Being critical of management isn't a privilege in Chicago, it's a God-given right. So the following blog, in which I am not critical of Chicago management, could be the first (and only) of its kind.
Yahoo!'s Michael Silver ranked all 32 of the NFL owners, and Chicago Bears leading lady Virginia McCaskey ranks 30th. The only owners worse than the Bears' owner are Cincinnati's Mike Brown (not that guy or that guy either) and (surprise!) Oakland's Al Davis.
Not sure what's more shocking: the ranking itself or the quote, "On a positive note, Michael McCaskey, as chair of the NFL’s Super Bowl committee, does a thorough and comprehensive job of reciting the rules before bids are considered. I can’t imagine where his peers would be without him."
First of all, the best thing Michael McCaskey has ever done is step away from being in charge of anything to do with any sort of personnel as he did everything in his power to run the Bears' franchise into the ground. When he was running things, Bears fans watched management continously botch draft picks, free agent signings and coach hirings. The most embarrassing could have been the Dave McGinnis fiasco that led to the Bears hiring Dick Jauron.
So, allow me to imagine the lives of McCaskey's peers without McCaskey's presence. It'd probably be something like this.
Overall, this piece by Silver seems to do a major disservice to football fans trying to get a pulse on what is good and bad management ... and Bears fans who know better.
Under Virginia McCaskey's recent reign, the team has brought in quality free agents and a franchise quarterback. Not to mention went to a Super Bowl in 2007.
Some of the teams in front of the Bears that I feel are undeserving include the Bronwns, Rams, 49ers and Cardinals. Silvers has the Lions ranked one slot ahead of the Bears. Sure, it's only one slot, but William Clay Ford is watching the pillars of Detroit (Ford Motor Co. & the Lions) crumble at a rate so fast it'll make your head turn.
And while Pat Bowlen is ranked in the top half of the list, I wonder how much Silver took into consideration the fleecing of Bowlen for Jay Cutler. The fleecing he will receive once Brandon Marshall bullies his way out of town and the fact that he watched one of the NFL's best coaches walk away while bringing in an unseasoned rookie.
All biases set aside, the Bears would probably be better off with actual football people higher in the totem pole. But the Virginia McCaskey regime has helped bring three playoff teams, a Super Bowl representative, a franchise quarterback and (for all its flaws) a new interior for Soldier Field.
I guess what I am trying to say here, is that Silver is no Gold when it comes to power rankings.
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