Yes, age old complaint. I realize I have readers that say I shouldn’t complain about ticket price increases because I’m blessed to be a Bears season ticket holder. And as I say every year when the Bears increase the price of my seats (emphasis on every year), I used to think the same thing when I heard my father complain.

The complaint is that yesterday, the PR-challenged Bears organization, led by President and CEO Ted Phillips, said “Here’s the reality: Every year there is going to be some ticket price increases in different parts of the building.” So there they say, flat-out, that I should expect to pay more every year, as I have for I believe all but two years since 2005. My tickets that cost $50 per seat ten years ago are now $93 per ticket.

Because I’m a realist, I understand this, but the complaint is that Phillips could have at least let me think there will be one year going forward that I won’t have a 3% to 10% increase in my prices every year. Now I know there will.

I was being sarcastic. Actually the only bone I have to pick, because I know the reality is that I will pay more and more every year, is that Phillips has told us for the SIXTH time in the last three years, that “the Bears have the smallest stadium in the NFL.” (Yes, now second-smallest since the Raiders will be covering up 15,000 seats). Phillips continues to say this as if every ordinary Joe fan like me will come rushing to his door with $20,000 each (or more money than any of us have ever seen at a time in our life) to build him a new stadium.

Steve Rosenbloom of the Tribune summed up how I have always felt this morning in the print edition. And I’ll be damned if I can ever find an electronic link to his Talking Smack blurbs, so I will only post this portion:

“So the Bears will raise some ticket prices every year without necessarily making the stadium better and without necessarily making the team better. Nice. Here is another reality: Blame Phillips and the Bears for the second smallest stadium capacity in the NFL. Phillips negotiated that deal after Michael McCaskey won the Super Bowl of incompetent politics. The only way to get a bigger and better stadium was by threatening to move. Not just threaten, but have a deal in place for a new stadium with modern revenue streams. But no, the Bears got pantsed.”

Thanks for speaking up for fans like me, Steve.

Ted-STOP TELLING ME THE BEARS HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MAKE ME PAY MORE BECAUSE YOU BUILT THE SMALLEST STADIUM IN THE NFL! And I mean *you* built it, you were the one that negotiated for this. You’re there for 20 more years until the city pays the bonds off, because YOU AGREED TO THIS DEAL! The Bears, with Phillips as CEO, head a business estimated to be worth ONE BILLION DOLLARS. Stop insulting me by insinuating that the only way for you to remain competitive (which you haven’t, by the way, for 13 of the last 17 seasons) is by continuing to tell me that I need to pay you more money.

In an interview at a charity event yesterday, Bears receiver Brandon Marshall said that new head coach Marc Trestman “can bring a whole room together.”

This may be a Chicago Bears Blog, but I will never resist any chance to reference the greatest movie ever.

Such mixed emotions seeing Jim Harbaugh lead the San Francisco 49ers into Super Bowl 47. The 49ers, a team I hated from around 1983 to 2003. I actually remember watching “the catch” by Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship game. And amazingly, I was happy for the 49ers at the time, because I was glad to see the (even more) hated Dallas Cowboys knocked from the playoffs for once.

Then the 49ers supplanted the Cowboys as the NFC’s virtual team of the decade. I usually stop caring for any team (other than my own) that wins consistently, so San Francisco earned a spot on my ” ” list during the 1980′s and 90′s.

Ironically, Harbaugh played a part in two infamous blowout losses to the 49ers as a Bear. He saw backup action as a rookie in Chicago’s 41-0 loss in December 1987, the game after which Head Coach Mike Ditka was investigated by the San Francisco police for allegedly throwing gum into the hair of a heckling 49ers fan. Then in the 1991 season finale, despite playing a 49er team that wasn’t going to the playoffs, Harbaugh’s Bears were embarrassed again in a 52-14 loss that cost them the ’91 NFC Central crown. Yes, that was the infamous Wayne Fontes cigar game for those who remember.

