PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Chicago Bears are staying with the McCaskey family. That’s the message from team chairman George McCaskey. He answered questions Wednesday about what’s next for the franchise after the death of his mother, principal owner Virginia McCaskey.
“We’ve said for many years that we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible,” George McCaskey said at The Breakers after the annual league meeting wrapped up. “Another 100 years would be great. She set it up for us to accomplish that. She gave us the playbook. She coached us up. Now we’ve got to execute the plan, and we’re prepared to do that. We’ve got to stick together.”
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The Bears’ succession plan was approved by the league. The organization structure isn’t expected to change right now. Virginia McCaskey died on Feb. 6. She was 102 years old. George McCaskey has been the team’s chairman since 2011.
“She set it up for a smooth transition, and it’s a credit to her,” McCaskey said. “In law school, I heard stories about people who just couldn’t contemplate their mortality, and as a result, it caused a lot of confusion and problems for the family, and she had the foresight to set it up so we don’t have that problem.”
McCaskey said he appreciated the support he felt from “our friends around the league” during the league meeting. “People have been very gracious in their comments and it’s very much appreciated by the family,” he said. Brian McCaskey, a board member, attended the league meeting. Some adult McCaskey grandchildren also participated.
Continuing George Halas’ legacy remains a guiding force.
“George Halas was an innovator. I think that’s one of the biggest elements of his legacy,” George McCaskey said. “We want to be striving to improve all the time, to move the franchise forward, to bring championships to Chicago. We want to celebrate our history and strike that balance between what’s an appropriate recognition of what’s been accomplished before and striving for excellence in the future.”
Pushing out the tush push
McCaskey said the Bears supported the Green Bay Packers’ proposal to eliminate the tush push, which has been made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles. NFL owners tabled the vote for now.
The concerns expressed about “the safety of everybody involved in that play” by NFL chief medical officer Alan Sills and John York, chairman of the NFL owners’ health and safety advisory committee, during committee meetings earlier this month stuck with McCaskey, he said.
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“I know they say that we don’t have sufficient injury data on it, but, to us, it appears to be an inherently unsafe play,” McCaskey said. “For decades, there was a rule on the books making it illegal to push the runner. It went away in 2004, and I always wondered why that happened. Rich McKay, the chairman of the competition committee, explained to us (Tuesday) that the officials said that it was too difficult. It was like a moving scrum down the field and it was difficult to determine if an offensive lineman was blocking or pushing the runner, so they took it out. That led to the push play. From what I understood (Tuesday), the push play will lead to a broader examination of whether that general rule should be brought back. We think it should be an enhancement to the game, to make it safer for the players.”
Private equity questions
In December, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins became the first teams to sell minority stakes to private equity firms. The sales were made after the NFL announced in August 2024 that a total of 10 percent of a team can be owned by private equity funds that have been vetted by the league.
McCaskey said it’s “something that we’re continuing to look at.” President/CEO Kevin Warren is going to present a report to the Bears’ board in May.
“It may be utilized as part of our stadium construction financing plan,” McCaskey said. “We haven’t made a decision yet.”
New coach, fresh start
Ben Johnson is the fifth head coach to join McCaskey, in his role as chairman, at the league’s annual meeting after Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus.
“We’re moving forward,” McCaskey said. “It’s his team now, and we like what we’ve seen from Ben and (general manager) Ryan (Poles) and the way they work together, the way they communicate. By my observation, it appears to be mutual respect and mutual admiration.”
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What about Johnson has made an early impression?
“I’ve seen him in the weight room,” McCaskey said with a smile. “I think frenetic would be the best description. He’s intense. You can see the competitiveness. He looks like he enjoys life, which is important for an NFL head coach. And his resume speaks for itself. We’re very excited about everything he brings to Chicago.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
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