Why the Chicago Bears Should Fire GM Jerry Angelo

The Chicago Bears have disappointed their fans ever since they won the glorious Super Bowl in 1986.

Sure, they've made the playoffs a bunch. And yeah, they made the Super Bowl after 2006. That's nice. But they haven't won it. And that's the killer.

There have been dozens of Pro Bowl players that have come and gone. There have also been over a hundred wasted draft picks, with many of them coming during the tenure of current general manager Jerry Angelo.

Angelo was brought in from Tampa with a reputation for knowing talent and doing well when selecting so-called "sleepers" on draft day. He also had been touted as a solid mind when it came to utilizing the salary cap, as well as knowing when to keep and when to move on from veteran players.

But since his arrival in Chicago, he hasn't done the job. He's wasted picks, wasted money, and let players go before he should have. Overall, his job in Chicago would rate between a solid "Moron" and a low "Idiot."

Let's take a look at a few winners from the Angelo Era, as I fully assign the blame for our mediocre team on his weak little shoulders.

2001: Hail to the Victors... Glorious?

In the 2001 draft, Angelo's first with the Bears, he opted to load up on former Michigan Wolverines. He selected electrifying wide receiver David Terrell in the first round, No. 8 overall.

He then took his teammate, and all-time leading rusher in Michigan history, Anthony Thomas in the second round.

Terrell was a bust. He barely got on the field while getting paid by the Bears, and when he did he looked scared. The Bears were hoping he would turn out like many Michigan wideouts before and after Terrell did. Oops.

Meanwhile, the Colts got their wide receiver at the end of the round. What if Reggie Wayne had come to Chicago instead of Terrell? That Super Bowl in February of 2007 might have looked a lot different.

Thomas had a nice few years with the Bears, but the perception that he lacked breakaway speed kept the Bears from ever committing fully to the A-Train. He would move on and have a couple solid seasons in Buffalo.

Other names the Bears passed on in between the 8th pick and the end of the second round include Chad Ocho-Cinco, Drew Brees, Steve Hutchinson, Kris Jenkins and Shaun Rogers.

2001: The one Angelo let get away

The Bears offensive line has been a trainwreck since the stalwart group in the 1980s.

With the revolving door the Bears have at guard the last few years, you'd think if we had someone worth while we would have kept him. Wrong.

Mike Gandy, the third round choice from the 2001 draft out of Notre Dame, will be starting at Guard for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game. Oops.

2002: A Steal, a Deal and a Whiff

2002 ended up kinda-sorta turning out for Angelo. In the fourth round, with the 104th pick overall, he selected DE Alex Brown from Florida. Brown has been a solid, every down end for the Bears defense ever since.

The Deal of the draft, in the Thrify section, was a little known running back from Georgia Southern named Adrian Peterson. He's now known as the second best player with that name in the division, but the Bears' AP has played well on special teams and as a situational (i.e. everyone else is hurt situation) back.

The Whiff in the draft was the second round. The Bears didn't have a single selection in the round.

2002: Another ball dropped

Of course the first round pick in 2002 was the 29th overall, where the Bears selected Marc Columbo.

Columbo would go on to confuse the trainers, make doctors scratch their heads, and frustrate the Bears salary cap figures until they finally let him go.

He's now starting for the Dallas Cowboys, and earned a five-year extension in 2008. Again, the Bears have had issues on their offensive line and the mishandling of Columbo.

And if the Bears hadn't taken Columbo, they could have taken a running back that fell into the middle of the second round that year: Clinton Portis.

2003: Vomit & Theft

With the 14th pick in the 2003 draft, the Bears took another player that ended up being as mature as my left baby toe—Michael Haynes. Much like Columbo and Terrell, he made more of an impact on car dealers in Chicago than he did on opponents.

We'll call the other first round pick that year a wash. Sexy Rexy was the 22nd selection that year. Love him or hate him, the Spurrier-bred happy chucking smurf led the Bears to the Super Bowl. He might not have showed up once he got them there.... but he got them there.

In the second and third rounds that year is where the vomit turns to gold. Peanut Tillman and Lance Briggs have started since they got to Chicago and have been Pro Bowl players.

2003: More huge

That's right, Bears fans... two picks after Haynes was selected, the Steelers too Troy Polamalu. The two picks directly following Grossman? Willis McGahee and Dallas Clark.

But let's not focus on the guys the Bears didn't draft... Justin Gage was the Bears second selection in the fifth round that year. He never made it for the Bears sure looked like he'd figured out how to catch a ball when he was the only player to catch a ball for Tennessee in their playoff game against Baltimore.

The first pick the Bears had in that fifth round was Bobby Wade, who has been a solid contributor for the Vikings for a number of years.

So much for evaluating talent, eh?

2003: Practice Squad or Bust?

If you're a loser like me, and you actually watch preseason games, then you know that the fourth quarterback on the roster is the most popular.

He's usually the guy that's just out of college and comes in against the bottom-of-the-barrell defense and put up a hundred yards in two drives and looks like he's good enough to start.

But then, as was the case in 2003, the GM reminds us that it's just a kid playing against defenders that won't be on the opponents roster, either.

So the kid from Eastern Illinois that looked so good in a couple preseason games for the Bears in 2003 would never make it...

Yeah, that Tony Romo kid won't ever make it. After all, the Bears have plenty of talent at quarterback, right?

2004: Tommie and Nathan... and Nothing

When he's been healthy enough to stagger onto the field, Tommie Harris has been as good as any DT in the NFL. Too bad his legs haven't held up as well as his negotiating skills. He's making enough money to bail out Cuba.

