And Then There Were 2 – Bears Narrow GM Search to Emery and Licht

The Bears have narrowed their GM search down from five to three.  They will invite Chiefs Director of College Scouting Phil Emery and Patriots Director of Pro Personnel Jason Licht back to Lake Forest for a second round of interviews.  That means that the Giants’ Marc Ross, San Diego’s Jimmy Raye III and their very own Tim Ruskell will not get the job.

I wonder if this means for Tim Ruskell’s future with the Bears.  He is currently serving as interim GM while he served as Director of Player Personnel.  Will he get the axe or does the new GM keep him around to ease the transition?

The Bears avoided stepping on a PR landmine, because a promotion for Ruskell would not have been welcomed by Bears fans, as they’d see it as a continuation of the previous Jerry Angelo regime.  So there will be a new face at Halas Hall.  Or maybe not?

We know that Emery was with the Bears from ’98 – ’04.  He’s familiar with how things go at Halas Hall and some internet reports on Monday afternoon had him just finalizing the details of a deal before the Bears released a statement on the second round of interviews.

Jason Licht will break away from his team’s preparations for Super Bowl XLVI to have another sit down with the Bears.   The thing that scares you about Licht is the Belichick factor.  Other former members of the Patriots organization have left and flopped.  Many have ridden the raggedy hoodie to big promotions and high profile jobs, but few have succeeded.  As Steve Rosenbloom pointed out in the Tribune recently, Licht wasn’t invited into the Patriots draft room.  When you’re supposedly trying to put emphasis on scouting and drafting, that’s not a good thing.  It’s the equivalent of getting seated at the kiddie table when you’re an adult.

Of the two, I’m rooting for Emery.  Is it too late to get Bill Cowher on a plane?