The Olin Kreutz Situation

[HearshotKDS]

WTH am I missing?

Olin says the bears offered him 15/hr.

The bears say this is standard.

George says Olin is not telling the whole story.

Seems both sides mentioned 15/hr.

What's the problem here?

It is what it is. George seems out of place not to just say yes we pay first time interns 15 and move on.

Again, there is no wrong on either side. Unless someone says there was no offer.

I think this year has done a good job of showing George is terrible at communicating and is very capable of bungling what should be simple PR statements.

 

[jsu34]

2 side to every disagreement but that's what happens when 1 side goes public. Guess why George was asked?

Doesn't matter. You get in the mud with pigs you get muddy too.

It wasn't helpful to George in any way to get involved.

Olin is nobody in this equation. Now there's media attention when there shouldn't be any.

 

[TL1961]

As embarrassing as the Bears ownership is, bringing this up in a press conference to discuss the GM and HC positions is nothing short of asinine.

I know we like to side with players, but in my opinion, ownership media and the former player all look like fools after this was discussed today.

In what way does anyone come out of this silly little schoolboy feud come out looking good?

Who brought it up? Embarrassing!

 

[Dick Butka]

Olins last contract offer from the Bears was a 1yr $4M which he turned down and the Bears moved on -

He ended up playing for the Saints for Half which I think he ended up retiring mid season.

That doesn't sound cheap

He's always seemed petulant. He has more in common with Rodgers than he'd like to admit.

 

[Moe_Drive_Tailgater]

The media fanned the flame and poor George took the bait... He is not a naturally diplomatic individual and neither was his grandpa. For those that do not think the McCaskey's care about the Bears, you are wrong, the problem is they would be best to avoid addressing the matters publicly... While he is firing Pace and Nagy, he should seriously fire the PR team and add a layer of insulation by hiring a press secretary to communicate firings, hirings and other PR matters. The issue is George was hurt, and on edge due to another losing season by the hand of people he hired several years ago. Yes he responded poorly in a news conference where this story was really out of context. Blame the reporter for causing the mess.

George should have taken the high ground and declined the question, stating he needs to speak with Olin personally to gain a better understanding of the subject and left it at that. The fact is he answered emotionally, in anger in the heat of the moment when pushed. It is a bad look for sure for both, and the smart move by the Bears, as a PR recovery move, would be to have George call Olin and find a way to make amends. Doubt that happens, as he has proven many times, he is much too stubborn.

 

[RubberBanMan]

people claiming George basically called him a liar. On podcasts and everywhere….

i’m not one to defend george but gtfo. He never said he lied. Olin looks like a bitch here imo. George too, actually. Could’ve been handled a lot better. But just shut up, olin. I like listening to those guys… but at the same time they seem to act like they won Super Bowl after Super Bowl or something. Couple good years. Great defense. Shit offense.

Sounds familiar

 

[abegibronlives]

At the moment, he's the lowest rung and was asked the question.

The Chairman of the Chicago Bears is the "lowest rung"???

And just because you're asked a question does not mean you are obligated to answer it with anything other than a "no comment". Instead, he threw a can of gasoline on a tiny little grass fire.

 

[Bearly]

The Chairman of the Chicago Bears is the "lowest rung"???

And just because you're asked a question does not mean you are obligated to answer it with anything other than a "no comment". Instead, he threw a can of gasoline on a tiny little grass fire.

Is there a HC or GM? Unless you're on about asst coaches, he's currently the lowest rung on the football side of management now that Ted has been removed from the ball side of operations. And for the record, I don't think that's a good situation. That tiny little grass fire has 6 pages dedicated here, mentions in multiple threads and is all over social media because Kreutz went out of his way to bitch about it on the radio. Did George bring it up?

Do I think he handled it well? Not really, he should have said, 'not in my purview at the time but that deal is standard' but BFD. He was probably tired of hearing about it. He was certainly not lying about Kreutz's bias and lack of perspective on topics. Ask him about Mustifer sometime. Remember the stink he made leaving the Bear and how he still had lots in the tank? How'd that work out? This wasn't just about the $15.

 

[Yogi]

I typically like Olin's post-game analysis, but he's kinda giving off vibes like Antonio Brown on that podcast last week with his whole $15/hr argument- "Who's better than me there? Then why does Olin have to coach on a prove it deal?"

This is more about Olin not wanting to be a coach, rather than the Bears not offering enough money to people that want to coach for the first time.

 

[abegibronlives]

Is there a HC or GM? Unless you're on about asst coaches, he's currently the lowest rung on the football side of management now that Ted has been removed from the ball side of operations. And for the record, I don't think that's a good situation. That tiny little grass fire has 6 pages dedicated here, mentions in multiple threads and is all over social media because Kreutz went out of his way to bitch about it on the radio. Did George bring it up?

Do I think he handled it well? Not really, he should have said, 'not in my purview at the time but that deal is standard' but BFD. He was probably tired of hearing about it. He was certainly not lying about Kreutz's bias and lack of perspective on topics. Ask him about Mustifer sometime. Remember the stink he made leaving the Bear and how he still had lots in the tank? How'd that work out? This wasn't just about the $15.

McCaskey is the second-highest figure in the Bears organization below his mother Virginia, with team president and CEO Ted Phillips reporting to him.[7]

George McCaskey - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Even if Ted Phillips is fired, McCaskey still has people who work for him.

 

[Bearly]

McCaskey is the second-highest figure in the Bears organization below his mother Virginia, with team president and CEO Ted Phillips reporting to him.[7]

George McCaskey - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Even if Ted Phillips is fired, McCaskey still has people who work for him.