In the third round, Bernard Berrian was selected. He was a good wideout for the Bears, but Angelo decided to pay Briggs and Harris instead of a playmaker for the offense. The result: Tillman watching Berrian take the ball 99 yards in the Hump Dome. Nice.

In the fourth round, the Bears finished their secondary off with Nathan Vasher. Again, when he's been healthy he's been good.

In the second round... Tank Johnson. Do I need to go there? The selection wasn't as bad as Angelo vouching for the guy, buying his tail out of jail, and then getting the courts to allow him to travel to Florida for the Super Bowl, only to have him laugh in the face of his supporters by ending up back in jail.

So much for evaluating character, huh?

2005: Hook'd by the Horns

After a disappointing 5-11 season in 2004, the Bears decided that they weren't happy with the only bright spot on their offense, Thomas Jones. So they drafted Cedric Benson.

The only thing he didn't do wrong in Chicago was try for an endorsement deal with Kleenex. He cried about getting hit in mini camp, he held out, and he was a terrible interview for anyone in the media.

He would eventually force Jones out of town, and then force himself to follow suit.

Thankfully, Angelo was aware that the Bears defense was too good to use a first round pick on another talented player who can rush the quarterback. I'm still thankful he didn't waste the 4th overall pick on DeMarcus Ware or Shawne Merriman.

4th rounder Kyle Orton is still in the Jury's Out stage of his career, while Chris Harris was good at hitting but not so much covering for the Bears.

He was last seen by Bears fans taking the game out of Greg Olson's hands when the TE lost two fumbles to Harris in the Bears loss early in 2008.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Kurt Warner was a free agent? But he's washed up, why would the Bears want Kurt Warner? Angelo had his winner at quarterback: Brian Griese. or Kyle Orton. No, maybe Rex Grossman. Or wait...

2006: Super, thanks for asking!

Zero first round draft picks. None.

But then, when you pay a starting quarterback's salary to Brian Griese to come in and back up Rex Grossman, who needs a first round pick?

And when you can come back in the second round with Danieal Manning and Devin Hester, do you really need to waste the money on a first rounder?

Yes, the Bears went to the Super Bowl in 2006. But at what expense? After the season, Jones would be gone and the cupboard would be left with nothing but Benson.

2007: Trainwreck City

Griese, Orton, Grossman... pick one. The Bears couldn't.

Not in recent history has a Super Bowl starting quarterback fallen so quickly down the elevator shaft of grace in his home city as Grossman did in 2007. He was booed off the field and a free-for-all quarterback derby ensued.

Not only that, but the Bears would add Olson at TE, and then select such talents as Dan Bazuin and Garrett Wolfe in the second round. Wow.

The year after losing the Super Bowl, the Bears offense was pretty much Devin Hester and... nothing else. Jones was running like a Pro Bowl back for the Jets. Meanwhile, Benson needed a losenge; he coughed up anything he got his hands on.

After the season, the great evaluator let Griese go, gave Grossman a one-year contract, let Berrian go, gave Hester a contract to become a Number One receiver, and then kept Orton around, too.

2008: Not his Forte

After the bottom fell out in 2007, the Bears couldn't do much worse, could they?

Brett Favre wasn't in Green Bay any more. And the Lions were... the Lions. And if the Vikings started Tavaris Jackson, it would be a layup to compete, right?

Maybe the best move on Angelo's entire Chicago resume is the selection of Matt Forte. He had a rookie season that illicits the word "historical." He led the team in rushing yards and receptions, and was a candidate for rookie of the year.

But the fact that Forte led the team in catches is also an indictment of the receivers themselves. Angelo let veteran Muhsin Muhammad go back to Carolina for nothing, where he proclaimed Chicago to be "the place where receivers go to die."

Maybe not, but the if the ball had designs on being caught it was sorely mistaken. With the likes of Muhammad, Berrian, Wade and Gage all starting somewhere else, Rashied Davis found ways to drop easy passes and Marty Booker looked like he didn't remember who the All Pro receiver with the same name was from a decade earlier in his career.

Angelo's move of Devin Hester from All World return man to wide receiver backfired, as Hester would lead the team in receiving yards and backwards punt returns. Hester, arguably the best return man since Deion Sanders, would lose his job on kickoffs to Danieal Manning by the middle of the season.

And so, in the season where Favre left and Tavaris Jackson did screw everything up in Minnesota, the Bears couldn't get into the playoffs.

Jury - Any ideas?

So we've seen Angelo find gems in the middle rounds of the draft in guys like Alex Brown and Lance Briggs. We've also seen one first round pick, Tommie Harris, do much of anything for the team.

We've seen Angelo throw a ton of money and effort away on a handful of quarterbacks, from Brian Griese to Jeff Blake to Sexy Rexy and the Neckbeard himself. And now, in the winter of 2009, he says he's looking for another one.

We've seen a good veteran running back come in to help in Thomas Jones. We saw him become a leader, only to have Angelo undermine his status on the team by drafting Cedric Benson. Neither is in Chicago, though Jones will be playing in Hawai'i this February. Benson might be back in jail by then.

We've seen more quality receivers leave than stay. We've seen more defensive coaches get fired than teach anything. And we've seen the best returner in a decade lose his job because he was trying to do too much.

Jerry Angelo continues to try to reinvent the wheel, and he fails on a regular basis. Maybe it's time he brushes up his resume and gets in line with the other "stars" that are now free agents this winter.

It's time for Jerry Angelo to go.