Woof. The news broke quickly today from Halas Hall as the Chicago Bears started their offseason with a major shake-up near the top of the organization with the removal of Jerry Angelo and the “resignation” of Mike Martz. No time to waste in breaking these moves down!
Bears release General Manager Jerry Angelo
In a move that both surprised and delighted long-time Bears fans, Team President Ted Philips announced the firing of 11-year General Manager Jerry Angelo. I know some fans are confused as to why Lovie wouldn’t be on his way out too, but nearly every problem this season could be attributed to poor personnel decisions and a lack of depth at key positions. Angelo has had eleven years to accomplish the following: find a number one wide receiver construct a cohesive offensive line through the draft, provide quality depth on the defensive line find a viable number two corner behind Charles Tillman, or draft or sign at least ONE competent safety for Lovie Smith’s cover-two scheme (which I feel is the most important position in the system). I debated running through examples of players Angelo missed on at those positions, but I didn’t want to make myself cry. Ultimately, your GM can’t find occasional success in free agency and the rare fifth-round gem while completely missing on nearly every first-round draft choice. It simply sets your franchise back too far.
What’s next?
Not Tim Ruskell. It’d be like promoting Jerry Angelo to replace Jerry Angelo. The Bears are likely to take a while to conduct this search, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t at least call former Colts Vice Chairman Bill Polian, but he probably comes with too much baggage (like his son Chris) and is too old to bring in. NFL Network’s Albert Breer dropped the name of Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta. There’s a glut of quality up-and-coming personnel scouts in the league, so there’s going to be plenty of names tossed about that you’ve never heard of. (But they probably won’t get permission to talk to anyone from Green Bay. Jerks.) Whoever it is will need to deal with several immediate decisions. Matt Forte, Lance Briggs and Jay Cutler all are ready for, want, or deserve a new contract. Partnered with the upcoming draft, a new GM doesn’t have a lot of time to waste.
Bears do not renew contract of Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz and QB Coach Shane Day
Well hooray. The Mike Martz experiment in Chicago (can we stop calling it that now) ended with a whimper as the Bear offense struggled down the stretch amidst rumors of Martz interviewing or shopping for a new position. Two years into his tenure, the production simply wasn’t great enough to justify keeping his antics and stubborn nature around for another season. Even after the trials of 2010, Martz needed to be sat down again in 2011 in order to keep Cutler from getting killed in seven-step drops with a shake o-line. I’m fine with ending this crap. (I didn’t really want him in the first place.) Interesting that we heard Martz resigned early on and then it transitioned to “it was Lovie’s call.” As for Day, he should be happy he’s no longer the buffer between Cutler and Martz.
What’s next?
Much to the chagrin of flip-floppy Bear fans who wanted Martz out but are scared of change, Cutler will see his third offensive coordinator (and likely third system) in three seasons. Mike Tice is an in-house candidate, but he’s never been a coordinator in the NFL, so he’d come with some learning curves. Jeremy Bates (and Cutler friend at one point) would be available to come in after the Bears passed him over two years ago. Honestly, I’m torn on this topic. There are a ton of solid options out there, but just as before, I’m not sure how many want to hop onboard with a coach who might have one year left if he doesn’t succeed. It’ll probably end up being Tice or someone very green.
Alright everyone! I’ll be back to cover more coaching news and preview the Wildcard round of the playoffs! Football. Yeah.
Keywords: Chicago Bears, Jerry Angelo, Joe Anello, Lovie Smith, Mike Martz, NFL, Shane Day, Ted Philips
