Did I read this correctly...???

MOBILE, Ala. — The Bears whittled their list of five general-manager candidates to two, and they’ll conduct a second round of interviews with Phil Emery of the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason Licht of the New England Patriots later this week at Halas Hall.
Eliminated from contention were Marc Ross of the New York Giants, Jimmy Raye of the San Diego Chargers and Tim Ruskell, the Bears’ director of player personnel.

The Bears were free to interview Emery at any time. But they needed written permission from the Patriots to interview Licht again because New England will play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 against the Giants in Indianapolis.
Ruskell’s elimination puts him in a compromising position. It’s believed he still has at least another year on his contract, but now he’s at the mercy of Licht or Emery.

And they might go a more traditional route, hiring a college and a pro director instead of one to oversee both. Ruskell was hired by former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo in April 2010.
In the second round of interviews, the Bears will have to flesh out each man’s plans.

For instance, given his familiarity with the Bears and some of the scouts on the staff, Emery might not be as inclined to make massive changes to a scouting department that is fairly well respected.

Licht, meanwhile, could insist on an overhaul, implementing new scouts and systems he picked up while in Philadelphia, Arizona and New England.

RESPECTED...?!? By whom...LOL...!!! Looks like somebody is on the Bears payroll...!!!

3nagurski

I had heard a few times that many of the scouts were not happy with Angelo. So, maybe he often made decisions that went against their recommendations?

Yeah, I don't know...seems to me scouting might be more important (or a tendency to be listened to more) in later rounds of the draft, then the 1st couple...in the 1st couple of rounds, there seems to be a general agreement of who has top round talent and who doesn't...its just a matter of picking the right one...which falls more on the GM....in the later rounds, scouting comes more into play because there is less agreement on where the talent is and the GM might listen more to the scouts...we seem to do better in the later rounds then in then earlier rounds, telling me that maybe its not the scouting that is the problem...good scouting, poor GM decision making...or I am just talking out my ass...

In this instance Wolf I agree w/your thinking....but given your propensity of talking out of your ass who knows.

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Originally Posted by Wolfman

Yeah, I don't know...seems to me scouting might be more important (or a tendency to be listened to more) in later rounds of the draft, then the 1st couple...in the 1st couple of rounds, there seems to be a general agreement of who has top round talent and who doesn't...its just a matter of picking the right one...which falls more on the GM....in the later rounds, scouting comes more into play because there is less agreement on where the talent is and the GM might listen more to the scouts...we seem to do better in the later rounds then in then earlier rounds, telling me that maybe isn't not the scouting that is the problem...good scouting, poor GM decision making...or I am just talking out my ass...

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Actually I think that you are pretty much spot on here Wolfman. Now that JA has left the building and taken his dart board with him we will see a huge improvement with both our drafts AND in FA.

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Originally Posted by Wolfman

Yeah, I don't know...seems to me scouting might be more important (or a tendency to be listened to more) in later rounds of the draft, then the 1st couple...in the 1st couple of rounds, there seems to be a general agreement of who has top round talent and who doesn't...its just a matter of picking the right one...which falls more on the GM....in the later rounds, scouting comes more into play because there is less agreement on where the talent is and the GM might listen more to the scouts...we seem to do better in the later rounds then in then earlier rounds, telling me that maybe isn't not the scouting that is the problem...good scouting, poor GM decision making...or I am just talking out my ass...

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No, I don't think you are Wolf. We already know of at least one instance where the decision was made to draft James Starks and while Greg Gabriel was on the phone with him Angelo comes in and tells him he's changed his mind and they took LeFevour instead.

Greg Gabriel and Bobby DePaul were both well respected personnel guys and I've posted quite a few of the articles Gabriel writes for NFP and Angelo fired both of them two years ago and then brought in Ruskell. If he wasn't trying to find a home for his buddy would he have let those two go?

I'm also tying this in with those things that Des Clark said about what a zoo it's been around there for the last two seasons. I'm guessing that may have been because of the Martz hire. As far as personnel was concerned things looked pretty screwed up at times like inactivating Clark all season in favor of Manu and then trading Olsen when no one even knew whether or not Martz would be back in 2012.

Whoever was behind a lot of this to me it all adds up to a lot of screw ups and half-hearted attempts at solving problems. For instance, Angelo gives in to Martz over things like signing Manu and bringing in Collins for him yet won't spend the money to fix the line or get a top notch WR. I can't make any sense out of much of what happened and these days I don't even care to. For better or worse at least Angelo is gone.

The one thing that I did notice is that with Ruskell on board last years draft seemed more profitable then we've seen lately. That doesn't mean I want him as GM but if Emery is hired and he decides to keep Ruskell around for another year I won't be upset.

Phil Emery may be an upgrade over Jerry Angelo, but I fear because of his background of working for the Bears for many years back from the late 90s through the mid 00s, we'll just slip back into Jerry Angelo mode again. Why hire a guy that had anything to do with his predecessor? I don't care what Licht's "war room" experience is, his draft picks were sexier than Emery's and therefore, in my eyes, he is the best man for the job because of that and because he would completely overhaul the Bears' scouting personnel system to more of one like the New England Patriots, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Arizona Cardinals ran. Licht has helped three teams get to Super Bowls. He would be our best in getting us back in position to competing for a Super Bowl again.

I think you read Emery wrong. He was a simple scout back then and he's traveled many miles on different roads since then. Scott Pioli is a well respected NFL GM and if he touts Emery I think we can feel pretty safe if that's the way the putt breaks.

Link to interview timesSource -- Chicago Bears to interview New England Patriots' Jason Licht Thursday - ESPN Chicago

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Originally Posted by soulman

I think you read Emery wrong. He was a simple scout back then and he's traveled many miles on different roads since then. Scott Pioli is a well respected NFL GM and if he touts Emery I think we can feel pretty safe if that's the way the putt breaks.

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I try not to agree with Soul that often, but I have to agree with him.

Emery to Angelo Connection

Emery was hired by the Hatley regime and was an area scout for the Bears the 2 years with Jerry Angelo. Area Scouts will spend maybe a month combined time at Halas Hall so the Emery to Angelo connection is weak and suspect at best.

Emery to Ruskell Connection

This is a far more substantial connection because Ruskell hired Emery and promoted him. They worked together in Atlanta and I think there is a chance that Ruskell stays under Emery. But the Bears draft this year, that had Ruskell heavily involved, appears to be one of the best recently and I can 3 starters coming from the draft.

Emery to the Scouts

I actually believe that the Bears scouts are not that bad and that they are well respected in the league. Everyone said that Angelo was so good in the mid rounds, but if you are good in the mid rounds that is area scouts doing the heavy lifting. I think the real draft problems have been with Angelo and his ancient ideas about player evaluation. I am okay if he wants to keep the scouts around for awhile so we can see what they turn up with better guidance and leadership.