The ultimate test of McCaskey ownership

When Bears chairman George McCaskey was asked after the 2024 season about Bears fans’  loud-and-clear “Sell The Team” chants at the final home game against the Seahawks at Soldier Field last season, he acknowledged that sentiment was “understandable,” but oddly deflected to his apparently greater disappointment that Lions fans took over Soldier Field the previous week.

George didn’t seem to realize that — this time more than ever — Bears fans weren’t just blowing off steam after another disappointing season when they chanted “Sell The Team.” They actually want him to sell the bleeping team.  

While George didn’t get that message, it sure seems like team president Kevin Warren did. The Bears, after a very Bear-like 19-candidate search for a new coach, found their new coach in a very un-Bear-like fashion — breaking the bank to sign red-hot coordinator Ben Johnson to a contract reportedly worth $12 million a year or more. 

That sounds like a Kevin Warren move much more than a George McCaskey move. Ever the politician, Warren is much more keenly aware of which way the winds are blowing, and the true force of the “Sell The Team” chants seems to have motivated the Bears to start acting like a winning organization. First on the list: Hire the right people.

The hiring of Johnson has created an offseason buzz beyond the normal scope of a new-coach honeymoon. A caveat: Every new Bears coach since Mike Ditka enters Halas Hall with a tremendous wind at his back merely by not being the previous guy, but Johnson replacing Matt Eberflus is that effect times 10. Everything Johnson says — and the way he says it — sounds promising on its own, but even better when reflected upon Eberflus’ awkward manner. Marc Trestman was a similar breath of fresh air in 2013 — and he was following Lovie Smith, the most successful head coach since Ditka. 

Johnson already seems to making Ryan Poles a better GM, eliciting a laser focus on giving Johnson the best chance to do what Matt Nagy could not — get his side of the ball right. Before Johnson, Poles’ offensive line free-agency window acquisitions were Nate Davis, Lucas Patrick, Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton and Matt Pryor. With Johnson, Poles has acquired Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman and Jonah Jackson. On paper anyway, those are significant upgrades. 

With Johnson, Caleb Williams and a defense with the arrow pointing up (as opposed to the post-Lovie defense Trestman inherited that headed straight downhill and greased the skids for that disaster), the Bears are better positioned for that elusive (and modest!) run of success than any first-year Bears coach since Ditka.

But hope alone is not enough to take the heat off George McCaskey. So, predictably, his statement re-affirming the family’s intent to maintain ownership of the Bears since his mother, Virginia McCaskey, passed away on Feb. 6, was met with jeers from Bears fans (at least on Twitter, not the most scientific measurement, but still …). How can they not believe? 

“We’ve said for many years that we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible,” McCaskey told reporters at the owners’ meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. “Another 100 years would be great.” 

We’ll see about that. The McCaskeys deserve to have success, but mostly because they’re good people, not good owners. Since the ownership torch was unofficially passed from Halas control to McCaskey control after Ditka was fired in 1992, the Bears have been one of the worst organizations in the NFL. They’ve won four playoff games in those 32 seasons — only the Jets and Lions have fewer. They’re 232-284 record (.450) ranks 22 of 28 teams in the league throughout that span.

And since George became the Bears’ chairman of the board in 2011, it’s even worse. The Bears’ 94-134 record (.412) in those 14 seasons is 27th in the NFL. They’ve had one winning season with a playoff berth (only the Jets have fewer) and no playoff victories. The Bears have fired three general managers and five head coaches in that span. 

The NFL Gold Standard chart in George McCaskey's 14 seasons as the Bears' chairman of the board. The Bears are tied for 30th among 32 NFL teams. (The formula: Super Bowl win — 80 points; Super Bowl loss — 40; Conference championship game loss — 20; Divisional game loss — 10; Wild-card game loss — 5.)

The McCaskeys objectively are not cut out for this. The only right they have to own the Bears is a birthright. They run the business like they run their family — which is a great way to run a family, but no way to run an NFL franchise. They hire people they are comfortable with, who hire people they are comfortable with — never more obviously than when they hired general manager Phil Emery (over Jason Licht), who hired Trestman over Bruce Arians. 

They run a professional football team but are so uncomfortable with the realities of the sport that no swear words were allowed on “Hard Knocks” and the football reality of a training camp fight was nowhere to be found. 

The culture they promote sometimes is at odds with the nature of the competitive people they need to win football games. Caleb Williams felt the need to apologize for saying the word “stupid” when discussing critics of his offensive line. Justin Fields wouldn’t say the word “ass” when discussing how he played in one game. The Bears had eight captains last season, but a locker room loaded with nice guys and good teammates still lacked leadership.

Maybe those are minor or insignificant factors, but there is no doubt that Halas Hall dysfunction under the McCaskeys has contributed to the Bears’ malaise in the post-Ditka era. For whatever reason, hires of authority are rarely the best version of themselves. 

Ben Johnson is the ultimate test of that trend. He’s the coach the Bears never would have hired, making money the Bears never would have spent on a head coach. He’s here at the right time. The question is whether he’s at the right place. If Ben Johnson can make Caleb Williams an elite quarterback and Ryan Poles a smarter GM, he just might make an NFL owner out of George McCaskey. 

The NFL Gold Standard chart for the 32 years since the Bears fired Mike Ditka. The Bears rank 23rd.