NEWSLETTER
The Bears are now officially caught in the crosshairs of the Jets’ wacky GM search:
The #Jets requests for GM interviews have gone out, sources say. Among them: #Eagles VP Player Personnel Joe Douglas and #Bears Assistant Director of Player Personnel Champ Kelly. Two very respected evaluators.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 24, 2019
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reports the Jets have requested to interview Champ Kelly (the Bears’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel) and Joe Douglas (an ex-Bears front office executive who is the Eagles’ Vice President of Player Personnel) for the team’s vacant GM position.
Former Bears Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase has been handling interim GM responsibilities since New York surprisingly fired Mike Maccagnan earlier this month. Gase, who Maccagnan hired to replace outgoing head coach Todd Bowles back in January, has familiarity with Kelly and Douglas from their time in Chicago. Having prior relationships with a head coach could bode well for each of these candidates.
Both Kelly and Douglas popped up as candidates when the gig first opened up earlier in May, so it’s likely these are the two who are at the top of New York’s wish list.
The Bears aren’t at risk of a brain-drain at Halas Hall, but it’s worth noting how much interest has been drawn by employees after their successful 2018 run. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio left to be the Denver Broncos’ head coach and took some assistants with him. And even though Offensive Coordinator Mark Helfrich is still around, the University of Colorado was reportedly interested in hiring him for its head-coaching position. So with that in mind, we’ll keep tabs on the Jets’ GM search as long as Kelly is in the running.
