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‘It all starts with the McCaskeys’: How the Bears ended up in ‘an endless cycle of inheriting the previous regime’s trash
https://theathletic.com/3069761/2022/01 ... mes-trash/

Worth the price of admission. .
Jahns and Fishbain trace the history back to 2011 when George took over.
This is a damning and detailed indictment of Bears ownership.
It answers a lot of questions and leaves no doubt that both Pace and Nagy had to go. It leaves a great deal of doubt as how successful the next regime will be.

It also raised a question I have not seen asked: Are Pace and/or Nagy being interviewed for any of these openings?

dave99 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:47 am ‘It all starts with the McCaskeys’: How the Bears ended up in ‘an endless cycle of inheriting the previous regime’s trash
https://theathletic.com/3069761/2022/01 ... mes-trash/

Worth the price of admission. .
Jahns and Fishbain trace the history back to 2011 when George took over.
This is a damning and detailed indictment of Bears ownership.
It answers a lot of questions and leaves no doubt that both Pace and Nagy had to go. It leaves a great deal of doubt as how successful the next regime will be.

It also raised a question I have not seen asked: Are Pace and/or Nagy being interviewed for any of these openings?

Pace is young enough he might get another opportunity - but GM's are usually one and done jobs - rarely do you see a guy fired by one organization pop up immediately as a candidate somewhere else. They usually end up living out their days as a second in command.

Coaches get recycled on the regular - but I wouldn't expect Nagy to get any looks this offseason. I think he needs to go somewhere and prove himself as an OC. Maybe he heads back to KC to work with Andy Reid again when/if Eric Bienemy gets a head job.

Hiphopopotamos wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:51 am

dave99 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:47 am ‘It all starts with the McCaskeys’: How the Bears ended up in ‘an endless cycle of inheriting the previous regime’s trash
https://theathletic.com/3069761/2022/01 ... mes-trash/

Worth the price of admission. .
Jahns and Fishbain trace the history back to 2011 when George took over.
This is a damning and detailed indictment of Bears ownership.
It answers a lot of questions and leaves no doubt that both Pace and Nagy had to go. It leaves a great deal of doubt as how successful the next regime will be.

It also raised a question I have not seen asked: Are Pace and/or Nagy being interviewed for any of these openings?

Pace is young enough he might get another opportunity - but GM's are usually one and done jobs - rarely do you see a guy fired by one organization pop up immediately as a candidate somewhere else. They usually end up living out their days as a second in command.

Coaches get recycled on the regular - but I wouldn't expect Nagy to get any looks this offseason. I think he needs to go somewhere and prove himself as an OC. Maybe he heads back to KC to work with Andy Reid again when/if Eric Bienemy gets a head job.

I agree he''ll be back in KC in some capacity. Maybe back to QB coach if Bienemy doesn't leave.

Summary:

• Nagy called out Mitch playing like shit in order to hold him accountable in front of the whole team and it left a bad impression on the locker room
• Lovie being fired by Phil Emery after winning 10 games had players crying in the locker room
• Bruce Arians thought he was a slam-dunk Bears hire, but Emery wanted Trestman and had some lackey call Arians to tell him the bad news
• They wanted to retain Marinelli, but he quit over Lovie's firing, so they brought in Mel Tucker and told him he could only have the job if he ran Lovie's Cover 2 scheme, which he didn't know whatsoever
• Lance Briggs became a de facto coach because the new coaches didn't know the terminology or the defense
• Ballard didn't want to report to Phillips, only to McCaskey, but Pace was considered a "doing a favor hire" due to connections with Ted Phillips' friend Mickey Loomis and their connections to Ernie Accorsi, who was helping direct the GM search at the time, so Pace it was
• Fox wasn't Pace's first choice for coach, but ownership/Accorsi were tight with Fox and felt like an arranged marriage situation was best
• After the 2019 season ended, Nagy no-showed for a meeting with Trubisky over how they could find some common ground
• Trubisky would tell his coaches during camp/games that the offensive scheme wasn't working, and they would blow smoke up his ass
• Nagy wasn't nearly as ready as he should've been to be an NFL coach, with walkthroughs routinely messy and penalties stemmed from it
• Nagy tried to take a hard line with more player fines issued this season but it had little impact

UOK wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Summary:

