Tim Ruskell has been hired by the Chicago Bears to be their Director of Player Personnel. If rejoins General Manager Jerry Angelo with the Bears, as the two worked together in the front office of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These two apparently spent a lot of time together during their Tampa days when thing were not going quite so well. The thinking is that the two of them together will be far better than they were apart.
In my mind this is just another example of the NFL good Ole Boy Network. Rarely do we see, teams take a chance on an up and comer, preferring to take a retread hire over a guy who has not been at the NFL level before. It is a sad system and guys like Ruskell get to carve a career out of a few good seasons, or a few good personnel moves.
The job Ruskell just got done doing in Seattle should be a big warning to Chicago Bears fans. He left that roster a mess, and resigned his position there when the team was 4-7. He is a protégé of Rich McKay working under him in Tampa and Atlanta. A lot of people give him credit for getting the Seahawks over the hump and into Super Bowl XL, but since that was his first year on the job in Seattle we can forever debate how involved he actually was.
In the end I don’t think this is a game changing move, and if the 2010 Bears season unfolds like the 2009 one did, all these men are going to be fired.
Related Links:
• Chicago Bears news and notes • The Business of the NFL •MTR Football.com