So through the 80′s and 90′s, I detested the 49ers. This continued through and including the 2003 season, when San Francisco destroyed the Bears 49-7 on opening day. Seeing former Bear and 2003 49er free agent signee Tony Parrish gloat about his new team after that game was too much.

Of course I will be rooting for the 49ers Sunday, only because of (Jim) Harbaugh being their coach. I already never envisioned myself rooting for the 49ers in a Super Bowl. Even worse, I never thought I would allow myself to root for Randy Moss winning a Super Bowl, but it looks like I will. At least today’s version of Moss keeps his mouth shut somewhat, despite what he said this week.

I will admit to my history with Harbaugh. Like many others in Chicago, I wasn’t sorry to see him be released in February 1994. He was surprisingly drafted by the Bears in the first round of the 1987 draft, at a time when the Bears had Jim McMahon, Steve Fuller, Mike Tomczak and Doug Flutie all on their roster. Including Harbaugh, I believe I counted 63 total years played in the NFL by those guys. McMahon asked to be traded through his agent following the Harbaugh pick, but eventually calmed down to stick two more years with the Bears.

Following the trade of McMahon in the 1989 preseason, Harbaugh split time starting with Tomczak, then won the starting QB job over Tomczak in 1990. He started 14 games in 1990 before injuring his shoulder, then all 16 and the playoff loss in 1991. 30 games in two seasons was perhaps the Bears record for durability going back to at least Bill Wade at the time. I always lamented Harbaugh’s inability to hit deep bombs, but he was accurate, winning the 1992 quarterback challenge in accuracy.

One thing no one could take away from Harbaugh during his four years as the mostly unquestioned starter was his ability to rally for comebacks, a trait that would earn him the nickname “Captain Comeback” at his next NFL stop. No Bears fans that were around to see them could forget rallies in 1991 against the Giants, Jets and Saints or 1992 against the Lions.

Yet, I’m afraid Harbaugh never felt comfortable or liked playing in Chicago given the circumstances. Bears fans were mostly against him, as I was when he was released following the 1993 season. Sure, Erik Kramer had the best statistical season ever for a Bears quarterback in 1995, while at the same time Harbaugh was leading the Indianapolis Colts on an improbable run to the AFC Championship game. Kramer may have put up better numbers than Harbaugh, but he never had the ability to rally as the former Bears quarterback did.

Thus I reached the conclusion that it was the talent around Harbaugh (aging running backs and offensive line, average wide receivers) that were his downfall in Chicago, not his own lack of talent. Once he left Chicago and showed the grit and talent he really had as a quarterback, I wished he hadn’t been released. Dave Wannstedt even admitted recently that he was wrong to cut his first quarterback after he didn’t fit in Ron Turner’s west coast offense for which he wasn’t suited.

After hearing boos cascading down upon him in Chicago from 1992 until his release, I’m sure he left with a horrible opinion of Chicago. He discussed this with the Tribune in 1997 when former Bears personnel boss Mark Hatley compared Rick Mirer‘s skills to Harbaugh’s. At the time, it was not yet known that Mirer would be run out of town on a rail like his predecessor.

In 2006, Harbaugh even rooted for the Colts in Super Bowl 41.

Yet during the 2009 season, Harbaugh’s representatives and the Bears organization talked through back channels about his opinion on coming to be the next Head Coach of the Bears had Lovie Smith been fired that year. Which he wasn’t, as we all know. This was the season during which Bears fans bought billboards clamoring for Smith’s firing. Yet somehow Lovie, Jerry Angelo and Ted Phillips banded together to place the blame on Ron Turner’s offensive coaching staff to save their own jobs for several more years (Phillips remains).

I had actually hoped around 2008 that Harbaugh might work his way back to Chicago as the Bears’ head coach to replace Lovie Smith, but it didn’t happen. This I will always lament and wonder what might have happened.

