Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2017 14:13:22 GMT -6
If I'm Pace and I truly have been given the power to run this team then I tell Fox to do exactly what I want or get the hell out. I think Fox has proven that he should not be in charged here. There should not be any talks of Fox not wanting to play a rookie QB so they won't draft one early. If that's actually happening then that just proves why this franchise is in shambles.
I've been following this team for a very long time. Other than GSH himself in the modern era the only other man whose ever had full authority for all football operations during his lifetime was Jim Finks who had the title of VP/GM and ran it all on a day to day basis. He quit after GSH went around him to hire Ditka.
Jerry Vainisi then held that position for a very brief period of time until after GSH passed away and the McCaskeys took over as sole heirs. Then Mikey McCaskey became the President/CEO and neutered Vainisi before firing him after they had just won a Super Bowl stocked with players Finks and Vainisi had drafted.
Since then no Bears GM has even had full and complete authority over football ops. The have all basically been glorified personnel guys holding the title of GM but with whatever limitations Phillips and the McCaskeys have placed on them. They had Rod Graves in the late '90s, then Angelo who came from a scouting background, the same with Emery, and now Pace who was NOLAs personnel guy. They all oversaw FA and the draft but not one of them had the same kind authority GSH granted to Jim Finks and they never will while Ted Phillips is still the CEO. He will never agree to anyone being hired who might threaten his job at the very top.
EDIT; Just let me add again that I feel the real problem is systemic and that it can't be solved for good until we see major changes at the top that result in Phillips being removed as CEO and replaced with a VP of Football Ops who will oversee a GM and all coaching hires and personnel matters. That should have been done two years ago but instead Phillips and GMcC refused to yield that level of authority and instead hired Ernie Accorsi to advise on a GM/HC package they would OK. They would have loved to have had Eric DeCosta but he wasn't about to leave Baltimore to work under Ted Phillips and refused to even interview. So we ended up with this and where we are now which looks little different from where we were two years ago because nothing has really changed.