The opportunity to hire Jim Harbaugh as the Bears’ head coach is George McCaskey’s George Halas moment.
In the 40 years since Halas died in 1983, the Bears under McCaskey ownership has been marked by general decline, mismanagement and embarrassing episodes of dysfunction that serve as a constant reminder of a harsh reality at Halas Hall — George Halas built the Bears. The McCaskeys inherited them.
It was Halas who provided the Bears their greatest Super Bowl era achievement when he subverted the authority of general manager Jim Finks — the guy he hired in 1974 to run the entire show with no interference from ownership — and hired Mike Ditka as head coach in 1982.
With a mostly Finks-built roster and Ditka’s leadership, the Bears had their greatest success since Halas’ glory days in the 1940s — winning Super Bowl XX after the 1985 season.
While the McCaskeys owned the Bears at that time, it was still a Halas-fueled achievement. When Ditka was fired in 1992, the Bears unofficially became a McCaskey-run team. And in the 31 seasons of McCaskey leadership, the Bears are in the bottom 10 of the NFL by any measurement of success — seven playoff seasons, nine winning seasons and just four playoff victories.
The Bears, in fact, are the only team in the NFL without three consecutive winning seasons and three consecutive playoff seasons in that span. And that includes four expansion teams that weren’t even in the NFL in 1922.
So here we are in 2024, and McCaskey has an opportunity to do what Halas did in 1982. Whether it’s a matter of giving his blessing and opening up the vault, or an owner’s nudge, hiring Jim Harbaugh would give the Bears a coach who not only knows the Halas Hall landscape, but has greater credentials than any coach the Bears have ever hired — including Ditka:
- Harbaugh has won at every stop — the University of San Diego (11-1 in 2005 and 2006), Stanford (12-1 in 2010), the 49ers (13-3, 11-4-1 and 12-4 in 2011-13, with a Super Bowl berth in 2012) and Michigan (12-2, 13-1, 15-0 in 2021-13, with a national championship this season).
- He has a history of maximizing quarterback play — Josh Johnson at San Diego; Andrew Luck at Stanford; Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers; J.J. McCarthy at Michigan.
- For the meatball crowd, he beat the Packers as a player (7-4, including two victories over Brett Favre) and as a coach (4-0 against Aaron Rodgers, including two playoff victories and three wins because he had the better quarterback.)
But the best argument for hiring Harbaugh — in the context of the Bears’ ignominy over the last 31 seasons — is that even if he fails, the Bears at least went down swinging. They made the bold move instead of the odd one. It wouldn’t be the McCaskeys being the McCaskeys. It would be the McCaskeys trying to be Halas. And win or lose, that’s a better way to do business at Halas Hall.
2. The Bears’ 5-2 stretch after a 2-7 start was an encouraging sign of progress under Matt Eberflus. The finale against the Packers wasn’t going to alter that, but in a way it did. The Bears effort against their biggest rival — with a chance to keep the Packers out of the playoffs — was a disappointment that reflected on Eberflus.
The Bears not only were outcoached, but outhustled. They were outgained 432-192. The No. 1 ranked rushing team in the NFL allowed 124 rushing yards. Aaron Jones (22 carries, 111 yards) was the first running back this season to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bears.
The Bears’ arrow is no doubt pointing up after a 7-10 season, but for those with doubts about Ebrerflus’ full impact in that progress, the season finale was not a convincing performance. On the contrary …
“They had our number,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “We weren’t really dialed into everything that we were supposed to be doing. I know I had a few MAs [missed assignments]. We were locked in all the way.”
3. There’s one key element missing from the evaluation of Caleb Williams (or Drake Maye or any of the top quarterback prospects) — most of us don’t get the chance to look them in the eye and find out what makes them tick.
That’s especially key for a prospect like Williams, whose life in the fishbowl has elicited character concerns — some real enough to be addressed in the face-to-face meetings personnel executives like Poles will have the chance to do.
That part of the process can’t be understated. When Bill Polian was the GM of the Colts — with all the access to quarterback prospects that comes with that position — he chose Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf. When he was on the outside, he thought Lamar Jackson should be a wide receiver in the NFL (and later admitted his error, noting that John Harbaugh and Greg Roman had better intelligence on Jackson than he did.). Big difference.
4. Justin Fields can win a Super Bowl. He can be a league MVP, like Jackson. But with his flaws after three NFL seasons, it’s going to take more than a coordinator change to get him there.
Moreso than Mitch Trubisky, Fields can be a star. But he’ll need a lot of things going his way to max out — more than most of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL. As good as Fields can be, the opportunity to get more of a plug-and-play quarterback with the No. 1 pick is a better option. It’s a matter of correctly identifying that guy, if he even exists in this draft.
5. For What It’s Worth Dept.: The Bears’ 5-3 record in their final eight games is tied for the best for a Bears non-playoff team since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.
The Bears made the playoffs the following season the previous two times: in 1983 and 2019.
6. The Fields-Josh Allen template took a hit this season, though it arguably is more of an indictment of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy than Fields.
When the Bills acquired Stefon Diggs (and drafted Gabe Davis in the fourth round) in 2020, the Bills improved from 26th in passing yards to third — with big jumps from Allen in completion percentage (58.8 to 69.2), yards (193.1 per game to 284), touchdowns (20 to 37), passer rating (85.2 to 107.2) and QBR (49.4 to 76.7).
When the Bears acquired DJ Moore (and drafted Tyler Scott in the fourth round) in 2023, the Bears improved from 32nd to 27th — with much more modest jumps from Fields in completion percentage (60.4 to 61.4), yards (149.5 to 197.1), touchdowns (1.1 per game to 1.2), passer rating (85.2 to 86.3) and a decrease in QBR (56.3 to 46.2).
7. The Bears benefited from good health in the second half of the season, but the Packers game showed just how think the Bears are.
Without center Lucas Patrick and with guard Nate Davis playing just 13 snaps, the offensive line efficiency plummeted, with left tackle Braxton Jones and left guard Teven Jenkins notably poor.
And with Jaylon Johnson out, the pass defense crumbled, allowing Jordan Love to throw for 316 yards and two touchdowns with a 128.6 passer rating. So if the Bears are to take the next step next season, staying healthy — which often varies for NFL teams no matter how hard they try — could be the biggest factor of all.
8. Rarely has a player without skill-position stats made as much of a “prove-it” season as Johnson.
When Johnson played, the Bears’ passer rating allowed was 88.8 (24 touchdowns, 21 interceptions) — which would be seventh in the NFL. In three games he did not play, it was 116.2 (seven touchdowns, one interception) — which would be last in the NFL.
9. Ex-Bears Player of the Week — Safety DeAndre Houston-Carson had four tackles and a pass-breakup in the Texans’ 23-19 victory over the Colts that clinched the AFC South title.
Houston-Carson, mostly a special teams ace with the Bears, started five games and had a career-high 484 defensive snaps with the Ravens and Texans this season, with two interceptions and five pass break-ups.
10. Bear-ometer (2024 preview) — 10-7: vs. Packers (L); at Packers (L); vs. Lions (W); at Lions (L); vs. Vikings (W); at Vikings (W); vs. Rams (L); at Cardinals (W); vs. Seahawks (L); at 49ers (L); vs. Jaguars (W); vs. Titans (W); at Texans (L); vs. Panthers (W); at Colts (W); vs. Patriots (W); at Commanders (W).
