Due diligence could cost Bears dearly

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Among his core tenets, legendary UCLA coach John Wooden counseled: Be quick, but don't hurry. He was offering what could be very good advice for the Bears.

President Ted Phillips said Tuesday that the Bears would be not be rushed in their search for a general manager to replace fired Jerry Angelo.

That is sound business policy. That could also be a problem.

Because being too deliberate could cost the Bears shots at the top candidates for the job. If they were not prepared to move very quickly to replace Angelo with an upgrade over someone who got them to four NFC North titles, two NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl, the move to jettison Angelo could blow up in their faces.

The Bears have Baltimores Eric DeCosta at the top of their list, having asked the Ravens for permission to interview the 40-year-old director of player personnel.

Phillips said this week that the Bears do not have a timetable. They may need one considering market conditions. Both the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams have asked for permission to interview DeCosta.

Phillips and the Bears presumably did not make the Angelo move without an established short list of perceived top candidates in mind. The problem could be what those candidates, and other teams, have in mind.

Were going to do our research, were going to be thorough, and were going to find the right guy, Phillips said. Im sure the other teams feel the same way and well find the guy who makes sense for the Chicago Bears.

If the guy who makes sense for the Chicago Bears was Reggie McKenzie, that name appears to be already going off the board, with Adam Schefter at ESPN reporting that Reggie McKenzie will leave the Green Bay Packers and take over the GM job with the Oakland Raiders.

The Colts also are looking for a general manager to replace Bill Polian, and that is a franchise with the No. 1-overall pick of the draft, which projects to be a selling point over the Bears, who have the No. 19 pick. The Bears also do not have a tradeable legend (Peyton Manning) that could bring a franchise-altering ransom in return.

Like the Raiders, the Bears have their head coach (Lovie Smith) in place, which appears to be no deterrent for at least one candidate. Coincidentally (?), Indianapolis is keeping coach Jim Caldwell.

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