Kaplan: Phillips to possibly retire at season’s end

[Raskolnikov]

the real problem is that you have a family with bloodlines back to the invention of football, sitting on a $3 billion family business who hasn't produced one offspring three generations who has taken enough interest to learn both football and business

I played rugby in Cali with a 5A Illinois state football champion from the Chicago private school system, and of course, as a 300 lb DT that broke the recruite bench press record at Boston College, could bench like 465 at 17, 225 28 times at 17. Smart guy too so he took some hard classes with descendants of the McCaskey's and I heard enough to speculate on a few things about how they live.
Big families have to spend a bit of time counting nickels and rationing them around without crippling the capital. That 10 million a year extra revenue means something to the extended family. Team sale worth don't mean shit to some of them, its the dividends/revenue that trickles down for some.

But I consider that shit stealing from the franchise, and really long term your just devaluing yourself. The Cowboys spent big and it returned to them 10 fold.

That said, they have tried to be good stewards of their inheritance. The easy way would be to cash out and everyone lives happily ever after. There is honor in what they have tried, but as often is the case the loud mouth ignorant weasels rise to the top of family hierarchy because they don't know they are the dumb ones.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Normally, people use a crystal ball, tea leaves, or tarot cards to try to figure out the future. When it comes to the Chicago Bears, the only way to know the future is to look into the void of one of Virginia's used diapers. The future lies in her soiled nappies.

ummm...pass me some of that shit.

 

[lincster27]

if you're removing Teddy as president then they need to find a Bill Polian type as either the president or as a consultant to hire the next president.
I don't want Pace involved in any more big football decisions.

John McDonough as President, Theo Epstein as PFO/GM

 

[greg23]

This might be all part of moving Pace upstairs. We know they love the guy. He shouldn't be rewarded for at he's done here but he's likely better suited for that position and to hire a GM.

I said this weeks ago and was laughed at

I think it's a very real possibility

 

[dreadpirateroberts]

This might be all part of moving Pace upstairs. We know they love the guy. He shouldn't be rewarded for at he's done here but he's likely better suited for that position and to hire a GM.

I would only be okay with that if the new GM was given full autonomy on football decisions.

 

[Luke]

This might be all part of moving Pace upstairs. We know they love the guy. He shouldn't be rewarded for at he's done here but he's likely better suited for that position and to hire a GM.

If this were to actually happen, I bet that Pace stays in house and promotes someone like Champ Kelly to GM.
Responsibilities shift but the song remains the same.
The only thing that does change is Nagy gets axed and then Pace reaches out to his ol' buddy Pete Carmichael as HC.
How do you like them apples?

 

[Sparks500]

This might be all part of moving Pace upstairs. We know they love the guy. He shouldn't be rewarded for at he's done here but he's likely better suited for that position and to hire a GM.

You don’t take a Peter principle gm that hired a Peter principle coach and move him further UP!

 

[Bearly]

You don’t take a Peter principle gm that hired a Peter principle coach and move him further UP!

I wouldn't, no.

 

[circusboy666]

I really feel like this piece of shit should have been let go in like 2012.

 

[Starion]

The real question most will have, myself included is IF the new guy will make some good hires for GM & coach!!?? Pretty sure that's what the pitchforks are for. Nobody trusts Teddy for that.

We ALL got fooled by Nagy in 18, even when the run game started declining & offensive scoring was poor then. I'm not sure Phillips "retiring" will change much, but I'm hopeful for improvement regardless.

Don't get the hate for Phillips because he isn't making the football decisions or executing the plays. Everybody signed on to hire Ryan Pace--George, Virginia, the board of directors, and other McKaskeys included. Pace was supposed to be the football guy who could draft/put together a team and bring the bears into the modern era. We know that hasn't worked. We see now the culmination of George, Ted, Virginia, and the board were all wrong. They're not going anywhere.

Show me where Ted Phillips overruled Pace during the tenure and directly put his fingerprints on this team and decisions that went into it, this roster, this coach and scheme, then I'll supply the torches, pitchforks, and riot gear.

Regarding the roster, it's all Pace and his decisions. Did Phillips move up 1 spot to take Mitch? Did Phillips chase FA with big $ because he missed on draft picks/FA? Did Phillips have 1 good 1st round pick in 5 years? Did Phillips ignore the OLine and abandon the run game? Did he execute poorly on the field/quit on plays?

