The Chicago Bears contacted at least 13 general managers and 10 coaching candidates for interviews. As they go through this process, we look at each of the potential clients.
The team announced that Champ Kelly was interviewed for the general manager position on Thursday.
<знак класса="hl_orange">Champ Kelly
Age: 42
Title: Assistant director of player personnel
Experience
Having spent the past seven seasons with the Bears organization, Kelly certainly has a wealth of institutional knowledge and a solid understanding of how the machine works. He was hired by then GM Ryan Pace in 2015 to be Team Director of Pro Scouting, and was promoted to his current position two years later. Prior to coming to Chicago, Kelly spent eight seasons with the Denver Broncos, starting as a scout and working his way up to assistant director of professional personnel in the last five seasons.
You must know
During Kelly’s last four seasons in Denver and under John Elway, the Broncos won four consecutive AFC West championships and advanced to Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013. In 2014, the Broncos became the second team in league history to sign four free agents who made it to the Pro Bowl in their first year with the team — wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, cornerback Aqib Talib, defenseman T.J. Ward, and defenseman DeMarcus Ware.
Chicago connection
The continuity of the front office may not be a plus for the Bears at this stage and will certainly be a challenge for an increasingly agitated fan base. In Kelly’s seven seasons with the Bears while Pace was in charge of the front office, the Bears failed to achieve a playoff win, had a .425 winning percentage, and lost 38 of the 51 games they played against playoff teams.
What was said
“This business is all about relationships. Champ truly sympathizes with the people and especially the players. Countless times, with discipline or whatever, he has given you a different perspective in your assessment of what you should be doing. In that regard, he has always been a very calming force.” – Former Bears and Broncos coach John Fox, who worked with Kelly in both Chicago and Denver (at The Athletic in 2020)
