After watching yet another embarrassing effort by the Chicago Bears offense in their loss to the Minnesota Vikings last night, I had just one thought, Why? Why do I continue to do this to myself?
See, when the Bears were 5-1, I knew they weren't a great team. But I also didn't think they were THIS bad. This might be the worst Chicago Bears offense I've ever seen. And that is truly saying something.
How does this keep happening? The Bears identity has always been strong defense and mediocre at best offense. But how? They have had offensive minded head coaches in the past, yet the offense has never taken off. Remember Marc Trestman, the quarterback whisperer? And what about current head coach Matt Nagy? He was an assistant under arguably the greatest offensive mind the NFL has ever had in Andy Reid, but apparently didn't learn anything. The Bears have drafted players to be the franchise quarterback (Jim Harbaugh, Cade McNown, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Mitch Trubisky, just to name a few). The Bears have acquired young players through trades and free agent signings to be their franchise quarterback (Doug Flutie, Rick Mirer, Jay Cutler, Nick Foles, among others). So, my question is this. How is it that over 30 years (!) they could not land a single franchise quarterback? In that time, they have had 7 different head coaches and 7 different general managers. How is it possible that they all failed? Well, I think I have figured out the answer that everyone already knows.
Since George Halas's death in 1985 (RIP), his grandchildren, Michael and George McCaskey, have been running the Chicago Bears as the Chairman. It is no coincidence that in that time, the Bears have been largely irrelevant in the NFL, except for the 2006 season where they lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. These men, who were born into this position, have neither football knowledge or business acumen to be in charge of a multi-billion dollar organization. Nothing is ever going to change with the product on the field for this franchise, until the McCaskey Family decides to sell the team. And I have bad news for you, that is not happening any time soon.
If the McCaskey Family truly wants to see their beloved franchise become relevant again, they need to take a look a few miles north at what the Cubs have done over the past decade. The Cubs were in an equally irrelevant situation in 2009. They had a few surprise seasons, but largely, were complete afterthoughts in the MLB landscape. Then, in October 2009, the Tribune Company sold the Cubs to the Ricketts Family. The Ricketts family put a proper baseball operations team together by hiring the best in the business, Theo Epstein (I am not going to get into Epstein leaving the Cubs in this blog, my heart can only take so much sadness at one time). Epstein and Ricketts built a team that legitimately challenged for the World Series most years from 2015 to 2020, while winning it all in 2016. In the 11 years since the Ricketts family has owned the Chicago Cubs, they have been to the playoffs in 5 years, which equals the number of playoff appearances for the Cubs in the 20 years before their acquisition.
Does every ownership change bring titles? Of course not, but this franchise needs a shot of life and I believe that a new owner would provide that. Bears fans are some of the most loyal fans in the sports world. We deserve better from a team that we dedicate our entire fall to supporting every year. We need to move past '85 and start making some new memories with a new generation of fans that, like me, were not even alive yet when they won the Super Bowl in '85. 1985 should not define this franchise. They should be able to adapt to the new game, acquire talent and build a complete roster that can compete year in and year out. I have completely lost faith in the McCaskey Family to hire the right people, so it is time for a change at the top. Please McCaskey Family, SELL THE TEAM!.
Until the McCaskey Family sells the team, I am sad to say, the Bears will always be a punchline in the NFL.
-Lavs