At the press conference to discuss the dismissals of head coach Marc Trestman and General Manager Phil Emery, Bears chairman George McCaskey was asked about his mother, team owner Virginia McCaskey, daughter of the late George Halas, founder of the franchise.
The question was poised to George McCaskey: how had Virginia McCaskey reacted to the team’s struggles this season, and what was her influence in the decision to make sweeping changes?
George McCaskey looked down at the table at which he sat and furrowed his brow. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts. A moment passed, then another, about nine seconds or so.
“She’s been very supportive,” George McCaskey said of Virginia McCaskey, who turns 92 next week.
There were a few moments of silence.
“She agrees with the decisions that we’ve made,” he said.
There was another pause.
Then came the boom.
“She’s pissed off,” George McCaskey said, matter-of-factly.
He continued: “I can’t think of a 91-year-old woman that that description would apply to, but in this case, I can’t think of a more accurate description.
“She’s been on this earth for eight of the Bears’ nine championships, and she wants more. She feels that it’s been too long since the last one, and that dissatisfaction is shared by her children, her grandchildren and her great grandchildren.”
Concluded George McCaskey: “She’s fed up with mediocrity. She feels that she and Bears fans everywhere deserve better.”
Other things were said by George McCaskey at Monday’s press conference. Bears president/CEO Ted Phillips chimed in at various points, too. But those 70 seconds or so when George McCaskey talked about his mother was the State of the Bears address.