San Francisco’s offense revolutionized the NFL in the 80′s by the pass. Ironic that Harbaugh’s San Francisco offense of 2012 is again revolutionary, but this time with a unique running game. This is not only via the “pistol” offense run by mobile quarterback Colin Kapernick. It is also revolutionary by integrating three tight ends, wing and wishbone formations, and old-school running plays like traps, power and wham plays.

Ironic again that this offense reminds me of the Bears offense Harbaugh ran after then offensive coordinator Greg Landry implemented what he thought would be a revolutionary new offense at that time. Which was ultimately never successful. And lastly very ironic to me that Harbaugh was one of the best running quarterbacks of his era at the time, and might have fit playing in his new offense in 2012.

Finally, in researching this article, I just discovered for the first time that Harbaugh was arrested for being a drunk and disorderly 23 year old on Rush Street in May 1988. Never knew that. Maybe people were taunting him by telling him he sucked. That would have been par for the course for how he was treated in Chicago.

Completed the 2012 Chicago Bears Season page at Bearshistory.com over the weekend.

An air of change, perhaps never before seen in the 93-year existence of the Chicago Bears organization, settled into Halas Hall in January 2012. Perhaps the major change in 2012 would have been limited to one, had the Bears continued the prosperity they enjoyed during a 7-1 start to the season.
But they didn’t.

After the 7-1 start, when the Bears led the NFC North Division and seemed to be an absolute playoff lock, the team finished 3-5 down the stretch. On December 31st it was announced that ninth-year coach Lovie Smith, who had reportedly turned down a two-year contract extension earlier in the season, was fired.

Continue reading.

What would Mike Ditka say about the “what if” I’m about to write? Probably that “what if’s” are for losers and cowards. Fair enough.

For some reason today I was thinking, can we just imagine for a moment what it might have been like had the Bears had a bona fide NFL wide receiver playing for them in the 2010 NFC Championship game? Just think, in that game the Bears’ starting receivers were Devin Hester and Johnny Knox. Just imagine if they would have had Brandon Marshall then.

Marshall was traded from the Denver Broncos to the Miami Dolphins prior to the 2010 season for two second-round draft picks. Let’s just fantasize that Jerry Angelo had come to the conclusion that took Phil Emery just two months to reach-that the Bears offense needed a REAL wide receiver. Can you imagine what Marshall’s impact to that game would have been?

Granted, the Bears had no second-round pick in the 2010 draft, having wasted it on a trade for the late, not so great Gaines Adams. (No first-round pick either, having spent that as part of the Jay Cutler trade compensation). Cutler was hurt in that game as well, but let’s imagine that the offense would have had more success with Marshall in the game and Cutler didn’t get injured. Yes, let’s imagine.

Back to reality, since I last wrote, the Bears hired 41 year old Mel Tucker as their new defensive coordinator. It’s hard to believe that the last time the Bears had an actual change to their defensive coaching staff was when Lovie Smith was hired. It is being speculated that Tucker probably won’t change much of the defense from what we saw in 2012, which is a good thing. Kind of like how Vince Tobin kept a lot of the 46 defense intact in 1986 and 1987 while he had the players to run it.

I also am excited to see new coach Marc Trestman assembling a veteran coaching staff, as opposed to the staffs that Dick Jauron and Smith put together when they were hired. I am very excited for the future of the offense, no question.

And finally, while it’s still a little early to be talking draft, no surprise here that the Bears are heavily scouting offensive tackles this week in Mobile, Alabama. According to Dan Pompei’s article, the draft seems pretty deep in this area this year, which certainly bodes well for the Bears.

Personally, I am excited about the hiring of Marc Trestman as the 14th head coach in Chicago Bears history. As soon as I heard he was a leading candidate, I recognized his name and like most others probably did, wondered what happened to this guy over the last decade. I remember his name being tossed around as a guru in the 1990′s into the early 2000′s, when he led prolific offenses in San Francisco and Oakland.

