Bears President Michael McCaskey introduced Jaguars
defensive coordinator Dick Jauron yesterday as the team's
new head coach two days after mistakingly announcing the
hiring of Cardinals assistant Dave McGinnis, according to
Melissa Isaacson of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Calling it the
"right time" and Jauron the "right guy," McCaskey said he
thought the Bears' coaching search was done "thoughtfully
and it was the right decision" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/25).
FUMBLED OPPORTUNITY? McCaskey has been roundly
criticized for his handling of Friday's aborted announcement
regarding the hiring of McGinnis. McGinnis became upset
when McCaskey announced that a deal had been reached when in
fact no deal had been signed. McCaskey's premature news
caused his father, Ed, to come out of "semi-retirement" in
an "effort to try and salvage the situation," according to
sources of Mike Mulligan of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. But the
two sides never reached a deal. (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/23).
A LASHING: In Chicago, Jay Mariotti writes that public
perception of the Bears "never has been lower, locally or
nationally" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/25). The TRIBUNE'S John
Kass writes McCaskey "has got to go. He must be sealed up
in a cave with a hole for bread and water. Immediately.
For the public good" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/25). The SUN-
TIMES' Mark Skertic reports that "there have been no
rumblings" that the McCaskey family is ready to "dump" him.
McCaskey: "I feel like the heat's on me, the heat's on all
of us, to turn a losing record into a winning record"
(CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/25). The TRIBUNE's Melissa Isaacson
blamed the Bears' failed deal with McGinnis on "ignorance
and arrogance," and wrote, "It is that lethal combination
that has sabotaged the franchise under Michael McCaskey's
direction since he took over in 1983" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
1/24). The TRIBUNE's Bernie Lincicome called the Bears
president "Bozo the McCaskey" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/24). The
SUN-TIMES' Rick Telander called McCaskey "amateurish and
devious and silly." McCaskey, on the McGinnis situation:
"That was an internal foul up. We made a mistake, and I'm
not going into details" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/24). The
TRIBUNE'S Ed Sherman called the coaching mix-up "the
ultimate measuring stick for how far this once-proud
franchise had fallen" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/23).
