In the spring of 1988, the Chicago Bears allowed then-superstar linebacker Wilbur Marshall leave the team for free agency to the Washington Redskins. In those days, teams would have to forfeit two first round selections if they signed away a player from a squad. Since that time, the Chicago Bears have never been the same team. It was that particular move that made many Chicago Bears fans really begin to hate the McCaskey family. Michael McCaskey became a regular whipping boy with Bears fans until he was essentially excused from his duties in 1999 when Ted Phillips took over his day-to-day responsibilities with the Bears. Michael McCaskey became the CEO of the Bears and was supposedly a figurehead within the organization. His mother, Virginia McCaskey is still heavily involved with the organization.
Last season, Michael McCaskey stepped down from his duties as CEO and handed the reigns to his brother George McCaskey. Previously, George McCaskey was the Ticket Director for the Bears. I’ve met George on several occasions and find him to be a nice guy. Hopefully that translates to running an NFL franchise.
The Chicago Bears have the tradition and fan support like other teams that regular win like the Pittsburgh Steelers and our most hated rival the Green Bay Packers. However, the Bears regularly make mistakes that seem to hold this organization back. Building a stadium that has the smallest capacity in the NFL is one example of the lack of vision within the organization. The Bears would sell out regardless of capacity, but decided to build that eye sore by the lake. If that doesn’t sum up the Chicago Bears organization, I don’t know what does.
I’ll put the stadium aside for a second and bring up other telling signs. The Chicago Bears radio broadcasts are painful. Jeff Joniak sounds like a 13-year old boy. While Tom Thayer is acceptable, Zach Zaidman is horrible. It’s bad enough he does the DePaul games, but listening to him is like having someone pull out my eyebrows one-by-one. He really knows nothing about football and listening to him makes fans more football stupid. I wish someone could produce a number for me, but I would guess this crew is the lowest paid for a major market in the NFL.
Let’s take this a step further. When Lovie Smith was hired to be the Bears coach, it’s my belief he was hired because he’d work cheap. While he’s proven to be a solid coach and certainly his salary has caught up with his coaching, one has to wonder if his salary takes away from some of the position coaches. Two summers ago when the Bears were looking for an offensive coordinator, many scoffed at the job. It’s my belief that the Bears aren’t competitive with assistant coach’s salaries. Considering the clown college that coaches wide receivers, tight ends and running backs, I believe the Bears cheap out in the not-so-obvious areas. This would also include scouting and player development. Things were very status quo at Halas Hall until recently when people began questioning Jerry Angelo. He changed his scouting department as a result. We’ll call this a band aid to a bigger issue. Every top organization makes scouting and player development a priority. The Bears seem to lack this commitment.
George McCaskey has a real opportunity to become another Rocky Wirtz from the Chicago Blackhawks. When Wirtz took over the Blackhawks, he transformed the franchise in two short years to one of the countries’ most popular teams. Winning a Stanley Cup didn’t hurt, but the transformation came by completely changing the culture of the organization. Wirtz did this by making fans a priority. He’s always interacting with fans and is approachable. Everywhere you look, the Blackhawks are out and about promoting something for the community. For many of you that don’t realize it, Wirtz’s father refused to televise home games, traded every great player before his contract was up and poorly promoted the product. He almost ran the organization to spite the fans.
George McCaskey does interact with fans. At season ticket holder events, he’s out greeting fans. He’s also available to fans at training camp. Now it’s time for him to take the next step. Build the Bears a strong organization from top to bottom. With the right commitment to excellence, the Bears can be the elite team we all deserve. And George McCaskey can make others forget about the past mistakes of his family.
Follow me on Twitter at ChicagoBearJew.
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