Chicago Bears Chairman George McCaskey spoke at the NFL’s annual owners meeting on March 29, and he provided a few updates on issues surrounding the team.
McCaskey discussed a vast number of topics, including his choice to vote in favor of the league’s new overtime rules, along with the early performance of the team’s new general manager, Ryan Poles, and head coach, Matt Eberflus.
The Bears Chairman also provided an update on the health of his mother, team owner Virginia Halas McCaskey.
Bears insider Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog reported on March 11 that the 99-year-old Halas McCaskey was “not well,” but her son says she’s on the mend and doing much better.
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Virginia McCaskey ‘Had a Medical Issue in January’
According to McCaskey, his mother had a health issue arise in January, but she is one the mend and is looking forward to getting to know Poles and Eberflus, along with their wives, Katie (Poles) and Kelly (Eberflus), better.
“She’s doing very well,” McCaskey said, per Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune.
“She wasn’t able to be here. She had a medical issue in January, which has been resolved. We’re all very grateful that she’s back to her regular routine, but she didn’t feel up to making the trip. She really feels bad about it, No. 1 because she really likes this place and No. 2 didn’t have the opportunity to get to know Ryan and Katie and Matt and Kelly and their families a little bit better.”
Halas McCaskey is currently the longest-tenured owner in the NFL. She took over the Bears after her legendary father, team founder and former coach George Halas, died in 1983.
Hearing the team matriarch is on the mend is good news, and McCaskey had a few other noteworthy things to say.
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McCaskey ‘Impressed’ With What He Has Seen From Poles & Eberflus
After firing former GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy in January, McCaskey chose Poles as Pace’s successor, and Poles then selected Eberflus as the franchise’s 17th head coach. McCaskey likes what he has seen from both so far.
“I’m very impressed with how both Ryan and Matt have hit the ground running, getting us off to a good start in 2022,” McCaskey said, per the team’s official website. “I’m especially impressed with Ryan’s demeanor: very self-possessed, very confident, patient, disciplined. Impressed with the staff that Matt has assembled and the way that he and Ryan went about it and approached free agency and the preparations for the draft, and looking forward to the results.”
He also discussed voting in favor of changing the NFL’s overtime rules, which have been changed to ensure that both teams will now receive a possession in overtime during postseason games.
“There was a lot of good data presented about it,” McCaskey noted. “It’s a good result. The concern they had was that too often a flip of the coin had too much impact on the outcome of the game, particularly playoff games, and so this was designed to address that.”
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New Update Emerges on Health of Bears Owner Virginia McCaskey