Yours truly is packing up the ride to take a personal self-care road trip today. Between the emotionally trying week that just wrapped up and the start of football coming eight days from today, this feels like a good time to reset and re-charge the batteries.
But first, a set of Bullets…
Speaking of resets, it sure is nice not seeing the Bears in this grouping:
Re-structures, while a clever way to circumvent the salary cap in order to keep open a competitive window, figure to have a breaking point for teams. And by that, I mean a point in time where it is no longer worth it to keep kicking the can down the road for the sake of one last hurrah. For the Bears, a 6-11 season in 2021 was the final straw. Reaching that point of no return led to the exodus of the general manager and head coach. And it is part of the reason why we’re where we are today.
Is there part of me that wishes new GM Ryan Poles would’ve found a way to execute some cap magic to piece together another lat final run? Absolutely. But I think a larger part of me had reached my own breaking point with that era of Bears football. Continuing to do what they were doing from a team-building aspect kept bringing the same results. It grew tiresome to watch. So what’s the harm of a hard reset? Sure, it is unpopular in some circles. And I totally understand why. But if Poles plays his cards right, the juice will be worth the squeeze. Between not having a crystal ball or a Jedi-like ability to have visions of the future, I can’t tell you how it’ll play out. But it’s why they play the games. And why we’ll watch.
Even though his role in Bears football operations as team president was nothing more than an overseer wielding financial power (which comes with the stroke of a pen), retiring President Ted Phillips took plenty of guff for the franchise’s on-field shortcomings. Sometimes, it was unfair. But on the other hand, while he wasn’t picking the GMs, coaches, or players, the buck eventually falls at the feet of the highest-ranking executives — of which Phillips was/will be until February 2023. Even still, it is evident he feels some sort of regret for the franchise not fielding a steady winner during his tenure:
“Winning football games is everything,” Philips said, via the Bears’ website. “and if I had one regret it’s that we haven’t had a consistently winning team under my tenure.”
Since becoming team president, the Bears have made just six playoff appearances. But only once (2005, 2006) were those postseason berths in consecutive years. They won five division titles, but had a winning record in the following season just once. In total, the Bears had just seven winning seasons under Phillips’ presidency. Heck, they had more seasons with 10+ losses (nine) than they had winning years. Sure, there were financial gains and modernization that occurred under Phillips. And I suppose he deserves credit for his part in doing that. But I certainly understand why Bears fans feel as if this departure was one that was long overdue.
So … who wants to be president of the Chicago Bears? It’s a question we’ll be asking plenty over the coming months. And it’s one I’ve begun sorting through to find answers for as we embark on the beginning phases of that journey. In addition to names we discussed yesterday (Trace Armstrong, Theo Epstein), Chris Emma (670 The Score) offers up a pair of fresh names with local ties we should put on our radar. Firstly, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips makes sense. Phillips was a long-time Northwestern director of athletics who should have a lay of the land as a midwesterner. Anyone who can resurrect Northwestern football and make it relevant merits consideration in my book. Gary Fencik, a member of the legendary Super Bowl XX champs, has a football background with experience as an executive in business. And I suppose that Yale degree wouldn’t hurt his chances.
For what it’s worth, I’m all in on Emma’s outside-of-the-box thinking in terms of finding Phillips’ replacement. Specifically, in terms of finding someone who isn’t as like-minded as Bears Chairman George McCaskey. Modern problems require modern solutions in this era of football. At minimum, the Bears need to hire someone with a fresh set of perspectives in order to take this to another level. Otherwise, they could fall in that same trap of doing the same thing over again. And nobody wants that (except perhaps for fans in Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota — whose opinions on how the Bears should operate aren’t a priority here).
I’m so here for Braxton Jones’ climb from sixth-round pick to starting left tackle protecting Justin Fields’ blindside:
It would be something if the Bears were able to unearth some starting linemen in the most unconventional ways. Think about it. There could come a point this season where the best five OL include a sixth-round pick in 2022, a second-round pick from 2021 at a new position, and a late-August waiver claim barely a year removed from being another team’s first-round pick. Development isn’t linear … and neither is the team-building process.
An old friend seems to be on the cusp of finding a new football home:
When Trey Lance takes the field against the Bears in Week 1, he’ll be making history:
Vince Lombardi was a staunch rival. But there is no doubt he is a football legend. And I can respect his contributions to the game we love (even if it was for a team we strongly dislike):
For your listening pleasure:
This is the type of preseason content I like to see:
P.S. Please drink responsibly!
The manager is dealing with health concerns. In his absence, the team finds odd ways to win games. And perhaps the owner wants to sell? The White Sox are giving off serious ”Major League II” vibes:
Oh, wow:
Ah, man. This Bulls news got Friday news-dumped on a holiday weekend. That’s not a good sign: