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The Chicago Bears entered the 2024 NFL season with plenty of reason for optimism. They boasted what looked like one of the best receiving corps in the league. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams looked like the future of the franchise, and it appeared they were nearing a deal for a new stadium.
Fast forward a few months and none of those things now look true. Chicago is 4-12, well behind the rest of the NFC North in last place. Williams looks completely lost behind one of the league’s worst offensive lines. The receivers have been wildly underwhelming. Head coach Matt Eberflus got fired mid-season, though things have seemed to get any better since. And Chicago still doesn’t have a deal in place for a new stadium or a Soldier Field revamp.
So, all that considered, it’s not surprising that fans are more than a little upset. They let ownership know about their frustration toward the end of an embarrassing 6-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.
“Sell the team” chants at Soldier Field pic.twitter.com/44NlAWSGDk
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) December 27, 2024
Chants of “sell the team” rang out throughout Soldier Field as time ran down in the game. The McCaskey (née Halas) family has owned the Chicago Bears for over a century. Virginia Halas McCaskey, who is 101 years old, is the longest tenured owner in the NFL by three years over the publicly owned Green Bay Packers. When McCaskey eventually passes away, it’s expected that ownership will transfer to her son Georgia, who currently acts as the team’s chairman.
The Halas/McCaskey family is as entrenched in NFL history as anyone else on the planet. So it would be a shame to see them forced out by unhappy fans. But it’s also easy to understand why fans are so upset.
Chicago has not finished with a winning record since it went 12-4 in 2018. The Bears have not won a playoff game since 2011, when they reached the NFC Championship Game.
It doesn’t appear that the franchise has any direction, and ownership has been largely absent in recent years. Things are ugly in Chicago, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.