Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey did himself no favors Monday with comments that further strained relations with franchise legend Olin Kreutz.
Kreutz, the Bears’ longtime center, shared a story last week in which he claimed that the organization offered him $15 an hour to help coach the team’s offensive line. That story became a popular talking point among some Bears fans as evidence that the organization disrespected one of the greatest offensive linemen of his era.
On Monday, McCaskey was asked to respond to the story, and the Bears chairman essentially implied that Kreutz was lying.
“I’ve learned over the years to take just about anything that Olin says with a grain of salt,” McCaskey said, via Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times. “And I look forward to hearing that story again and hope he includes it in his Hall of Fame induction speech
“That’s the way it is sometimes with Olin. You don’t get the whole story. Olin knows what the story is.”
Those comments made their way back to Kreutz, who appeared on 670 The Score and trashed McCaskey.
“I have respect for the organization,” Kreutz said. “So what I do, I call people who are a part of the story instead of calling somebody who spent that long in your building, played through injuries for you, who spent that much time trying to win football games for you, who not only is a father of six who coaches kids in football, who now is 44 years old, who you haven’t seen in 11 years, instead of calling the guy a liar and everything I say you take with a grain of salt, if that man woulda said that to my face, we woulda had a problem.
“I see it this way: If a guy like George McCaskey doesn’t like me, that is a win for me.”
These aren’t the kind of stories you want floating around about your organization. McCaskey came out and made it much worse. There were a lot of ways he could have deflected the question without effectively accusing Kreutz of lying.
McCaskey is already fairly unpopular with Bears fans, and the organization has looked chaotic at times under his leadership. This will not help change that image at all.
Photo: Dec 26, 2010; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears center Olin Kreutz (57) during pre game against the New York Jets at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
