Fans haven't been happy with the Chicago Bears lately. Like at all. Once considered a premier franchise in the NFL, it has sunk to depths never experienced before. For the first time since the league instituted a 16-game season in 1978, the Bears finished 3-13. It's their second-worst record in franchise history (finished 1-13 in 1969).
Needless to say this painful experience has put the entire team brass under fire from the press and social media. From head coach John Fox to GM Ryan Pace. However, perhaps none have drawn more heat over the past half decade than the ownership. Virginia McCaskey and her family have owned the Bears since 1983 when her father, the great George Halas died.
Since then the team has won just one Super Bowl and managed to make the playoffs just four times since the start of the new millennium in 2000. Some have long since reached the conclusion that this family is ill-equipped to run a modern professional football team. That in turn has led to ceaseless calls for them to sell the franchise.
Would they ever consider it?
Team chairman George McCaskey appeared on 670 The Score to discuss the state of the franchise, why he's staying patient with Ryan Pace and John Fox and what he expects for the future. Inevitably the question on the minds of many fans came up. Would he ever consider the idea of selling the team. After all, his mother is 92-years old while the other two primary owners are 84 and 77 respectively.
McCaskey had an answer ready, and he left no room for debate or negotiation.
“Nothing has changed. I’ve said it the same way every time. We have no intention of selling. My brother Pat says it very well: ‘We intend to hold onto the Bears until the second coming.’ My brother Mike, when he was president of the Bears, said it very well: ‘We want to discourage people from even making inquiries.’ We have no intention.”He almost seemed irritated that people continue to even ask the question.
“There is no price, ” he said. “Like I said, we have no intention. This is like (the issue of) outside consultants. I don’t know how many times you can deny it. ‘Well, he denied it last week, but how does he feel about it this week?’ We’ve had a pretty consistent message over several decades now that we have no intention of selling.”So that's that. Whether people like it or not, McCaskey intend to keep the Bears within the same family bloodline back to Halas himself. While admirable in some ways, it's also not going to make people feel any better. Some consider this family to be among the worst owners in the league. Their record and history of controversies offer a clear picture why. To say nothing of the lacking sense of direction they seem to have. Since 2011 when George took over primary control the Bears have had three different general managers and three different head coaches with zero playoff appearances. He's also clinging loyally to a team president in Ted Phillips who has no football background at all and has a hand in the struggles. That certainly doesn't help the image. Suffice to say that until the Bears start winning football games again, the calls for the McCaskeys to sell the team will never die away.