• Nagy called out Mitch playing like shit in order to hold him accountable in front of the whole team and it left a bad impression on the locker room
• Lovie being fired by Phil Emery after winning 10 games had players crying in the locker room
• Bruce Arians thought he was a slam-dunk Bears hire, but Emery wanted Trestman and had some lackey call Arians to tell him the bad news
• They wanted to retain Marinelli, but he quit over Lovie's firing, so they brought in Mel Tucker and told him he could only have the job if he ran Lovie's Cover 2 scheme, which he didn't know whatsoever
• Lance Briggs became a de facto coach because the new coaches didn't know the terminology or the defense
• Ballard didn't want to report to Phillips, only to McCaskey, but Pace was considered a "doing a favor hire" due to connections with Ted Phillips' friend Mickey Loomis and their connections to Ernie Accorsi, who was helping direct the GM search at the time, so Pace it was
• Fox wasn't Pace's first choice for coach, but ownership/Accorsi were tight with Fox and felt like an arranged marriage situation was best
• After the 2019 season ended, Nagy no-showed for a meeting with Trubisky over how they could find some common ground
• Trubisky would tell his coaches during camp/games that the offensive scheme wasn't working, and they would blow smoke up his ass
• Nagy wasn't nearly as ready as he should've been to be an NFL coach, with walkthroughs routinely messy and penalties stemmed from it
• Nagy tried to take a hard line with more player fines issued this season but it had little impact

Yes, but the thrust of the piece is that George keeps making the same mistake over and over, hamstringing the new regime with mistakes and issues from the old. They can never manage a clean slate to get everyone on the same page.
Now I don't think Fields is a mistake, far from it, but the pattern is the same. And if they hire the coach first and then the GM it's back to "who's on first?"

UOK wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Summary:

• Nagy called out Mitch playing like shit in order to hold him accountable in front of the whole team and it left a bad impression on the locker room
• Lovie being fired by Phil Emery after winning 10 games had players crying in the locker room
• Bruce Arians thought he was a slam-dunk Bears hire, but Emery wanted Trestman and had some lackey call Arians to tell him the bad news
• They wanted to retain Marinelli, but he quit over Lovie's firing, so they brought in Mel Tucker and told him he could only have the job if he ran Lovie's Cover 2 scheme, which he didn't know whatsoever
• Lance Briggs became a de facto coach because the new coaches didn't know the terminology or the defense
• Ballard didn't want to report to Phillips, only to McCaskey, but Pace was considered a "doing a favor hire" due to connections with Ted Phillips' friend Mickey Loomis and their connections to Ernie Accorsi, who was helping direct the GM search at the time, so Pace it was
• Fox wasn't Pace's first choice for coach, but ownership/Accorsi were tight with Fox and felt like an arranged marriage situation was best
• After the 2019 season ended, Nagy no-showed for a meeting with Trubisky over how they could find some common ground
• Trubisky would tell his coaches during camp/games that the offensive scheme wasn't working, and they would blow smoke up his ass
• Nagy wasn't nearly as ready as he should've been to be an NFL coach, with walkthroughs routinely messy and penalties stemmed from it
• Nagy tried to take a hard line with more player fines issued this season but it had little impact

Lord help the next GM and HC. What a clown show.

At least Fields is shot of Nagy. No wonder Trubisky flamed out.

Omg, I hate Nagy so much more now.

It genuinely hurts to read this.

How can people whose entire family business is owning an NFL team… and have access to the absolute best education money can buy… be THIS dumb and unprepared to do their jobs?

Seriously, it’s not like Virginia bought the team with new-found lottery winnings in 2011 and put George in charge out of the blue… without him having any idea he might be running an NFL franchise someday. This is the kind of ignorant incompetence you’d expect from some lucky billionaire who buys an NFL team and knows nothing about football, yet wants to run the team. These morons have known their entire lives that they would probably end up leading the Chicago Bears, yet they arrive at the job with ZERO preparation, insight, experience or ability. Then, if that isn’t enough, they don’t gain ANY experience, knowledge or insight after a decade on the job. He’s still “just a fan”… but he makes the most important decisions on how to move the team “forward”.

I’m truly sad.

dave99 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:40 am
Yes, but the thrust of the piece is that George keeps making the same mistake over and over, hamstringing the new regime with mistakes and issues from the old. They can never manage a clean slate to get everyone on the same page.
Now I don't think Fields is a mistake, far from it, but the pattern is the same. And if they hire the coach first and then the GM it's back to "who's on first?"

The answer is simple. The new HC and GM should have total freedom to do whatever they feel is necessary.

Now I have a lot of faith and believe Fields can be the guy as a fan. Same as George.

His answer at the press conference though hopefully reflected the reality that this is a fresh start. And a ton of fans roasted him for the answer, but it was 100% the right answer.

All that said, I think the "same mistake" critique is obviously not exactly true. I guess what's trying to be communicated is that the mistakes have a common underlying theme, the "clean slate" issue. But of all possible issues, inheriting players shouldn't be considered a huge issue. If everything from FO to coaching staff is an open slate, none of this roster has to be committed to. Very little guaranteed money left. Whatever dead cap hits, who cares. If a GM and HC want to come in and treat it like its a franchise team there really isn't a barrier to that. Even compared to the 2011 change, it's not like there is a great D core with a HOF and Bears legends to worry about tearing.

So TBD on how the HC/GM search goes (I.e. There being no arranged marriage), but the has every opportunity of a fresh slate.

Thanks for the summary UOK. Holy shit that's a hot mess of ineptitude across a variety of fronts.

Is Mel Tucker absolved some by this? Can I track down Phil Emory and kick him in the nut sack for that Arians move? And then all that Nagy stuff, holy hell wow. I truly hate that guy now and feel really bad for Mitch - I'm really rooting for him to sign somewhere this offseason and light it up. And I want him to pull a McMahon and wear a headband with NAGY written on it.

This completely blows my mind. I'm not surprised but it blows my mind.

How hard can it be to do some analysis of best practices and do that? To wit:

1) Look at what has worked for successful franchises (over time) from a structural standpoint.
2) Kick out the outliers (BB @ Patriots, JJ @ Dallas)
3) Determine the mean of what remains
4) Emulate that

I mean, seriously. I'm not a football guy but if you asked me to do it, I'd have a clue

CEO
^
GM
^
HC

Maybe you split the org into Football Operations and Business Operations (Ted Phillips). Have the GM report up through Football ops and have Ted run off-field stuff -- which he appears to be very good at.

Hire the best GM you can find.
Let him hire the best coach he can find.

Then get out and let them do their jobs.

How hard is that, really?

IotaNet wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:50 am This completely blows my mind. I'm not surprised but it blows my mind.

How hard can it be to do some analysis of best practices and do that? To wit:

1) Look at what has worked for successful franchises (over time) from a structural standpoint.
2) Kick out the outliers (BB @ Patriots, JJ @ Dallas)
3) Determine the mean of what remains
4) Emulate that

I mean, seriously. I'm not a football guy but if you asked me to do it, I'd have a clue

CEO
^
GM
^
HC

Maybe you split the org into Football Operations and Business Operations (Ted Phillips). Have the GM report up through Football ops and have Ted run off-field stuff -- which he appears to be very good at.

Hire the best GM you can find.
Let him hire the best coach he can find.

Then get out and let them do their jobs.

How hard is that, really?

The thing is even with the timelines laid out in the article, you can see they didn't totally botch it at every step, but at times trip over themselves and fumble at some critical moment. And it's not a "swing big and asserted themselves foolishly". Like the Fox-Pace duo. No one really questioned the Fox hire at the time. There was no expectation a two time Conf Champ coach would become available and they pivoted and it failed. But I bet even Pace would tell you it wasn't like he didn't see the value.

But we don't get to see the counterfactual. If Pace goes and gets Quinn, does it turn out any better? Maybe. Or maybe the issue was just Pace all along.

UOK wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Summary:

