With the Bears falling to 5-9 on the season after Monday night's blowout loss to the Saints at Soldier Field, many in the Chicago media continue to question the team's front office. The Chicago DAILY HERALD's Bob LeGere writes, "Call the 2014 Bears season a laughingstock, a garbage dump or the impetus for a complete overhaul going forward. The only positive is that, mercifully, it will be over in two weeks." The McCaskey family "will have to determine if players outright quit" on head coach Marc Trestman and his staff when they "assess the wreckage of a season that began with so much optimism but has devolved into a punchline" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 12/17). Also in Chicago, Rick Telander writes, "There is no certifiable leader on the Bears. ... If we look at the chain of command, one can reasonably ask: What the hell does [President & CEO Ted] Phillips do?" Phillips "started with the Bears as a fill-in tax accountant, and now he is where he is" because "the McCaskeys themselves don’t have a family answer." Bears Chair George McCaskey is "now at the head, after brothers such as Michael, Ed, Patrick and Brian have been given their shot or been passed over." Maybe George "still gets advice from 91-year-old matriarch and principal owner Virginia McCaskey." But this, ultimately, "is on him" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/17).
MANNING THE SHIP? In Nashville, David Climer writes of the Titans, "I’m starting to think only two things can fix this franchise -- an exorcist and new ownership, not necessarily in that order." It looks like a "rudderless ship," but it is a "rudderless ship that is a cash cow." Titans President & CEO Tommy Smith "seems to be enjoying overseeing things," but as the franchise "passes further down the family tree in years to come, things can change." It "would be great" to have Broncos QB Peyton Manning "involved with the Titans on any level." Climer: "But team owner? Sorry, but it’s just not happening" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 12/17).
