Michael McCaskey was the Chairman of the Chicago Bears in the National Football League.[1]

[edit] Biography

Michael McCaskey married current Bears principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey, who is the oldest grandchild of George Halas founder and illustrious coach of the Chicago Bears football team. Michael McCaskey, a university professor made his money the old fashioned way, he married it. Shortly thereafter he became president of the Bears in 1983 after Halas' death. McCaskey held that post until 1999, when he became Chairman of the Board until 2011. He is the brother of current Bears Chairman George McCaskey.

Mike McCaskey was never a fan of Mike Ditka but kept the volatile, yet winning Ditka on as coach with an extension in 1984, and was certainly yawning when a Super Bowl trophy ended the season. You see, the TV money comes in whether you win or lose, as McCasky explained to his board. McCaskey clashed repeatedly with Ditka on a variety of issues and finally fired Ditka after a disastrous 5–11 season in 1992.

We should insert here when College Professor McCaskey decided to fire the wildly popular "Honey Bears" because "cheerleaders don't make money". The Chicago Bears are conspicuously the only team lacking cheerleaders to this day.

McCaskey's first coaching hire, Dave Wannstedt, was a sought-after candidate that McCaskey was able to sign but the Wannstedt tenure was a steady downward spiral after a 1994 playoff appearance. Wannstedt was fired after 1998 and after a botched hiring of Dave McGinnis as head coach, McCaskey was stripped of much of his operational responsibilities and limited to the position of chairman of the board.

McCaskey is an alumnus of the Weatherhead School of Management, at Case Western Reserve University. He served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia[2] and taught at the business schools at UCLA and Harvard University[3] prior to becoming president of the Bears.

That is so wrong its not even funny.

First Michael McCaskey is the son of Virginia and ed McCaskey and Virginia is George Halas' daughter not granddaugher.

And Ed McCaskey talked Halas into hiring Ditka. It was his idea.

I know people who know the family. He never wanted to be chairman of the Bears but felt it was a family obligation.

I always thought the family should hire a football person to run the football side of things and just run the business operations part like Ricketts has done with the Cubs where he runs the business side while Theo Epstein runs the baseball side.

Yep, I take back all the not disturbed stuff.