There was a time where he was the cheapskate/bad guy. But it's not now. He's been with the organization for almost 40 years and has made them worth 3.52 billion per Forbes. He'd have to retire because he sure as shit isn't getting fired with those results.

You make too many points to overcome the anger of the many. I love the point
Zvbxrpl made. The Pres SHOULD know enough & be willing to have constructive work with the GM on the major team moves. If not, why not?? Teddy could be too much business & make money mode > winning.


The burn it all down fans always remind me of...

 

[Bearly]

I've never been a burn it all down type but which of Nagy, Pace and Phillips would someone want to retain? This thread is also about Teddy retiring but if he didn't, do you want him (or some surrogate) to pick your next GM after Emery and Pace?
This Org may be fine financially but disorganized in terms of football decisions. No dome, natural grass that they can't maintain and yes, some of that is on the park district but guess how you remove that variable and it was the Bear than insisted on the turf and open stadium.

Emery? Hiring Pace and shoving Fox down his throat. Any GM that accepts that is probably the wrong hire and here it was forced by Ted when he had the option of Ballard plus Arians. Imagine the difference that would have made and all the guy that admittedly doesn't really know football had to do, was let the the football guys make the football decisions. A good leader is beyond this sort of hubris, understands what he doesn't know and how to delegate those aspects. It's been a critical major fail.

Teddy has done a good job of prepping for an ultimate ownership transition and maximizing profits since he's had the job but that part is now in place. Time for a football guy to increase the teams value by being more successful on the field.

I'm a patient fan and wait to see how play and decisions develop over a few years before taking a hard stance on the people involved. Teddy was always the wrong guy for football decisions but he tried with outside help and we could hope he'd get lucky but he hasn't. Pace has missed badly on his most important choices and Nagy is pure fail at this point. If anyone thinks that some aspect of this is salvageable, I'm all ears.

When Pace hired Nagy, it appeared he staked his future on it when he got that contract extension to match Nagy's. Time to pay the piper.

 

[Zvbxrpl]

Would still be nice to get a football guy that could run the business and hiring your GM too, no? You know, rub his tummy and pat his head at the same time. You are absolutely correct that he's rather football meaningless in the day to day but how many shitty GMs do we need to have before somebody is held responsible. Hiring an outsider to pick your GMs is not an acceptable solution.

The problem is at GM though, not Teddy/the board of directors that signed on and hired the GM then gave him full autonomy. They literally did what everybody wanted them to do: hire a football guy. They hired an outsider who found Ryan Pace and they all bought in.

Look at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Art Rooney 2 has the same title as ol' Sweaty Teddy. Art Rooney 2 spends his time with family side businesses/charities while the GM/Kevin Colbert runs the show. Huh. Interesting dynamic. A non-football guy at president and a football guy at GM.

Want to know why the past three clowns sucked at GM and every fucking time the bears are in prime time, announcers talk about Jim McMahon or Sid Luckman?

Because the GMs invested money/draft capital in the wrong places. Whether it's a high draft pick, big-name trade, mid round pick, big money FA back up/starter--the QB is fucked because of a half-assed OL including one or two really good interior OL and two massively crappy/over-the-hill tackles. And it doesn't fucking change. Jermon Bushrod, Charles Leno, Bobby Massie, Frank Omiyale, J'Marcus Webb, John Tait, Orlando Pace, and John St. Claire. JA drafted a pre-injured LT Chris Williams who never played at LT.

All the cute/crazy schemes you can muster and fall in love with like Andy Reid, RPO, West Coast offense, (hell--even the most vanilla ones too like whatever Mike Tice ran) crash and burn because the guys bears have hired don't value winning the trenches. They viewed it as an afterthought, which is the easiest way to put yourself in a hole, only to overcompensate by buying/spending all good draft capital and other resources on the other side of the ball. Sound familiar?

