Can't say this is surprising.



In announcing the massive housecleaning Monday at Halas Hall, President Ted Phillips called the Bears' head coaching job prestigious.

He stands nearly alone in that opinion in light of a Tribune poll of NFL front-office employees and coaches who ranked the Bears barely above the Raiders in terms of attractiveness.

Quarterback concerns left the Jets at the bottom, but the Bears job wasn't considered much better even with Jay Cutler, the passer in whom they have invested so much money and whom Chairman George McCaskey said he is a fan of personally and professionally. Elsewhere, Cutler is classified as a coach killer.

As the Bears march forward in their effort to hire a general manager and coach, they benefit from the fact there are only six openings after Bills coach Doug Marrone resigned Wednesday evening, reducing competition. There were at least seven openings each of the last four years. The Bears' history is rich in tradition, but that doesn't resonate with candidates the way roster strength, salary-cap space and organizational structure do.

"We feel this is a prestigious position," Phillips said. "We've already had inquiries from people who want to be involved with the Chicago Bears, and we think this is a prime destination."

Sixteen executives and coaches, who were asked to rank the five jobs before Marrone's resignation and share their opinions on the openings in return for anonymity, disagreed.

The 49ers, who must replace Jim Harbaugh after he went 44-19-1 and made three trips to the NFC championship game, edged out the Falcons, who fired Mike Smith, as the most desirable job. The Bears were third, followed by the Raiders and Jets.

The Bears received more fifth-place votes (2) than first-place votes (1) and got the most fourth-place votes (8). The 49ers were tops with nine first-place votes, while the Falcons were the only team not to be ranked below third by anyone. The Jets had as many third-place votes as the Bears (5).


One longtime personnel director said he was surprised to hear McCaskey say 91-year-old team matriarch Virginia McCaskey is "pissed off" and wants to see more championships.

"They must view their roster and situation differently than I do because that thing is going to take some time," he said. "Finished fourth in their division and they're looking for their third GM since 2011. That tells me there is a quick trigger in Chicago. That is a rebuild."

There are plenty of recent examples of worst-to-first turnarounds, and the NFL might expand the playoffs to 14 teams as soon as next season. Despite a wide gap between the Bears and Packers (and now the Lions), Phillips said the goal is unwavering — to compete immediately.

"We always believe that," he said. "In the NFL it's been shown that a team can go from four or five wins and get into a Super Bowl the following year.

"We've got the right leadership. We've got the right toughness on all phases of the ball and have the right amount of personnel that are high-quality folks. And we think we have at least the foundation ready. So we're looking forward to winning right away."

It's worth wondering if Phillips and McCaskey, along with consultant Ernie Accorsi, are delivering that message to candidates. The defense has been one of the worst in the league for two seasons, and there is a scarcity of young building blocks on that side of the ball, although if tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton emerge in their second season — a complete question at this point — the situation could improve.

A vice president for another team said: "The Bears are an old team and they are salary-cap-restricted compared to the Raiders and Jets. You like what the quarterback in Oakland (Derek Carr) did, and the Cutler contract is a concern. Who is going to fix him?"

The 49ers have a roster experienced at winning. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick regressed this season, but he's young and his contract is team-friendly.

The Falcons offer a quarterback who has had success in Matt Ryan and a dynamic wide receiver without recurring outbursts in Julio Jones. The franchise is building a new stadium, and GM Thomas Dimitroff has had success previously, even if the defense is a mess.

The Raiders have had 12 consecutive non-winning seasons, 10 with at least 11 losses, but the job might be more attractive now than at any point in that span because of Carr, a rare quantity as a pocket passer coming out of the college game, which has increasingly gone to spread offenses. Concerns about Raiders ownership are natural, but there is enormous salary-cap flexibility and some young talent.

The Jets offer a ready-to-win defense and also have an abundance of cap room. Like the Bears, a new coach would be coming in with a new GM, and in theory that offers stability in both places.

The Bears are confident they have a lot to offer the right coach. Despite a terrible culture of losing in Oakland, experienced NFL men rank the openings closely.

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The thought process is a bit off inside the McCaskey bubble.

"In the NFL it's been shown that a team can go from four or five wins and get into a Super Bowl the following year."

Just because Phillips says that doesn't mean it's likely. They could also go from 5 wins to 4 wins. It's not like there's just some random wheel.

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This partially circles back to the lack of acknoweldged tradition around Halas Hall. There is no connection between Butkus, Sayers, Hampton, Ditka, Dent, Urlacher...they are now just all ex players.

Oncec again, it goes back to scouting your own backyard. The McCaskey thinks eveyone wants to be on the Bears, to be part of the legendary Bears...and some still do, but that number has become less and less.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Bears have a tough schedule next year.

Home: Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, Arizona, San Francisco, Denver, Oakland, Washington
Away: Detroit, Green Bay, Minnesota, St. Louis, Seattle, Kansas City, San Diego, Tampa Bay

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

3 wins....especially if Peterson comes back to MINN

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Seriously, put the bong down. Did you even read what the article said?