I have to admit that I have a slight concern as others have mentioned, this being if his skills and philosophy are stuck in the 1990′s. I doubt it-again for some reason my confidence in Phil Emery’s decision is solid. I trust that Emery didn’t make a flippant decision, and the recommendations from pretty legendary NFL figures for Trestman have been strong.

Also, my first impression seeing Trestman speak as head coach is that he’s a pretty unconventional dude. Some of the statements he made at the press conference were a little off the wall, saying he couldn’t wait to “get his hands on” Jay Cutler, calling the football “precious” multiple times, etc. It’s quite obvious that the reporting on Trestman’s high intelligence has not been exaggerated.

But since “conventional” for the Chicago Bears has not worked out over the years, I’m all for making a less-than-conventional decision for once. Conventional for the Bears has been to hire a defensive-minded head coach, after a drawn-out process in which many candidates reject the job, and when all is said and done, the new coach has to hire from a depleted pool of assistant coaches.

I’m still in a bit of disbelief. This time around, the general manager of the Bears made a bold choice. All candidates were interested in the Bears job (as opposed to the last two times when multiple candidates turned down the Bears job as if it stunk). And also, Trestman was prepared in putting his staff together, striking swiftly to hire bonafide NFL assistant Aaron Kromer as his offensive coordinator, and Joe DeCamillis as special teams coordinator.

It is unfortunate that Dave Toub and Rod Marinelli have chosen to depart, but I’m willing to see them go to get rid of Lovie Smith. The important part is that again, for once the Bears are assembling a competent coaching staff with NFL success.

Yesterday it was officially announced that all Bears assistant coaches other than defensive assistant Jon Hoke have been let go. Gone are Mike Tice, Bob Babich (whew) and Lovie’s son Mikal Smith. Time to start fresh.

It’s been interesting to watch the process, and I’m looking forward to the future. Time for me to take a little break from the blog to make some much-needed updates to www.bearshistory.com.

Enjoy the final postseason games.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was burning the midnight oil, and found out overnight that the Bears will announce the hiring of Marc Trestman as the 14th Head Coach in their history.

I remember Trestman’s name being thrown out everywhere ten years ago. I trust Phil Emery’s decision. The comparisons of Trestman to Dick Jauron (if Dick Jauron were an offensive genius) are a bit unsettling, but I do trust Emery.

Coverage as of now on the hire:

Biggs and Dan Pompei’s Tribune article

Chicago Sun-Times

Yesterday it was announced that the three finalists to be interviewed for Head Coach of the Chicago Bears are Bruce Arians, Darrell Bevell and Marc Trestman. To me Bevell is somewhat surprising, and the final list is also. I guess ESPN’s Adam Schefter isn’t always right-yesterday he said Rick Dennison of Houston was a strong possibility due to his links with Jay Cutler from Denver.

Also heard yesterday that two candidates told Schefter that they had never participated in an interview with a more organized interviewer than Phil Emery. So I can only hope that regardless of the choice, Emery is going to make the right choice.

Again, I can only hope that the dog and pony parade for Ted Phillips and George McCaskey (aka the second interview) will not cause the Bears to lose a candidate to another team that will act more decisively.

And from the “you think we have it bad” file, when you have a moment, take a stroll north and visit the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Packer page. This is hilarious. I and a friend usually independently visit this site after each devastating Packers loss. And again, it is nothing short of hilarious to read some of what is being said north of the border.

As recently as Saturday afternoon, most “experts” were picking the Packers to roll through the playoffs again with their “red hot hand.” After the 45-31 drubbing at San Francisco, Wisconsin fans and writers suddenly are calling for the head of defensive coordinator Dom Capers, and questioning GM Ted Thompson’s ability to draft. As quickly as Packer nation lauded these men, they are loathing them.

At least Bears fans make sense at who they are pissed at and when.

