ESPN Article Sheds Embarrassing Light on Bears' Internal Operations

George McCaskey's shortcomings as chairman of the Chicago Bears have been well documented. However, it would appear that the well does run deeper. In a recent article by Kalyn Kahler at ESPN, McCaskey and the Bears' incompetence was on full display. The article is a deep expose of the power of NFL agents and how they often influence coaching hires by offering package deals with other general managers they represent. 

Naturally, if owners were being taken advantage of by power-hungry agents, you would probably expect McCaskey to be at the top of that list. Kahler focused on the Bears, specifically with former player-turned-agent Trace Armstrong, who has had a stronghold on the organization since 2018.

"Armstrong has had more influence with the Bears than any other team," a coaching agent said. "That's because he was dealing with an accountant that really didn't know football people, and he took advantage of that, and I give him credit for that."

The accountant in this sentence is former Team President Ted Phillips. Couple his position with George "I'm just a fan" McCaksey, and it's no wonder Armstrong has had his way within the building.

"It was a little bit of a red flag," the former general manager said. "Is his agent putting his staff together, or is he putting his staff together?"[Arranging your coach's staff is] a way to absolutely bury your coach," one coaching agent said. "This [Chicago situation] is proof positive of it. ... Believe me, we're not in the building every day. We don't know, really, how good or bad our guys really are. They all talk a good game, but we don't know."

The writing has been on the wall for anyone following the team. Armstrong represents current General Manager Ryan Poles and former Head Coach Matt Eberflus. In addition, former coaches Matt Nagy, Luke Getsy, Shane Waldron, Mark Helfrich, and current coaches Richard Hightower and Kerry Joseph are all part of Armstrong's agency. The Bears have had very little success during this time.

"Trace Armstrong basically sells that he's got all these clients, and he's got a whole pool of people to choose from," said another coaching agent, who has represented clients who have previously worked with Armstrong. "And he'll help you put your staff together. And a lot of these coaches don't know people in the league. They're very insulated, and they don't have their own network, and so they rely on agents."

In case you are wondering, current Buffalo Bills Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady and former Head Coach Ron Rivera are both Armstrong guys and have been linked to the Bears head coaching vacancy. Most notably, Armstrong does NOT represent the two favorites for the job, Mike McCarthy and Ben Johnson. Does that mean the cycle will be broken? Or are the Bears just going to Bears all over again?

"I've never seen one agent have so much influence on one team and had so little success, but they keep going back and taking his guys," said one coaching agent, who requested anonymity to speak freely on the topic. "And we all kind of shake our heads like, have they not figured this out yet?"

I wouldn't hold your breath...