• Nagy called out Mitch playing like shit in order to hold him accountable in front of the whole team and it left a bad impression on the locker room
• Lovie being fired by Phil Emery after winning 10 games had players crying in the locker room
• Bruce Arians thought he was a slam-dunk Bears hire, but Emery wanted Trestman and had some lackey call Arians to tell him the bad news
• They wanted to retain Marinelli, but he quit over Lovie's firing, so they brought in Mel Tucker and told him he could only have the job if he ran Lovie's Cover 2 scheme, which he didn't know whatsoever
• Lance Briggs became a de facto coach because the new coaches didn't know the terminology or the defense
• Ballard didn't want to report to Phillips, only to McCaskey, but Pace was considered a "doing a favor hire" due to connections with Ted Phillips' friend Mickey Loomis and their connections to Ernie Accorsi, who was helping direct the GM search at the time, so Pace it was
• Fox wasn't Pace's first choice for coach, but ownership/Accorsi were tight with Fox and felt like an arranged marriage situation was best
• After the 2019 season ended, Nagy no-showed for a meeting with Trubisky over how they could find some common ground
• Trubisky would tell his coaches during camp/games that the offensive scheme wasn't working, and they would blow smoke up his ass
• Nagy wasn't nearly as ready as he should've been to be an NFL coach, with walkthroughs routinely messy and penalties stemmed from it
• Nagy tried to take a hard line with more player fines issued this season but it had little impact

well, if I hadn't already thought of them all as big players in a dumpster fire, this summary should certainly convince anyone

I will never understand Nagy's issue with Trubisky ... he was hired as an offensive guru and QB whisperer, so he comes to a situation with a young QB and an offense in need of a rebuild ... it was a perfect situation for him to shine ... instead he shit all over himself

Thanks for the summary for those of us who don't have a subscription, @UOK. I'm definitely going to jump on that $1/month deal if it comes up again around the holidays.

While I still don't think Trubisky will ever be anything but a backup, I can completely sympathize with him having to deal with a coach like Nagy, if what was said was true. I've had bosses like that in the past who lost, or never had, the ability to listen to their employees and then get angry when nothing gets better.

Boris13c wrote: ↑ well, if I hadn't already thought of them all as big players in a dumpster fire, this summary should certainly convince anyone

Well put, you don’t get that repeated level of incompetence without having poor leadership from the very top

Boris13c wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:37 am

UOK wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 9:28 am Summary:

• Nagy called out Mitch playing like shit in order to hold him accountable in front of the whole team and it left a bad impression on the locker room
• Lovie being fired by Phil Emery after winning 10 games had players crying in the locker room
• Bruce Arians thought he was a slam-dunk Bears hire, but Emery wanted Trestman and had some lackey call Arians to tell him the bad news
• They wanted to retain Marinelli, but he quit over Lovie's firing, so they brought in Mel Tucker and told him he could only have the job if he ran Lovie's Cover 2 scheme, which he didn't know whatsoever
• Lance Briggs became a de facto coach because the new coaches didn't know the terminology or the defense
• Ballard didn't want to report to Phillips, only to McCaskey, but Pace was considered a "doing a favor hire" due to connections with Ted Phillips' friend Mickey Loomis and their connections to Ernie Accorsi, who was helping direct the GM search at the time, so Pace it was
• Fox wasn't Pace's first choice for coach, but ownership/Accorsi were tight with Fox and felt like an arranged marriage situation was best
• After the 2019 season ended, Nagy no-showed for a meeting with Trubisky over how they could find some common ground
• Trubisky would tell his coaches during camp/games that the offensive scheme wasn't working, and they would blow smoke up his ass
• Nagy wasn't nearly as ready as he should've been to be an NFL coach, with walkthroughs routinely messy and penalties stemmed from it
• Nagy tried to take a hard line with more player fines issued this season but it had little impact

well, if I hadn't already thought of them all as big players in a dumpster fire, this summary should certainly convince anyone

I will never understand Nagy's issue with Trubisky ... he was hired as an offensive guru and QB whisperer, so he comes to a situation with a young QB and an offense in need of a rebuild ... it was a perfect situation for him to shine ... instead he shit all over himself

He chastised Trubisky for not seeing a wide open receiver when the db fell down against the Giants, something that happened several times during his tenure with the Bears. I wouldn’t call it a perfect situation. The GM also traded away two first round picks for Mack (which got them into the playoffs) and then traded up for a bust at WR which limited the ability for the offense to improve from a talent perspective. I’d hardly call it a perfect situation.

His handling of Fields was far more egregious and an indictment on him, imo.

I thought this was fucking damning:

After the 2019 season concluded, Trubisky prepared to meet with Nagy. They needed to have a conversation. How were they going to make this work? The quarterback prepared notes for the meeting. Nagy, though, didn’t make it — “He no-showed him,” a source said. Trubisky left his notes behind.

