Chicago Bears Hire Ernie Accorsi as Consultant
The Chicago Bears are in the market for a new general manager and a new head coach after firing Phil Emery and Marc Trestman. Chairman of the Board George McCaskey and team President and CEO Ted Phillips met with the media to discuss the firing. In their opening remarks, they mentioned that they’ve fired former NFL executive Ernie Accorsi as a consultant in the hiring process to fill the major vacancies in their management structure. He’s a member of the NFL’s Career Development Advisory Panel. The Bears met with a few members on the panel and decided that Accorsi would be the best fit.
Accorsi has substantial football chops, going back to the 1970’s. From his Wikipedia page, here’s a breakdown of his executive experience:
* Baltimore Colts (Public Relations Director) (1970–1974)
* National Football League (Office Staff) (1970)
* Baltimore Colts (Assistant General Manager) (1976–1981)
* Baltimore Colts (General Manager) (1982–1983)
* Cleveland Browns (Executive Vice President and GM) (1985–1992)
* New York Giants (Assistant General Manager) (1994–1997)
* New York Giants (General Manager) (1998–2007)
* Carolina Panthers (Consultant) (2012–2014)
* Chicago Bears (Consultant) (2014–present)
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Perhaps Accorsi’s biggest personnel move came in 2004 when he was the GM of the New York Giants when he traded Phillip Rivers and three draft picks to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning. Say what you want about the talent of either of those quarterbacks, but Manning went on to win a pair of Super Bowls with the Giants while the Chargers have failed to advance to the Super Bowl under Rivers.
Accorsi is not a permanent addition to the Chicago Bears staff, so there is not a change in the overall structure of the Bears. Ted Phillips will remain as team President and CEO while Accorsi assists in vetting GM and possibly even head coaching candidates. While McCaskey and Phillips wouldn’t rule anything out, they would prefer to hire a GM first and allow the GM to hire a head coach. They would consider hiring the right head coach if that candidate were available in Accorsi’s recommendation.
There is no timeline for the hiring of either position, but both McCaskey and Phillips understand the urgency to fill these positions. Let the search begin!