Imrem: Bears' sustained failure starts with McCaskey family

Give Bears chairman George McCaskey credit for speaking with the media Wednesday at Halas Hall.

But what took so long for it to happen?

Even if all the McCaskeys had nothing to say, they should have said it sooner.

Head coach John Fox, not exactly a born statesman, was pretty much a lone spokesman for the Bears throughout this abysmal 3-13 season.

General manager Ryan Pace hadn't been available since last summer. Hardly a peep had been heard from any McCaskey.

Pace and Fox took questions in tandem Wednesday, providing little substance or insight on where the Bears are going or how they'll get there.

Fox did say twice that "the buck stops" with him.

Wrong! The buck stops with ownership.

If the Bears ever win another Super Bowl, the Lombardi Trophy will be handed to a McCaskey.

When the Bears are 3-13 in the context of sustained failure, the booby prize goes to the family.

George McCaskey took his turn at saying very little, but at least he finally went to the trouble of doing so.

Former Steelers great Mean Joe Greene expressed the standard for ownership accountability when he presented Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney for induction into the Hall of Fame.

"When things go as planned, Dan is in the background," Greene said. "When things don't go as planned, Dan is in the forefront."

Things didn't go as planned for the Bears this season, yet the McCaskeys remained in the background.

Pace and Fox are mere symptoms of the Bears' failings while ownership has been the chronic illness.

The McCaskeys stumbled upon an NFC title 10 years ago but sustained success has eluded them.

The criticism heaped upon the family is about results, not personalities. Win something and praise will follow.

For now the family must own up to not making the playoffs the past six seasons, not making them nine of the past 10 seasons and not making them 19 of the past 23 seasons.

The McCaskeys inherited the Bears that won Super Bowl XX. Once that core departed, they haven't come close to rebuilding.

The Bears have had three general managers and three head coaches during the current six-year playoff drought … and one family of owners.

Connect your own dots.

The McCaskeys - not Pace or Fox or any others who have passed through Halas Hall - are the problem.

What confidence can there be that the family can be the solution?

"Ownership has given us everything we need to win," Pace said.

Yes, the McCaskeys want to win; no, they haven't figured out how to.

It looks like the family would have to sell for the Bears to be all that the franchise should be but why would they?

George McCaskey said Wednesday that he's "sure there's restlessness" among Bears fans. He should have stopped before adding that they're supportive when he meets them at Soldier Field.

McCaskey apparently didn't mingle with fans around town who left nearly 25,000 seats empty at the last home game.

Embattled 49ers owner Jed York said this week, "You don't dismiss owners."

That means the McCaskeys aren't going anywhere.

It sure looks for now like the Bears aren't going anywhere either.

At least not for a few more years.

Credit George McCaskey for showing up Wednesday but the McCaskeys for not much else.

mimrem@dailyherald.com