If you think the Bears are behind in getting their act together, all you need to do is look around and see teams that are really lagging.
The Bears still may be trailing the Atlanta Falcons and New York Giants, who fired their coaches earlier, but they can point and laugh at the Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and maybe even the Miami Dolphins. You even have to wonder whether the Bears don’t feel better about themselves going into the off-season than the Minnesota Vikings, not to mention all 13 of the teams that finished with worse records.
Circumstances change in a hurry. The Raiders and Buccaneers are only 11 months removed from the Super Bowl. Think about it. Entering this season, any Bears fan would have loved the idea of Dick Jauron finishing with the same record as the champion Bucs and a better record than the AFC champion Raiders.
There really isn’t a lot of time and only scant reason to point and laugh, so on the second day of 2004, before it’s too late, the McCaskey family should take a bow. Their team appears to be organized and poised to take the next step.
There was a question about whether club President Ted Phillips and general manager Jerry Angelo would get their contracts extended to give a new coach some semblance of stability. There was a question about whether the McCaskeys would interfere with Phillips and Angelo to save Jauron’s job if for no other reason than to make him earn the final year of his contract.
But all the ducks are in a row. When it was pointed out that no McCaskeys were in sight at Jauron’s firing, it was misconstrued as no one in the family was standing up for him. To the contrary, there were McCaskeys present and it was acknowledged how difficult the decision was to let a good man go. But because no McCaskeys were up front orchestrating the proceedings, it was a good sign they are sticking to their organizational structure.
The Bears will have a coach who was hired by the general manager who was hired by the president who was hired by ownership. Such vertical chains of command are not to be taken for granted in the NFL. Witness the Dolphins, who have just decided to insert a general manager between owner Wayne Huizenga and coach Dave Wannstedt.
There is the question of whether the Bears aren’t already two years behind because Jauron’s surprise 13-3 season in 2001 delayed Angelo’s intention to bring in his own man. If they are, it’s a moot point now that Angelo and Phillips have through 2008 to implement their plan. It’s also hard to fathom how a 13-3 season could impede progress.
There are no guarantees. The Redskins’ Daniel Snyder thought he had hired a dream coach in Steve Spurrier. Two years later he’s hiring his fifth coach in five years. Bill Callahan quickly made the Raiders forget Jon Gruden. A year later, the Raiders want to forget Callahan.
The Bills set up their organizational structure three years ago, hired Gregg Williams as coach and traded for quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Remember him? He’s the quarterback everybody thought Angelo should have pursued.
The Cardinals? Dave McGinnis lasted longer in Arizona than most and much longer than the hour he lasted in Chicago. As desperate as the Bears sometimes appear, they always can look back at the Cardinals.
Are the Bears trailing the Giants and Falcons? Many of the same coaching candidates are making the same stops. Angelo said he feels a sense of urgency but not desperation. There are more than three worthy coaching candidates out there, although if Angelo doesn’t come up with an offensive slant, the door for second-guessing will fling open immediately.
With Rex Grossman at quarterback and Brian Urlacher on defense, and the Bears well in control of their salary cap situation, the Bears offer a work environment as good as any. The Giants are aging. Their window of opportunity is closing. The Falcons have an owner in Arthur Blank who is going to have a hard time stepping back no matter how many consultants or general managers he hires.
The Raiders are past old. The Bills have a quarterback question. The Redskins have an ownership problem. The Cardinals are still the Cardinals.
The Bears can look themselves in the mirror and actually like what they see at the moment. This is in no small part thanks to Jauron, who avoided mutiny and apathy if not losses. Other teams appeared to quit; Jauron did not leave a team in disarray. When Angelo speaks of the next level, he’s thinking penthouse, not the first floor. The Bears are no longer in the basement. Their structure and their blueprint look sound.
More Top Picks Best Flexible Seating For Classrooms
They won a championship in 1946. They won again in 1963, 17 years later. They won next in 1985, 22 years later. It is now 2004, 19 years later. Every couple of decades they win. Their time is drawing nigh. Prepare.