Ripples of change flowed through the Bears’ mini-camp in Lake Forest over the weekend. New coaching staff. New middle linebacker. New techniques.
But the vein of change in Halas Hall ran far deeper, both on and off the field.
It began at the top, with principal owners Ed and Virginia McCaskey taking in the early Saturday practice, atypical from previous mini-camps. But this was the first under new coach Dick Jauron.
And yet the man who hired him, former club President and now CEO Michael McCaskey, was conspicuous by his absence the entire weekend, a harbinger of more significant changes.
McCaskey insisted on acting as general manager, hiring and firing the head coach. He routinely watched game films on Monday mornings. He was a fixture in the war room on draft days. He had been there at all times for former coach Dave Wannstedt’s introductory mini-camp, in Mesa, Ariz., in 1993. But not this mini-camp.
McCaskey’s successor, Ted Phillips, was off on personal business the first two days of the camp. His main act on the weekend was hiring Jim Miller as business director in charge of negotiations and salary-cap management. Miller, 51, worked previously for the Buffalo Bills and the New Orleans Saints, handling similar responsibilities, and for the NFL Management Council.
But Phillips left the personnel and coaching staffs alone to start running the team their way.
Some of the changes were refreshing for players, others more difficult in ways that weren’t always so obvious. Offensive tackle Andy Heck, for example, was not present, excused and unlikely to be with the team much beyond June 1.
“Andy and I played together for five years,” said left guard Todd Perry, who has played nearly every down of his career alongside Heck. “In 20-some years playing football, I’ve never played that long next to the same guy. So I miss him a lot.”
Techniques were changing. Subtle yet dramatic changes were being made in the way the offensive line run-blocks, how pass routes are run, how backs pick up blitzes.
Yet some of the changes had eerie echoes. Defensive linemen were enthusiastic about the simplicity of approach brought by new coordinator Greg Blache.
The plan is to change more than the externals. Only 10 players on the current roster have ever known a winning season as a Bear.
“Everything’s fresh, everything’s new,” said tackle James Williams. “We were 4-12 the last two years, but everybody’s pumped up now. We feel like we have no limits now.”
McNabb on hand: Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb visited the Bears on Sunday along with about 15 other draft prospects, then met privately with offensive coordinator Gary Crowton and quarterbacks coach John Shoop. Also among those in for the brief workout were Eastern Illinois cornerback Chris Watson, a football and track star at Leo High School, and Northwestern wide receiver D’Wayne Bates.
Learning experience: The weekend mini-camp was a time of learning for players. It was for the head coach as well.
Jauron directed his first practices as the man in complete charge, a departure from his years as a defensive coordinator with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“It’ll be different,” Jauron conceded. “I had a big adjustment going from a position coach (in Green Bay) to a coordinator (in Jacksonville). That was a hard one for me. I was a walk-around coordinator, and I always had a group of guys that I was close to and talked to every day. After the first year it was easier.”
Early recruiting: Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz worked with Bears tackles during the camp, helping acclimate them to technique and scheme changes under the new coaching staff. The Bears had an ulterior motive for inviting Munoz too.
His son Michael is a 6-foot-7-inch, 290-pound lineman at Cincinnati Moeller High School and one of the top prospects in the nation. So the real reason Munoz Sr. was in Bears camp? “We’re interested in getting an early jump on his son,” Jauron joked.
