Sherlock Holmes he's not!
April 29, 2001 from Chicago Tribune, by Skip Bayless: In the wake of the news column - Newspaper Clipping:
I once asked Green Bay's Ron Wolf, who is to Bears personnel man Mark Hatley what Sherlock Holmes was to Watson, if he would ever consider running the Chicago Bears.
'Who wouldn't?' he said. 'Great tradition, great city. If you won in Chicago...'
Wolf might have used 'sleeping giant' to describe the hibernating Bears - I can't remember. If he didn't, several other respected GMs have. Several with far more sharper eyes than Hatley have gazed wistfully toward Chicago and said, 'What an opportunity.'
Now comes word via the Tribune's Don Pierson that the Bears President Ted Phillips has hired a corporate headhunter to search for Hatley's replacement, in case he leaves.
I don't know whether to cheer or cry.
At least Phillips claims to be in the market for a genuine general manager who will have the power to hire and fire coaches. But the Bears need to pay a guy who has been away from the day-to-day NFL since 1989 to conduct a job search?
Most teams look for headhunters on defense. The Bears need one to tell them what to do with one of the NFL's most coveted jobs.
But again, this is only in case Hatley bails for a job with less responsibility - right-hand man for Green Bay coach Mike Sherman or Washington coach Marty Schottenheimer, who run their own drafts. These jobs would be just right for worker-bee Hatley. But running the Bears?
This week's 'Sports Illustrated' ranks this year's top five drafts. The Bears didn't medal. Seattle, whose first pick came just after Hatley's, ranked No. 1.
As an AFC GM said Saturday: 'What sets the top GMs or coach-GMs apart is their imagination - their ability to see the big picture, create trade scenarios on draft day, identify and sign key free agents, stay one step ahead.'
So how has Hatley, a scout for GM Carl Peterson in Kansas City, would up at the wheel of the Chicago Bears?
The reason the Bears remain mired in mediocrity is that football idiots keep hiring football idiots. This franchise keeps getting what it pays for: cheap hires, 99-cent product. Phillips should have put Hatley out of his misery before last weekend's draft, but he wouldn't eat Hatley's modest salary. If it's the NFL equivalent of $4.50 an hour, you got another Hatley.
If it's $2 million including a small piece of the franchise, happy days are here again. Opting not to retire, Wolf has taken over the Bears.
Of course, the odds of the McCaskey family agreeing to pay that kind of money and give up that kind of authority are about as likely as Virginia McCaskey doing a Lady Godiva at Soldier Field.
