(670 The Score) George McCaskey isn't your typical NFL owner.
While a peer like Jerry Jones arrives to the Cowboys' facility by helicopter each day, McCaskey drives a Honda to Halas Hall and parks at the back of the lot. It allows him to get some extra steps in while accommodating the Bears' regular employees. McCaskey isn't a hedge-fund billionaire using an NFL franchise as a side venture. The Bears are his passion and his family's pride.
As the franchise's chairman, McCaskey is tasked with leading the Bears to sustained success. He has failed to do so since he took over the position nine years ago. McCaskey and the Bears have made many missteps along the way.
As the Bears continue their downward spiral this season, McCaskey may be left with no choice but to bring major changes to the organization. At this point, that path seems inevitable.
McCaskey's trip back home from Lambeau Field late Sunday night must have been filled with hurt. The Bears were embarrassed in a 41-25 loss to the rival Packers -- the franchise against which McCaskey measures success. Chicago fell to 5-6 with its fifth straight loss and was pushed closer to another missed playoff appearance.
Two years ago, McCaskey thought the Bears' NFC North crown was the start of a run to sustained success. It has become clear that was the outlier for a franchise still mired in mediocrity.
McCaskey must take charge of these Bears and their downward trajectory before they again become one of the NFL's bottom dwellers. He surely knows it, too. With five games remaining in the regular season, it's just a matter of how high up the chain of command does that blame start.
Does McCaskey fire coach Matt Nagy or general manager Ryan Pace? Does he clean house in football operations and boot both Nagy and Pace? Is Ted Phillips safe as the Bears' president after five playoff appearances in 21 years in that position?
By cleaning house from the top down, the Bears could restart with a new chain of command by allowing a new team president to pick a new general manager, who could then identify a head coach. A new football operations department could also form a consensus on how to address the team's future at quarterback.
What's clear is the Bears' leaders need to be held accountable in some form. The Bears went all-in prior to the 2018 season by making the blockbuster trade to acquire star pass rusher Khalil Mack, whom they then awarded the largest contract ever to a defensive player. The Bears did so while believing Mitchell Trubisky was their quarterback for many years to come.
Nagy has failed to develop Trubisky into what Pace hoped. Pace clearly was mistaken in taking Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. And the tandem of Phillips and McCaskey look to have erred in hiring Pace over Chris Ballard, now the Colts' general manager.
The Bears have five games left to stop their freefall and showcase that better days lie ahead. They also could continue to bottom out at a level that gives McCaskey no choice but to make changes.
On Sunday, the Bears face a division rival in the Lions (4-7) who lost by the same 41-25 score last week in front of a national television audience as well. Detroit ownership swiftly fired coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn two days after that Thanksgiving Day humiliation, spurring major change for the Lions organization.
Did McCaskey think about that as he drove back from Green Bay?
Only he knows for certain, but barring a dramatic turnaround, the Bears have left McCaskey with major decisions to make after this season. And they're starting to feel inevitable.
Open field: Nagy sparks memories of 2014
Remember the last time a Bears coach held court before a team meeting and apologized for critical comments to the media?
It was in 2014 when then-Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer offered a tearful mea culpa for anonymously criticizing quarterback Jay Cutler to an NFL Network reporter, who put out a report that the organization had "buyer's remorse." Kromer revealed in a team meeting to Cutler that he was the source of the leak. By the end of the month, Kromer and that Bears coaching staff was fired.
On Thursday, veteran safety Tashaun Gipson revealed that Nagy addressed the entire defense in its meeting and attempted to clarify his comments to reporters Monday in which he questioned that group's collective pride after the ugly loss to the Packers.
"He let us know it wasn't a finger-pointing session," Gipson said. "For it to be that, we would've been caught off guard. He let us know that it wasn't a finger-pointing session, it was just him talking about the game, frustrations and things like that. Make no mistake about it, he still believes in everything we can do as a defense. It wasn't personal.
"He got in front of it just in case there was anybody who had any ill will towards the comments."
Ultimately, the only response that matters comes on the field. Can the Bears stop their five-game losing streak? And will their defense again look dominant?
But Nagy's attempts to keep a united front amid adversity have failed, and he's certainly part of that.