Want things to change? Winning the trenches is half the battle. For that to work, you need good talent/resources which comes solely in the form of a high draft pick/1st rounder, because good offensive linemen don't hit FA these days unless they're a guard on the wrong side of 30. A 1st. Not a 2nd or 3rd rounder because you have to reach on whichever college QB is the flavor of the month only to watch him fail like the rest because you can't count on a 'diamond in the rough' to save you/all good LTs will be gone by the 2nd round. You build the OLine because when you do finally invest in the QB, he's in a position to succeed because he's protected for more than a second and a half, not folding like a lawn chair because your left tackle doesn't know how to/can't block someone for that long (and hopefully not a 1-read idiot like Mitch).

 

[Bearly]

Hiring a football consultant is not the same as having your own clue. The reasons we have Pace and Nagy instead of Ballard and Arians has everything to do with Teddy and George and nothing to do with the football guy they hired to help find a GM. You have just amplified why making a good choice at GM is so critical. Once you got one, you can do whatever the fuck you want away from the game itself and know the team itself is in great hands. You know how you prevent GMs from putting resources in the wrong places? Hire a good one and move on quickly when it's apparent that you didn't, until you do.

Many examples of Presidents and owners not getting it right so both ends here but if you want to talk about the Steelers, Colbert was effectively hired by Cowher after he won a power struggle with Donohue. How about Cowher as GM?

 

[ZOMBIE@CTESPN]

I've never been a burn it all down type but which of Nagy, Pace and Phillips would someone want to retain? This thread is also about Teddy retiring but if he didn't, do you want him (or some surrogate) to pick your next GM after Emery and Pace?
This Org may be fine financially but disorganized in terms of football decisions. No dome, natural grass that they can't maintain and yes, some of that is on the park district but guess how you remove that variable and it was the Bear than insisted on the turf and open stadium.

Emery? Hiring Pace and shoving Fox down his throat. Any GM that accepts that is probably the wrong hire and here it was forced by Ted when he had the option of Ballard plus Arians. Imagine the difference that would have made and all the guy that admittedly doesn't really know football had to do, was let the the football guys make the football decisions. A good leader is beyond this sort of hubris, understands what he doesn't know and how to delegate those aspects. It's been a critical major fail.

Teddy has done a good job of prepping for an ultimate ownership transition and maximizing profits since he's had the job but that part is now in place. Time for a football guy to increase the teams value by being more successful on the field.

I'm a patient fan and wait to see how play and decisions develop over a few years before taking a hard stance on the people involved. Teddy was always the wrong guy for football decisions but he tried with outside help and we could hope he'd get lucky but he hasn't. Pace has missed badly on his most important choices and Nagy is pure fail at this point. If anyone thinks that some aspect of this is salvageable, I'm all ears.

When Pace hired Nagy, it appeared he staked his future on it when he got that contract extension to match Nagy's. Time to pay the piper.

Idt Ted is relevant anymore. Team has come a long way from only hiring coaches on cheapest dollar amount possible like they did with lovie. We are competitive with all salaries and spend up to the cap. There is no proof that any of the head honchos interfere with the gm when it comes to players anymore. I can’t excuse neither pace or Naggy. The talent has been bad on this team for a long time and pace is a big reason for that. And if you watch the games Naggy looks like he’s way in over his head. Both of them have to 100% be relieved of their duties the sooner the better. Idt philips will play a hand in who they hire next that’s on George. I hope they don’t turn to uncle Ernie again but wtf does George know at this point to hire someone on his own

 

[Bearly]

Idt Ted is relevant anymore. Team has come a long way from only hiring coaches on cheapest dollar amount possible like they did with lovie. We are competitive with all salaries and spend up to the cap. There is no proof that any of the head honchos interfere with the gm when it comes to players anymore. I can’t excuse neither pace or Naggy. The talent has been bad on this team for a long time and pace is a big reason for that. And if you watch the games Naggy looks like he’s way in over his head. Both of them have to 100% be relieved of their duties the sooner the better. Idt philips will play a hand in who they hire next that’s on George. I hope they don’t turn to uncle Ernie again but wtf does George know at this point to hire someone on his own

I never even hinted that cheap was still an issue but 2 failed GM hires in less than a decade plus the stadium decisions are somewhat damning. If he gets lucky with the next one, great but here we go again. Owners have a say here as well. There's a proven GMs like Dorsey who assembled the current Chiefs out there and that this team may not even consider him because he will draft guys without squeaky clean character.

 

[Bearly]

Here's a scarier thought than Pace moving up to Pres. How about that plus he retains the GM position.