Chris Ballard Represents Business as Usual for Chicago Bears
Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Ballard might be a perfectly capable and excellent choice for the vacant Chicago Bears General Manager position. I want nothing to do with Chris Ballard. Ballard has been the “hot” name for both the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets to fill the GM posts available with both teams. He’s set to interview with the Bears on Wednesday and just removed himself from consideration for the Jets GM job.
Per source, Kansas City's Chris Ballard has turned down the Jets' interview request.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 5, 2015
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It’s not that I don’t think Ballard couldn’t do a good job. I don’t have anything against him; I barely know his credentials. I just want someone DIFFERENT. Ballard spent over a decade with the Bears as an area scout. The reason the McCaskeys are believed to want Ballard is trust and familiarity. Let me remind you that’s how they ended up with Phil Emery. Emery had been in the Bears front office for several years as a scout and personnel guy before he was hired as the Bears GM after a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs. Haven’t we all seen this movie before? Can’t we all just fast forward 2-3 ahead and got on with the next round of firings and hirings, all the while continuing to miss the postseason?
The Bears have been down the road of the familiar GM and the “hot” coordinator route before. It’s time for someone new, a dissenting voice to tell the Bears management and the McCaskeys what they’ve been doing wrong. It’s time to get outside the “yes men” that have been running the Bears football operations for the last two decades.
I said that I had a bad feeling about the Bears head coaching search, but the GM search doesn’t put me at ease either. I feel like the Bears will go through the motions and bring in Titans exec Lake Dawson for a round trip limo ride and a free lunch at Gibsons to go through the formalities.
I don’t have the answers to the Bears GM conundrum. I don’t have the instant success candidate lined up and ready to turn the franchise around. I just want to Bears to break out of the business as usual approach to hiring a GM and a head coach they can control. How has that been working for you since the late 80’s? How about five (FIVE!) playoff appearances since Mike Ditka left the team after the 1992 season. It’s time for a new voice at Halas Hall.