I love Wisconsin, I really do. And generally Wisconsin people and Packers fans are good people. I think the worst of them are the Chicago Packer fans. So while generally I’m glad the Packers got smoked tonight, once again ending the mirage of the mighty Packer juggernaut, I know there are a lot of true, good Packer fans that are disappointed. So for those, I do feel bad.

But man, what a performance by Colin Kaepernick. I commented while I was out tonight. Imagine the shame in the fact that the Chicago Bears were virtually bare at the quarterback position from 1949-2009, and now it seems that these mobile freaks can be plucked in the second and third rounds at will (by skilled scouts). Jay Cutler is unquestionably the most talented Bears quarterback since the 1940′s (and may break all the Bears passing records before the end of the 2013 Chicago Bears season).  But we will see if his immense talent is finally corralled-and if it isn’t, it will be time to move on with the cupboard bare again.

Two more thoughts on today’s divisional playoff games:

Overall, what an exciting day after an opening weekend of bombs.  I don’t pay much attention to AFC games, but the Broncos-Ravens game was a thriller.  Who would have thought the Broncos would have been knocked off at home after winning eight straight games?  And guess who snagged two interceptions-one returned for a touchdown and another to clinch the win?  None other than five-year Bear Corey Graham, who departed the Bears because Chicago wouldn’t play him enough on defense.  Kudos, Corey.

And it may have just been a small portion of the 49ers game, but for a moment they focused on San Francisco left tackle Joe Staley dominating all-world Packers LB Clay Matthews. And I remember distinctly listening to the 2007 NFL draft on the radio, hoping that the Bears would get the chance to select Staley. But the 49ers picked him two spots in front of the Bears. At the time, I was OK because I thought the Bears were set on the offensive line and needed the playmaker in Greg Olsen more. But I was wrong, it sure would be nice to have that bookend manning the left side in Chicago for a decade.

I guess at this point, I’m rooting for an all-Harbaugh Super Bowl for the second straight season. How cool would that be?

According to various sources, there has been “grumbling” within the NFL about the breadth of the Chicago Bears’ coaching search. (And ProFootBallTalk just can’t resist to continue to use the photo of Phil Emery in which he looks like Maxwell Smart). Teams believe that Emery is using the guise of interviews to glean intelligence from other coaches. I don’t have a problem with this. Nor does Dan Pompei of the Tribune.

What I will have a problem with is if the Bears jeopardize hiring the right coach because of the dog-and-pony show they have always insisted on putting on with final head coach candidates. They did it in 1999, they did it in 2004, when they brought the finalists to Halas Hall for last interviews and press conferences. And Emery already announced in his January 1st conference that the final two candidates will be paraded as such.

Let me just remind everyone that the Kansas City Chiefs, who have been an utterly dysfunctional organization for at least five years, identified Andy Reid as their man and stuck quickly. (I’m not saying I would have wanted Reid as the Bear’s coach-I don’t). But they decided they knew who they wanted, and they landed him without pandering to anyone.

Should the final two candidates be available and ready to take the Bears job, not talking to other teams, I don’t have a problem with seeing the final two being interviewed and paraded.

But here’s my fear. Let’s say when Mike McCoy becomes available (if the Broncos are eliminated from the playoffs), there is fierce competition between the Bears and the Eagles to hire him. This is IF McCoy is identified as the right man. Are the Bears going to lose out simply because the Eagles will hire swiftly and the Bears will lose him because he won’t participate in the final interview and conference with the media?

Based on what we have heard from Emery, I would hope to God that this is not a possibility. But we were also led to believe that this was Emery’s show to run, until we heard that he acquiesced to a McCaskey request to interview Mike Singletary. (Side note, why would Singletary and Keith Armstrong go through the motions to be interviewed when they have to know there is no chance in hell either of them are getting hired?)

Anyway, I believe I heard that based on interview length that Tampa offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan is very high on Emery’s list, if not at the top. I do not know if time will tell this will be the right hire or not. But I still trust that Emery will make the right decision.

(And I may end up being wrong about that too).