4-down territory
1.) Where's the edge?
With the cap space to make one big splash in free agency back in March, Pace and the Bears looked toward their defense instead of at needs elsewhere.
Pace could've signed a starting quarterback like Teddy Bridgewater or brought in reinforcements to bolster the offensive line, but he signed veteran pass rusher Robert Quinn to pair with Mack.
Quinn and Mack have combined for just 7.5 sacks this season. Quinn has just one sack in 10 games, with it coming on his first play in a Bears uniform back on Sept. 20.
Signed to a five-year, $70-million deal, Quinn has just been a rotational pass rusher, playing in 46% of the Bears' defensive snaps. He worked a season-high 47 snaps at Green Bay last Sunday but failed to generate even a quarterback hurry.
As for Mack, he's been stuck on 6.5 sacks since the Bears' loss to the Saints on Nov. 1.
"Is he frustrated? Hell yeah," Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said of Mack. "Are we all frustrated? Hell yeah. I got to figure out a way to make sure that he's successful and our defense is successful."
The Bears have Mack and Quinn locked into contracts together for four more seasons after 2020 and have guaranteed $120 million between the two on their initial deals in Chicago.
2.) Coaching for their jobs
After his time with the Browns, Bears special teams coordinator Chris Tabor understands a coach's job security is always tenuous. After all, change is constant in this league.
"I went through four head coaches, four general managers and two owners in seven years," Tabor said of his Cleveland tenure.
The rest of this Bears coaching staff understands it too. They recognize that continued disappointment on the field leads to threats to their job security. In a results-based business, losing means lost jobs.
The Bears' coaches maintain that they won't let job security concerns affect their personal performance.
"You have that mindset (in which) you're not worried about statistics, you're not about worried about job security, you're not worried about tomorrow," receivers coach Mike Furrey said. "I think you're just so thankful for the opportunity that you get to have on a daily basis and you wake up with a great attitude and a great mindset and how grateful you are and you go to work. There's so much to go on when you have that mindset that really there's not a lot of other things to think about."
3.) Quarantine quarterback?
The situation the Broncos endured last week showcased the struggle teams face in playing through a pandemic this season. Denver had its entire quarterback position wiped out due to COVID-19 protocols after Jeff Driskel tested positive and contact tracing revealed his positional peers weren't wearing masks around him in a quarterbacks meeting.
The Bears have attempted to work around that potential problem by holding position group meetings virtually through Zoom and limiting exposure between teammates and coaches within their facility. Nagy said the Bears don't plan to quarantine a quarterback.
"We've had a pretty decent plan with how we're going about spacing out and wearing masks and all that stuff," Nagy said.
4.) Go 1-0
Feeling the weight of the five-game losing streak, Nagy and the Bears are attempting to keep the focus on their next game.
The Bears just need to go 1-0 this Sunday, Nagy has reminded the team.
"It just takes one game," receiver Allen Robinson said. "I think that's the biggest thing. As cliché as that may sound, it's the truth. In this league, looking back at however many games we lost, we still have five games ahead of us."
Quote to note
"It's a huge rival. We know what it means. We know what it means to Chicago. We know what it means to the organization. For us to go out and play the type of game we did, it was embarrassing."
-- Bears safety Eddie Jackson on the 41-25 loss to the Packers last Sunday
Injury report
DL Akiem Hicks (hamstring) -- The Bears will never take the presence of Hicks for granted. The team is hopeful he will be healthy and effective come Sunday after he missed Chicago's loss at Green Bay last week.
OLB Khalil Mack (back) -- Mack's absence from practice this week was a precautionary measure, Nagy said.
QB Nick Foles (hip) -- Foles will return to the Bears on Sunday, now as their backup quarterback.
OL Charles Leno Jr. (toe) -- Leno played through pain last week and should again Sunday.
OL Germain Ifedi (calf) -- There's no indication Ifedi's status is in jeopardy. He's in line to play right tackle for a second straight start.
Prediction (8-3): Bears 24, Lions 13
The Bears have lost five straight and their foundation is seemingly broken, but there's no better cure than a Sunday with the Lions.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
