Instead of revisiting the myriad of reasons for the 2014 debacle, I want to focus on the Bears moving forward. Bear fans have 3 significant things to look forward to this off-season: Hiring a new general manager, hiring a new head coach and having a top 10 draft pick. In this post I will focus on hiring a new GM.
To decide what the Bears need to look for in a new GM let's first reflect on the noteworthy achievements and failures of the past two general managers. I will use draft picks, notable free agent signings, significant roster moves and overall team production as a means of "grading" each GM.
88 Total Draft Picks: Jerry Angelo
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| Bears' longtime standout CB Charles "Peanut" Tillman |
Bad- David Terrell, Marc Colombo, Tank Johnson (good play significantly overshadowed by off-field behavior), Cedric Benson, Mark Bradley, Chris Williams, Gabe Carimi.
Verdict is still out- Stephen Paea
10 Good Picks 7 Bad Picks 1 Undecided Pick 70 Irrelevant Picks
20 Total Draft Picks: Phil Emery
Good- Alshon Jeffery, Kyle Long.
Bad- Shea McClellin
Verdict is still out- Jonathan Bostic, Jordan Mills, Kyle Fuller, Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton, Brock Vereen
2 Good Picks 1 Bad Pick 6 Undecided Picks 11 Irrelevant Picks
*For a player to earn a "Bad" rating they had to be drafted in either round 1 or 2 and have never performed at a level expected of a player with that draft status.
Noteworthy Good Free Agent Signings/Roster Moves
Jerry Angelo: Larry Whigham, Thomas Jones, Robbie Gould, Brendan Ayanbedejo, Adewale Ogunleye, Desmond Clark, John Tait, Ruben Brown, Roberto Garza, Jay Cutler, Julius Peppers, Tim Jennings
Phil Emery: Brandon Marshall, Martellus Bennett, Matt Slauson, Willie Young
Noteworthy Bad Free Agent Signings/Roster Moves
Jerry Angelo: Trading Thomas Jones, Signing Todd Collins as backup quarterback in 2010
Phil Emery: Jay Cutler contract extension
Overall Success
Jerry Angelo: 95-81 record, 1 Super Bowl Appearance, 4 Playoff Appearances, 4 Division Titles
Phil Emery: 23-25 record, 0 Playoff Appearances
This is a lot of data to decipher, and certainly data does not tell the whole story, but it does reveal some trends.
First, both strategies have led to virtually a .500 record for both managers. Furthermore if I took the time to list the starting lineups in each of the Bears' playoff seasons, it would be apparent that Bear draft picks made up most of the lineups (with the offensive line being the exception).
Another important statistic is the number of irrelevant draft picks there have been since 2001 (I do recognize that many irrelevant picks have played in starting roles in the past). This statistic is significant when looking at the roster of the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers who have qualified for the playoffs 11 times in the same time span as the tenures of Jerry Angelo and Phil Emery. This relates to the Packers' roster because they pride themselves on building the vast majority of their roster with the draft.
The Seattle Seahawks have drafted many of their play makers as well. In just a few years Seattle built a Super Bowl Champion roster that will most likely be playing in the post season for many years to come. The same things can be said for Baltimore and Pittsburgh as well.
If the Bears are going to achieve this level of consistency they need to find a GM who is able to put together a strong roster primarily through the draft. Clearly this is much easier to say than do, but the Bears could simplify the process by looking to a team who consistently drafts well. So please Ted Phillips and Ernie Accorsi do not look to the Titans' or Chiefs' personnel staff to find the next GM. Instead look to a perennial contender to find the next general manager of the Chicago Bears.
References:
http://www.fftoday.com/nfl/drafttracker.php?o=by_team&TeamID=9019
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/chicago/bears.html
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/playoffs.htm
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