PALM BEACH, Fla. — Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey is determined to keep the franchise in his family’s hands for a long time to come, emphasizing Wednesday that he has no desire to entertain thoughts of a sale or power shift.
“We’ve said for many years that we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible,” McCaskey said at the NFL owners meetings. “Another 100 years would be great.”
That was a firm declaration from the highest-ranking member of the McCaskey family as outside curiosity circulates regarding the team’s future.
Less than eight weeks after the death of principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey, George McCaskey said his mother long ago established a sustainable succession plan that the NFL approved.
“She gave us the playbook,” McCaskey said. “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.”
As with any kind of significant plans among any family, spirited debate and differing desires remain part of the process. McCaskey acknowledged he isn’t oblivious to those dynamics, and his “stick together” rallying cry carries purpose.
“Part of (my parents’) process was to have us study other family businesses,” McCaskey told the Tribune. “That was to anticipate and avoid pitfalls. And I think history shows that in any family, two of the biggest enemies are greed and jealousy. So we are working on trust and communication to avoid those pitfalls.”
Asked whether the family has been successful on that front, McCaskey shrugged.
“It’s an ongoing process,” he said. “It’s a constant challenge.”
When the Bears played their final home game last season — a brutal 6-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Dec. 26 — a dejected Soldier Field crowd reacted to the team’s 10th consecutive defeat with loud chants of “Sell the team! Sell the team!”
During such a turbulent, failure-filled season, it would be easy to discount such pleas as emotion-fueled reaction. But for some time now, critics of the Bears’ long run of mediocrity — the team has a .412 winning percentage and zero playoff wins since McCaskey became chairman in 2011 — have reasonably wondered whether the team’s path to greater glory might require different ownership.
The Bears haven’t enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons since the late 1980s and are approaching the 40th anniversary of their lone Super Bowl triumph.
McCaskey was asked how he would respond to those who consider the “Sell the team!” sentiment as prudent advice.
“We consider ourselves uniquely qualified to carry out George Halas’ legacy,” he said. “And we have every intention of doing that.”
McCaskey is joined on the Bears board of directors by three of his brothers — Pat, Brian and Ed Jr. — plus Pat Ryan and team President/CEO Kevin Warren.
While team officials have declined to detail how Virginia McCaskey’s shares of the team were divided, George McCaskey said he doesn’t anticipate a shift in the ownership structure.
“There shouldn’t be,” he said. “She set this up for a smooth transition. And it’s a credit to her.
“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. But she had the foresight to set it up so we don’t have that problem.”
McCaskey further commended his mother and late father, Ed, for doing “a remarkable job while they were with us of letting us know exactly what was going on, what their plan was, how it would be carried out and what was expected of us.”
On his end, McCaskey remains determined to fulfill those expectations and will keep pushing for a unified family vision.
