process is no different.  Coaches with little to no experience and coaches who are only looking to build up a better pension before retirement move up high on the McCaskey's totem pole simply because they generally cost less.

This has been going on for DECADES and I feel like I'm the only one who has noticed this same trend. I called this out when they hired Nagy and I'm saying again here before they hire a new HC.
 

Quote

Good signing on paper but I'll believe it when I see it.

This is a typical cheap McCaskey/Bears FO contract type of hire. An available coach with little to no resume to bring to the table during the contract agreements and in turn, get away with having to pay an HC more than the league average. I just hope this one turns out better than the previous ones did.

But all this talk about how he will develop Trubisky into greatness needs to be pulled back a bit from fans. Remember when getting rid of dumb dumb (JA) was supposed to turn things around? Remember when that other inexperienced CFL idiot was supposed to make Cutler NOT look like a bad trade? I do....so I'll withhold my judgment.

There's a big difference here. Halas' were cheap with players. The new regime is cheap when it comes to filling the HC position and above. &nbsp;

Again the brass are cheap. They have been cheap since the wiz days and they will continue to be cheap because winning is not their priority. They have a large Chicago market that guarantees them money anyhow.

I know some of you want Pace gone but I don't have any confidence in the McCaskey's hiring a better GM either. And for the record, I'm not opposed to keeping Pace in some form or fashion with a different title either (i.e head of scouting, assistant player personel, etc) because he does have an eye for talent.

Why can't we have nice things? Why can't we have a team where each person play's a part, and sticks to it, instead of having too many hands in the cookie jar? Why not a solid structure where everyone knows what their specific job requirements and gets better at it?

I know all of them interact and give opinions in meetings... but why can't we have an owner who just sticks to the business side of things. A president who focuses on expanding said owners business. A personnel dept who is charge of hiring HC and running day to day team operations.  An HC who focuses on the TEAM and hires the OC and DC and let them focus on their side of the ball and hire the assistants they want to work beside them?

 

 

[Madmike90]

I completely agree with you that George is clearly not the guy to run this team...do I believe they sell up? Probably not...but surely someone within that bloodline understands football a bit more...maybe it's time all of ownership have a proper conversation about who should be in charge...

I suspect the best we can hope for any time soon is Ted to shuffle off into retirement and for them to bring in someone who actually understands football to oversee the GM & HC.

[dll2000]

Well they aren’t.  Fans don’t fire owners.

Think of it like a monarchic dynasty.  You get a lot of bad kings or queens and then some generation (if they didn’t lose the nation) you get a good one.  

I am not a hockey guy, but Blackhawks had to suffer a long time before a better son took over, No?   It can happen.  

Other things that can happen are key divorces that force sales or scandals.  

Not everybody can be good.  Be thankful NFL system allows even bad teams and programs to catch lightening in a bottle every once in awhile and have a nice season.  

[JAF-N72EX]

8 hours ago, Madmike90 said:

I completely agree with you that George is clearly not the guy to run this team...do I believe they sell up? Probably not...but surely someone within that bloodline understands football a bit more...maybe it's time all of ownership have a proper conversation about who should be in charge...

I suspect the best we can hope for any time soon is Ted to shuffle off into retirement and for them to bring in someone who actually understands football to oversee the GM & HC.

If it were up to the owners they would've canned them by now after all of the money they have watched pass by for so many years. Having the 5th largest market with the lowest seating in the league is a ton of money.

[soulman]

I'll give it a because most of it is correct.  I'd make a couple of corrections though.

1) Ron Turner wasn't the worst OC we had.  That would be Terry Shea or possibly Shea tied with John Shoop.  But Shea was a one year nightmare.

2) JA trade Olsen because Martz wouldn't use him as a receiver.  He didn't design pass plays for TE as receivers.  His TE were essentially smaller OTs.

There are others that may be a topic for debate but the overall theme is accurate.  The McCaskeys simply can't run an NFL football team well.

Edited November 25, 2021 by soulman

[soulman]

14 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Nothing will change until the McCaskey's sell the team to someone who actually cares less about profit and more about winning. It all starts and ends with them, period. And we will never feel confident in our team with them in control.

Nagy needs to be fired and I'm glad to hear the McCaskey's are holding him responsible but I can't even get excited about it because the McCaskey's will just turn around and hire another cheap inexperienced coach or a retread at the end of his career to be the HC because it's cheaper.

Money is all that matters to them when looking for replacement coaches. Just like everything. They don't give a damn if the teams wins or not because already own and control a top-5 NFL market and that alone guarantees them profit either way.  The first question they ask themselves in any business decision is "how is this going to effect our bottomline"?

Gotta stop ya' here.  Money isn't the issue.  They've spent oodles of money.  It's just that it's not all been well spent.....ever.

Once Mikey lost his grip on power we spent top dollar on coaching talent and still do but $$$ doesn't always equate to success or to having spent it on the right people.  Our coaches, including Matt Nagy, are not underpaid and if anything the size of our coaching staff has grown a lot over the years.

The McCaskeys don't live like kings and many of the McCaskey sons make a living as employees of the Bears.  They don't need much if any annual income from the team.  If they have any monetary goal at all it's the continued growth in the value of the franchise itself which is now estimated at $4.05 BIL.  They can spend every dime, plug nickel, and shiny penny they take in and that value is still gonna increase 10% or more per year because their revenues are increasing just as they are for every other NFL team.

Remember.....this is now a $4 billion dollar investment they never paid one thin dime to own.

It's not about the money.  They would dearly love to win games and another Super Bowl.  They simply don't know how.  They're incompetent owners and yet they somehow refuse to admit this and hire the best talent to run the team for them.  Instead they stick with good ol' Teddy Bears because he's made them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams and they trust him.  He's as much family as George is.  They McCaskey Family isn't alone.  There are a whole lot of very wealthy people out there who are as incompetent in life and business as the day is long.

We just un-elected one of those types didn't we?

[soulman]

15 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

I know some of you want Pace gone but I don't have any confidence in the McCaskey's hiring a better GM either. And for the record, I'm not opposed to keeping Pace in some form or fashion with a different title either (i.e head of scouting, assistant player personel, etc) because he does have an eye for talent.

The main question to be answered here is can we trust the guy who created many of the problems we face to actually correct those problem or will he, much like others involved, either downplay the problems or ignore them by sweeping them under the rug?  How often have you ever heard anyone in the Bears front office admit they've built a lousy team and truly accept responsibility for it?

 

15 hours ago, JAF-N72EX said:

Why can't we have nice things? Why can't we have a team where each person play's a part, and sticks to it, instead of having too many hands in the cookie jar? Why not a solid structure where everyone knows what their specific job requirements and gets better at it?

We can but we won't until Ted Phillips and the McCaskey Family have little or nothing to do with how the Bears are run and that's about as likely to happen as me getting married again for a third time.  There is no cure for stupidity and/or rank incompetence.  Take your pick.

Edited November 25, 2021 by soulman