Why will Ted Phillips be involved in Chicago Bears GM search?
The Chicago Bears shook some things up to end the season when they fired Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. It is understandable why both did not work out, and most fans can agree with the moves, but they actually wanted to see moves higher up.
To be fair, George McCaskey noted that the new General Manager will now report to him and not Ted Phillips. While that is a start, most fans wanted Phillips out of the process altogether.
Phillips is a businessman but for far too long he has been involved in football operations, as the GM used to report to him.
So, Phillips will move towards being solely business-related. Still, he will sit in on the GM interviews, which has fans thinking the same things will happen as before.
McCaskey attempted to explain why the decision was made in this manner.
Why is Ted Phillips still involved in the GM search if the GM won't report to him?
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 10, 2022
George McCaskey says he continues to trust Ted and Ted will be the one negotiating the contract with the new GM.
It will be hard for Chicago Bears fans to trust George McCaskey at his word, but the explanation is not all that awful.
Ted Phillips is a businessman and runs the business side of the Bears. No one is saying he has done a bad job in that area. So, with that in mind, there is a big difference between Phillips sitting in on the interviews and having a say on who he likes, compared to being told who the team likes, and having enough background information on the situation to conduct an easy negotiation.
There are rumors that Phillips will be around this year, mainly to help negotiate the contracts, and then he will step away from the team next year altogether.
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Of course, Chicago Bears fans want to see this before they believe it. Still, while so many are up and arms about Phillips keeping his job it is fair to add context and realize that he may not be a decision-maker like he was in the past.