Really? I would never have guessed. Which one should have been at the mic or address it elsewhere now that the HC and GM are gone and Ted is not involved with the football side? You know exactly what I meant. When you start arguing technicalities and call a slam, that was big enough to be on local network news and all over media, nothing worth a comment...

If Kreutz didn't want to help his buddy for $15, don't but don't make a stink years later. Bears obviously weren't looking to hire anyone, the line coach asked him and the Bear said OK and offered him the min for insurance etc. They weren't trying to insult him. They were giving him a way to do that if he really wanted to. My take on this is that he could have helped his bud for free if he really wanted to but the Bear needed him/themselves protected with the payroll. Probably just a misunderstanding where the Bear was accommodating the line coach and Kreutz didn't understand the situation and got fired up... as usual. Great player but his bias/loyalty/whatever is stronger than his reason.

Here's the quote: "I've learned over the years to take anything Olin says with a grain of salt." "You don't get the whole story" We clearly didn't and George stayed away from specifics that would extend this.

 

[pfcmsh]

Quite the answer from George McCaskey about the Olin Kreutz comments about being offered $15 an hour to coach up the Bears offense.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1480629821009018890

I don’t doubt Kreutz is telling the truth. That long pause and awkward response from George is pretty telling, I think.

At the same time, I think George probably would’ve given more of a non-answer if there wasn’t some credence to him saying that’s not “the whole story.”

It has me wondering if maybe this whole dumb Olin Kreutz situation hinges on a technicality—Like, maybe the Bears did ask him for advice, and he offered his services for free and they said, “Hey, that’s awesome. But for the books, it can’t be free—It has to be at least $15 an hour,” or some weird dumb bullshit like that.

There’s no way in hell a professional organization just straight up offered a former player a minimum wage job without context.

I am only a fan, but I think this story is a lack of communication between Pace and McCaskey. If the Bears really wanted Olin to help them out, they would have made a credible, competitive offer. I think the OL Coach mentioned it in passing to Pace and Pace, perhaps not knowing who Olin was, may have made an off the cuff comment? This has now blown up way beyond what it deserves. I think the Bears are a pretty gracious group of people, They would never knowingly disrespect a great player like Olin.

 

[jbunch14]

George clearly kicked Olin's new puppy when he brought it to practice. George is just a big meanie.

 

[iueyedoc]

George is a complete trainwreck at football and pressers, but he was spot on here.

To Olin and those that are beside themselves over George calling him a "liar," at least understand the phrase:

To take something with a "grain of salt" or "pinch of salt" is an English idiom that suggests to view something, specifically claims that may be misleading or unverified, with skepticism or to not interpret something literally

What Olin said was just that, misleading. He made it sound like the Bears came to him and said," Olin, we could really use your help with our OL, how does $15/hr sound."

What appears to have happened is Harry Heistand offered him a standard consultant gig for preseason given to any multitude of ex-players looking to get into coaching.

Olin making mountains out of mole hills to grind a personal axe.

Asshole went as far as to call a guy fired a few hours prior that he relentlessly disparages to ask him for confirmation.

Olin is an all about me asshole, been that way since he was a Bear, that he was a pro bowl center doesn't change that.

 

[Bearly]

I am only a fan, but I think this story is a lack of communication between Pace and McCaskey. If the Bears really wanted Olin to help them out, they would have made a credible, competitive offer. I think the OL Coach mentioned it in passing to Pace and Pace, perhaps not knowing who Olin was, may have made an off the cuff comment? This has now blown up way beyond what it deserves. I think the Bears are a pretty gracious group of people, They would never knowingly disrespect a great player like Olin.

I believe Kruetz was actually presented with paperwork but he took it the wrong way. Misunderstanding that he decided to make a stink about because he had another bug up his ass.

 

[KennyH]

And to add to it all, unless I'm misreading Olin's comments, he is now saying "If that man woulda said that to my face, we woulda had a problem" which to me sounds like a threat of violence.

Classy guy

 

[pseudonym]

I side with Olin. Sounds like the Bears were cheap and got called out on it. It's not the first time. They've shown a lack of heart, respect, and intellect quite often over the years.

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

Well here's hoping George doesn't find himself in a weight room with Olin. He may get slapped in the face with a 10# plate.

 

[iueyedoc]

Well here's hoping George doesn't find himself in a weight room with Olin. He may get slapped in the face with a 10# plate.

Or worse drinking at a gun range.

 

[JimAKABlkhwks918]

George should have taken the high ground and declined the question, stating he needs to speak with Olin personally to gain a better understanding of the subject and left it at that. The fact is he answered emotionally, in anger in the heat of the moment when pushed. It is a bad look for sure for both, and the smart move by the Bears, as a PR recovery move, would be to have George call Olin and find a way to make amends. Doubt that happens, as he has proven many times, he is much too stubborn.

This is the Bears though, and there is absolutely zero excuse for it....the Bears are in the business of football, which at its heart is entertainment, so the media is an intertwined component of the product they are selling. If they were smart, they'd be like most other entities who deal with the media, and would use it as an asset, rather than viewing it as an annoying aside. I've been saying for years that the Bears desperately need a top notch PR department to come in and do some serious training and revamping of how the Bears present publicly, and that's everyone from George on down. Talking to the press is not a talent you are born with, it's a skill you learn.
Whether it was Cutler who had a serious knee injury yukking it up on the sidelines with everyone wondering what the hell was going on, and the Bears providing nothing until the next day, or the Kreutz episode at the gun range, or Urlacher telling the local press he will only talk on his Fox deal he had, the mystery of Lance Briggs and his wrecked Lamborghini, Ryan Pace being the invisible man most of the time, or any presser where an executive spends more time with his foot in his mouth than out of it, the Bears organization has one of the worst PR departments you'll find among $4 billion dollar entertainment companies.