Bears wrap up second interview with Patriot's Licht
New England Patriots director of pro personnel Jason Licht, one of two finalists for the Bears' general manager job, was back at Halas Hall Thursday for his second interview.
The other finalist, Kansas City Chiefs director of college scouting Phil Emery, is scheduled for his second interview Friday.
If the Bears do not make a decision this week, they could announce their choice early next week. Although the NFL doesn't encourage teams to announce news that detracts from Super Bowl week preparation leading to the big game on Feb. 5, it would not preclude the Bears from announcing their decision that week. However, because the Patriots are participating in Super Bowl XLVI, they could ask the Bears to hold off on announcing a deal with Licht until after the game.
Licht (pronounced Light) was the first candidate to be interviewed for the position, which came open when Jerry Angelo was fired on Jan. 3.
The 40-year-old Licht has been in his current position for three years and is a 16-year veteran of the NFL. From 2006-07, he was the Eagles' vice president of player personnel (2006-07) and their assistant director of player personnel (2003-05). He was a personnel executive for the NFC champion Cardinals in 2008 when they advanced to the Super Bowl, losing to the Steelers.
He rejoined the Patriots' personnel department in 2009 after having spent four seasons (1999-2002) as a college scout with New England. In June of 2001, he became the team's national scout, responsible for evaluating top college prospects and NFL players.
In 1995, Licht was a Dolphins scouting assistant before serving as the team's offensive assistant/quality control coach in 1996. He then spent the 1997 season working for the college scouting agency National Football Scouting and the 1998 season in the Carolina Panthers' scouting department.
Licht played football at Nebraska for two years before transferring to Nebraska Wesleyan (1992-93).
HOF finalist: Dick Stanfel, the Bears offensive line coach from 1981-92, is among 17 finalists for the Hall of Fame's Class of 2012. Stanfel, who is one of two Senior Committee candidates, was named to five Pro Bowls in seven seasons as a guard with the Detroit Lions (1952-55) and Washington Redskins (1956-58). He was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1950s after helping the Lions win back-to-back championships in 1952-53.The Class of 2012 will be announced Feb. 4, the day before Super Bowl.#376; Follow Bob's Bears reports via Twitter @BobLeGere and check out his Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.