The Bears have little cap room and a shit roster currently, which makes them incredibly difficult to rebuild quickly.

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Also correct, Seacrest.

But the McCaskeys seem to think this team is on the same level as the Steelers or any other storied franchise. And that is just not the case. The Bears are more like the Raiders except the Raiders have 3 rings since the merger.

Bears should have hired Rocky Wirtz. Give him a small ownership stake. Ask him to be the face of the franchise and fix it. The Bears would be worth double....

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Not sure I see anything in the OP that makes the Bears a 'shit' job. The #1 sports franchise in one of the best sports towns in America isn't ever going to qualify as a 'shit' job.


Less desirable because of buffoons like Ted Phillips? Sure, I can see that, but 'shit'?


lol, no.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

The Bears have 2 titles in the last 50 years. They have an old team and a mediocre QB saddled with a huge contract. Very odd ownership/management team. Currently, this would qualify as a shit job.

No, people that have been here have done a shit job. The job itself is still a good one for the reasons I mentioned if the right person gets in here and gets the job done.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

the job is shitty because people are always meddling and limiting what you can do. "gotta keep the coach, gotta keep the QB, gotta keep the same defense...." Even if they say otherwise who's gonna believe it with their history?

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

The reasons I listed are going to make it very tough to get the "right" person in here. Now if Frick and Frack sit Eric DeCosta or whoever down and give him whatever he wants to take the job, then it might happen.

There are only 32 of these jobs in the world, and its Chicago. Bears shouldnt have any problem getting interested candidates

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Wirtz hired the best hockey mind on the planet and brought in john mcdonough to, wildly successfully,pied piper Cubs fans into becoming Blackhawk fans. Bears don't have much of a concern about fanbase maintenance, they need to find their Scotty Bowman.

Oh I'm sure there is plenty of interest. I'd love to hear the names that George said had already contacted the Bears.

Well they cleared out the GM and the HC, kept the staff around only to see if the new coach would like to keep them and have at least publicly said that any personell move the new GM/HC would like to make -even with Cutler- won't be off the table.. so I'm operating under the impression that whoever gets brought in isn't going to be forced to do anything.


But again, as I have stated in other threads, if it is indeed buisness as usuall, then it will go downhill fast and it won't take long for that to happen.








I don't think so, if Ted and George are willing to get the fuck out of the new GM and HC's way and let them put this thing together. Obviously we can't say for certainty wether or not that is going to happen.

We're saddled with Cutlers bad contract and bad drafts because of decisions that were made by the last GM/Coach however, and going forward the new GM/Coach have the ability to change that, which makes it a good job if you're the right person. Ted and George didn't do that stuff, the wrong people (which Phillips did help pick) did that stuff.

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If the rule you followed lead you to this, of what use was the rule?

The Cutler contract is one time when George and Ted should have intervened and said no.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

It makes it sounds like the Bears job is the worst in the NFL. All I see is that it ranks 4th of the 5 current openings (before Buffalo), which, based on the cap, cutler and rebuild issues, it is. Nothing to see here.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Speaking of Buffalo, I saw that Doug Marrone will interview with the Bears.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

In my opinion this is a meaningless "poll" by the Chicago Tribune. It doesn't really shed any new light.


Also, this quote is incorrectly attributed in the article to Ted Phillips. This quote was said by George McCaskey.

I dont see why people seem so interested in him.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Marrone reportedly let Bills players know he was leaving via text message.

Considering his players were already gone for the season, how else was he supposed to do that?

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Understand your point but some players were not pleased. He apparently did not keep his players in the loop about this and sent the text after the story had already broke.

I'm sure a similar poll would have placed the Bears first two years ago, which is what makes the selection of a candidate no one else wanted even worse.

when you dig this kind of hole as a Franchise it is not easy get out of. Players dont want to play here and Yes, I know if th money is right they will play anywhere, but all that means is that you need to pay the most to get guys to come here. Even though I dont think its an issue as they are capped out anyways.

Hiriing someone with a winning reputation to run the organization is needed for the basic plan to be created and someone to convince others to come here.

The Bears talking themselves up continues to show how none of them understand the shitstorm they are in.
`

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Exactly. Bears life inside the McCaskey bubble is a lot different than Bears reality.

The Bears are one of the top three teams in the league for viewership when they are winning.

They play in the second largest market

They are still BY FAR the most popular team in the city

There season ticket waiting list is ridiculously long

They are one of the original teams

So anyone who comes here and gets the job will be:

Left alone by management to do their job (Unlike the Reinsdorfs)

Won't receive calls from owners and have to listen to them second guess decisions (See Reinsdorfs again)

Won't have to answer silly requests from owners (See the you know who's again)

And will become set for life if they are successful in Chicago. See Ditka.

You said they wouldn't fire Trestman and eat his contract, they did

You said the same about Emery, they did.

You said Marinelli never planned to stay in Chicago, when he did.

Most men and women want to work in a place where they are well respected and left alone to manage their people. The list of competent people who want the Bears job will not be a short one.

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