Pros and Cons to Chicago Bears hiring Jeff Ireland

The Chicago Bears will reportedly be interviewing Jeff Ireland. He did start his career as a football player but as a kicker. He was the kicker for the Baylor football team, and it got him his first jump into scouting. Ireland hopped over from Baylor to North Texas after he graduated and became a special teams coach in 1992.

Then, in 1994 he was hired to work at the NFL combine, where he worked for three years. In 1997, the Kansas City Chiefs gave him a call to be a scout for them. He lasted from 1997-2000 before getting a promotion with the Dallas Cowboys as their national scout.

Ireland went from Cowboys national scout to their Vice President of college & pro scouting. He worked with Bill Parcells when Parcells was the Cowboys head coach, and then Parcelles hired Ireland to be the Miami Dolphins GM in 2008.

Ireland was with Miami from 08-13 but was fired after four of six seasons in Miami resulted in a losing record. Ireland spent one year in Seattle but it did not go well. Sean Payton, who was in Dallas working under Parcells back in 2003 then hired his buddy Jeff Ireland to be the Assistant GM & college scouting director. He has been there since then and has been praised by Payton.

Why Chicago Bears should hire Jeff Ireland

Ireland got his big jobs under Parcells and Payton. Being able to work well with those big names is obviously a plus. They seem to be on the same wavelength and understand his process. Beyond that, Ireland is arguably the top GM candidate to have past GM experience. Perhaps Rick Smith has a better resume, but he is not currently working.

Ireland has been in New Orleans for big drafts, has witnessed immense cap gymnastics, and saw trades, playoffs, and injuries across the board. His experience is as strong as it gets.

Lastly, it is all rumors, but it is true that when he was in Miami he tried to hire Jim Harbaugh. The two know each other and while we do not know their relationship, he could be a GM that helps get Harbaugh.

Why Chicago Bears should pass on Jeff Ireland

He does not have a squeaky clean resume. In 2010, he had an NFL Combine dispute with Dez Bryant that cause pushback, and he had a bullying issue in his locker room in 2013 that he handled poorly. Reports were that things like these incidents cost him free agents throughout his tenure.

Beyond that, the Dolphins went 11-5 during his first season with the Dolphins and then had four straight losing seasons. His last season was 8-8, showing that they essentially got worse and stayed that way once Ireland started to maneuver the team.

He also was in and out of Seattle without any praise. When you consider the Dolphin’s disasters started when Parcells left, Ireland has had his biggest personal failures away from those two, and his greatest successes with them. How much are they carrying him?

A candidate on the rise who may have less experience could be equally as risky as a GM with a few public scandals and a poor track record.