Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers taking different approaches with franchise QBs

The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers have had two very different offseasons.  Could there be a changing of the guard happening in the NFC North?

So far this offseason, the Chicago Bears have made every offseason decision with Mitch Trubisky in mind, building around their franchise signal-caller.

In contrast, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports released a very interesting article regarding Aaron Rodgers on Tuesday morning that suggests the opposite.  Apparently, management has failed to consult Rodgers on some major personnel decisions this offseason, and he has grown frustrated.

Could this be the beginning of the end of Green Bay’s reign over the NFC North and the beginning of Chicago’s?

Bears build around Trubisky

While I don’t want to overstate the significance of this latest development, it is worth noting.

This offseason, there was a fundamental change in attitude around Halas Hall.  While it has been difficult to put one’s finger on it, the change has been palpable.  From the decision to retain Vic Fangio, to the hiring of Matt Nagy, and the signing of Allen Robinson, the Bears have had a great offseason.

Additionally, the other moves the Bears made on the offensive side of the ball — specifically the singing of Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton— were done to give Trubisky the best chance to succeed.  While Ryan Pace opted not to include Trubisky in the head coaching interviews, there is little doubt Trubisky approved of the hire.

In fact, take a look at what Pace had to say about the decision to ultimately exclude Trubisky from the interview of Nagy:

"“We talked about it and at the end of the day we didn’t include him in the interview process. Kansas City was aggressive in that research as well, so Matt knew a lot about Mitch. He said he had him at the facility all day long and in the draft process and I know Mitch knows a lot about Matt from that experience. So I felt like they already knew each other without having Mitch involved in the interview.”"

Ryan Pace’s future is entirely dependent on the success of Trubisky, so there’s no way he selected a new head coach without ensuring Trubisky approved.  Moreover, it is clear from the quote above that Pace likely knew Trubisky would approve going into the interview.

Just take a look at the clip below showing the first meeting between Trubisky and Nagy after he was hired.  Trubisky certainly looks like he approves.

It’s naive to think Pace wouldn’t have had conversations with Trubisky about the candidates.  It is also naive to think a team would make a key personnel move that affects their franchise quarterback without running it by him.

However, that appears to be exactly what the Packers did this offseason on multiple occasions.  And two decisions in particular may really irked Rodgers.

Packers release Van Pelt

The first decision came when the Packers parted ways with Alex Van Pelt, Rodgers’ quarterbacks’ coach.  Van Pelt has been the quarterbacks’ coach since 2014, during which time Rodgers has enjoyed a lot of success.  However, new general manager Brian Gutekunst terminated Van Pelt without so much as running it by Rodgers.

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Check out Rodgers’ quote from a recent NFL.com story by Edward Lewis.

"“My quarterback coach didn’t get retained,” Rodgers said. “I thought that was an interesting change — really without consulting me. There’s a close connection between quarterback and quarterback coach. And that was an interesting decision.”"

Rodgers is right.  Quarterbacks form a special connection with their coaching staff.  You may recall when Ben Roethlisberger expressed a similar concern when the Pittsburgh Steelers fired Bruce Arians and hired Todd Haley to be their offensive coordinator.  It took some time to ultimately smooth things over.

The Bears, however, retained Dave Ragone, (Trubisky’s quarterbacks’ coach) this offseason.  They also hired an offensive coordinator who will implement concepts Trubisky ran in college.

Again, the assumption is that Pace had these conversations with Trubisky.  If Trubisky and Ragone did not get along, Pace would have hired someone else.

Packers release Nelson

The second move the Packers made that irritated Rodgers involved one of his favorite targets.  On March 13, the Pacers released Jordy Nelson.  There is no question that Nelson was one of his favorite targets.  Rodgers had incredible numbers when throwing to Nelson. 

However, the Packers released Nelson without consulting Rodgers.  While I’m not saying Rodgers should have the final word on personnel decisions, he should at least have a say.  It is truly puzzling that the Packers would not have consulted him.

Rodgers is an elite quarterback and one of the all-time greatest at that position.  He has certainly earned the right to have a voice in these types of decisions.  Therefore, it is clear why Rodgers was upset.  In fact, it helps explain why Rodgers “liked” Rich Eisen’s tweet below:

The Packers certainly have all of the leverage in this situation as Rodgers is under contract for another two years.  After that, the Packers could apply the franchise tag for two more.  In theory, they control Rodgers for another four years.  However, this is no way to treat your franchise quarterback.

On the other hand, the Chicago Bears have gone to great lengths to ensure their franchise quarterback is happy.  In years past, you’d expect the Bears to be the organization making a mess of its quarterback situation.  However, as I stated above, there is something different around Halas Hall nowadays.

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Bottom Line

For years, the Packers were a more savvy organization than the Chicago Bears, who were the gang who couldn’t shoot straight.

However, the tide feels like it is turning, as the Bears have a young nucleus in place and have also straightened out the dysfunction in their front office.  Perhaps the Bears will soon be the Kings of the North again.