G08 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:24 pm I thought this was fucking damning:

After the 2019 season concluded, Trubisky prepared to meet with Nagy. They needed to have a conversation. How were they going to make this work? The quarterback prepared notes for the meeting. Nagy, though, didn’t make it — “He no-showed him,” a source said. Trubisky left his notes behind.

Can you imagine Mitch just sitting there, waiting. Then dude doesn't show, so Mitch just leaves the notes on the desk and walks out like "well I tried".

Makes me regret ever defending Nagy in any way.

wab wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:31 pm

G08 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:24 pm I thought this was fucking damning:

Can you imagine Mitch just sitting there, waiting. Then dude doesn't show, so Mitch just leaves the notes on the desk and walks out like "well I tried".

Makes me regret ever defending Nagy in any way.

You and me both, and it sheds some light on what Trubisky likely meant when he talked about there being a "culture issue" in the building.

G08 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:49 pm

wab wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:31 pm
Can you imagine Mitch just sitting there, waiting. Then dude doesn't show, so Mitch just leaves the notes on the desk and walks out like "well I tried".

Makes me regret ever defending Nagy in any way.

You and me both, and it sheds some light on what Trubisky likely meant when he talked about there being a "culture issue" in the building.

And not to be too mushy about it, but it also kinda breaks my heart for the kid.

wab wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:57 pm And not to be too mushy about it, but it also kinda breaks my heart for the kid.

I agree, no wonder the guy suffered from a lack of confidence. Treated him like dirt.

Good job Fields is a much stronger personality.

Ditka’s dictaphone wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 1:02 pm

wab wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:57 pm And not to be too mushy about it, but it also kinda breaks my heart for the kid.

I agree, no wonder the guy suffered from a lack of confidence. Treated him like dirt.

Good job Fields is a much stronger personality.

And much more talented.

wab wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:57 pm

G08 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:49 pm

You and me both, and it sheds some light on what Trubisky likely meant when he talked about there being a "culture issue" in the building.

And not to be too mushy about it, but it also kinda breaks my heart for the kid.

I know exactly what you mean, 100%. Breaks my heart for the kid as well.

It absolutely does not absolve Mel Tucker.
Lovie’s cover 2 was one of the most basic defenses called in the NFL.
Any coach worth his salt could see the Bears weren’t good enough to just line up and win with who they had left at that point.
Tucker should have put in several more cover 3 and man schemes along with more D line stunts and blitzes to try and keep the opposing team guessing even a little. Teams just came in and worked the matchups and holes in the zone and scored at will.

It was a great article. I was going to copy and paste it in its entirety but probably too long. Great summary by UOK. I know Mugs was supposed to be the successor many years ago but died unexpectantly. Michael was put in charge but booted out for incompetence. Virginia should be ashamed of herself for allowing the franchise to deteriorate into one of the biggest clownshows in the NFL. My biggest takes: Emery was a bigger disaster than I've thought, firing Lovie, hiring Trestman over Arians, giving Cutty an extension f*cking up the Bears' ability to move on from him. Chris Ballard told them what they needed to do in 2015 to get football ops away from Ted and now, finally, maybe, they're taking his suggestions. Fox was actually a lameduck the year Trubiskey was drafted, which is why Pace totally ignored Fox wanting Watson instead. Total f*ck by Pace on evaluating and working with his head coach, which should have led to his being fired before this. Nagy was a bigger jagoff than came out in the press. It might be better that the Bears didn't draft Watson or Mahomes, he would have ruined them.

I doubt Andy Reid would hire Nagy back as OC or QB coach after his "exemplary" work with the Bears but stranger things have happened.

Matt Nagy, Destroyer of Quarterbacks.

wab wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:57 pm

G08 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:49 pm

You and me both, and it sheds some light on what Trubisky likely meant when he talked about there being a "culture issue" in the building.

And not to be too mushy about it, but it also kinda breaks my heart for the kid.

The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get that Pace left Fields in the hands of that idiot.
And George and Ted left Pace to make the call.
With apologies to John Kennedy Toole:
A Confederacy of Dunces

We all knew it was bad but wow. We all came around to the idea Nagy wasn't good, but I dont think anyone thought he was that much of a douche. I personally quickly lost faith in him.
Even with my low opinion he somehow was worse. To no call no show your QB who's trying to improve the situation. Every QB they had said the same thing, this offense doesn't work.