The entire Bears organization appears to be in win-or-else mode, knowing that 2010 could be the final run together for the tandem of coach Lovie Smith and G.M. Jerry Angelo. New personnel director Tim Ruskell, however, is thinking long-term.
Signed to a three-year contract in May, Ruskell systematically has changed the way the organization scouts, according to Dan Pompeii of the Chicago Tribune. Ruskell intends to get three departments (pro, college, and coaching) thinking with one mind for the first time.
“We’ve all got to get on the same page,” Ruskell said. “When you bring a player in and you have the personnel side pushing for him and coaches on board with it, you increase the odds of that guy being successful. We’re not going to agree on everybody. If we do disagree, let’s look at the guy together. Maybe we can hash it out. If not, let’s move on.”
Angelo worked with Ruskell for more than a decade, so he trusts him to take on great responsibility. The team has changed some of their informational technology, their draft room, and created a free agent version of a draft board.
The entire initiative makes us think that Ruskell and Angelo have a better chance at surviving another playoff-less season than Lovie Smith does.