By now, you’ve no doubt heard what Brian Urlacher had to say about the Chicago Bears not offering Devin Hester a new deal. Since Urlacher had his less than amicable break-up with the Bears organization in 2013, he isn’t holding back at all when it comes to criticizing the Bears front office. At times, Brian Urlacher can sound like an ex-spouse who still holds grievances from a bitter divorce.
It’s pretty clear that Urlacher is no fan of Chicago Bears GM Phil Emery (he’s obviously not BFF with Jay Cutler either), and he hasn’t accepted the manner in which the Bears let him go in 2013. Then, when no NFL team was interested in extending his playing career, his break-up with the only team that he ever played for became even more bitter.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Brian Urlacher is totally wrong. He does make some salient points about how the Chicago Bears do business. They do have some issues with how they treat personnel. Just look at how long it took them to truly recognize and honor Mike Ditka. Urlacher is correct that the Bears aren’t warmest and cuddliest franchise to work for. And it was comical how the Bears official Pro Shop at Soldier Field kept using #54’s likeness to entice people to shop at the store weeks and months after they had parted ways.
What happened to Devin Hester is somewhat unfortunate and unfair. Hester does deserve better than to go out like this.
But this is more of an NFL issue than it is a Chicago Bears issue. Roger Goodell has decided that return specialists don’t matter much anymore, and the league has continued to tweak the rulebook to reflect that belief.
It just doesn’t make any sense to overpay a return specialist these days. No team can afford that kind of salary cap hit. The Bears have so many issues on defense to solve that every bit of extra cap space is required. They can’t afford to spend those dollars on someone who only plays special teams. I’m sure Brian Urlacher understands that, even if his public comments make him seem like he doesn’t.
Looking ahead, where could Devin Hester land?
Brian Urlacher now analyzes the NFL for FOX Sports 1’s weekly show “FOX Football Daily,” and he thinks a reunion between Hester and Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith could work.
“That’d be a great move for him,” Brian Urlacher said.
“He had great success from when Lovie was with Chicago. All those returns were when he was his head coach. Anyone leaving Chicago and joining Lovie is a great move. He’s a great head coach, and guys know what it’s like playing for him. He has been successful in the league, and he’ll be successful down there, as well.
“I think Tampa would be a great fit for Devin.”
NFL free agency “officially” opens on Monday, with the beginning of the signing period. Tomorrow is the first day teams are allowed to contact players on other teams that interest them. So we’ll see if Brian Urlacher’s idea comes to fruition or not.
Chicago Bears free agency preview part 1: the departing
Chicago Bears free agency preview part 1: the targets
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on news talk radio; with regular segments on ESPN,NBC, CBS and Fox. A former NBC Chicago and Washington Times writer, he’s also been featured on the History Channel. President Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)