What Bears need is more, not fewer, football minds
The longer Ted Phillips and George McCaskey spoke Tuesday afternoon, the more heads shook.
Something became clear: The Bears need a new organizational structure.
“No,” said McCaskey, the Bears’ chairman of the board. “We like our structure.”
You know, just as head coach Lovie Smith liked backup Caleb Hanie as his quarterback in place of Jay Cutler.
Sorry, but more than a new general manger is in order to get this franchise to where the McCaskey ownership wants it to be. As many football minds as possible would be a start.
Phillips is in the process of searching for one after ending Jerry Angelo’s 11-year tenure.
The structure seems destined to remain head coach reporting to the general manager, general manager reporting to the president/CEO, president/CEO reporting to the chairman and chairman reporting to his family.
That would be OK if the setup had worked in Halas Hall. It hasn’t, so merely changing one of the faces won’t suffice.
At the top, Phillips and the McCaskey family aren’t football people in the true sense.
That was evident at the media briefing when Phillips made Smith sound like a direct descendant of Vince Lombardi.
Phillips said one of the requisites for a new GM is “chemistry with Lovie.” And, “We ultimately want to bring in a general manager that understands Lovie’s philosophy.” And, “The one restriction placed on any candidate is Lovie Smith is our head coach for 2012.”
Any GM who agrees to that term is a GM the Bears shouldn’t want.
All the faith in Smith would be easier for Bears fans to accept if they had faith in Phillips and McCaskey to evaluate him as a head coach.
Hopefully the next general manager will be qualified to do so, but a couple of additional registered football persons would really make the Bears’ organization whole.
The more minds the merrier.
In Tuesday’s editions I suggested that the Bears hire veteran executive Bill Polian as a senior adviser to the owner. But they also need someone full time to essentially run the football side of the franchise.
Presumably a general manager would serve that purpose, but two or three new football minds at Halas Hall would be even better.
The Bears need only look to Wrigley Field, of all places, for the model.
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts hired Theo Epstein as president of baseball operations. George McCaskey could hire the brightest NFL mind available as president of football operations.
The Bears’ version of Epstein could bring along his own general manager, just as Epstein brought Jed Hoyer to Chicago.
The McCaskeys still owe Phillips for helping get a new Soldier Field built, so he would have to retain an important role in the franchise.
Phillips’ strength is the financial side of sports. Strip CEO from his title and officially designate him as president of business operations.
That way the Bears wouldn’t have two businessmen, Phillips and McCaskey, making football evaluations like they have with the head coach and are set to in replacing Angelo.
Instead the Bears would have two football specialists, the president of football operations and the GM, evaluating the likes of Lovie Smith. Maybe three with a senior adviser.
Polian or someone like him would recommend a president of football operations, who would hire the GM.
Hey, if Ricketts could identify Epstein, Phillips should be able to identify a Polian to start the process moving.
If nothing else, a Bears’ organizational structure like this could stop heads from shaking.
mimrem@dailyherald.com