Bears fire Angelo as general manager

Associated Press

LAKE FOREST, Ill.

The Chicago Bears borrowed a page from the Indianapolis Colts in end-of-season house cleaning: fire the GM and keep the coach.

Chicago won four division titles and reached the Super Bowl while Youngstown native Jerry Angelo was general manager. The Bears also crumbled in a big way this season.

Now Angelo’s out. Coach Lovie Smith, however, will remain.

Angelo was fired Tuesday following a team collapse marked by injuries to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte and a drug scandal involving Sam Hurd.

One day after the Colts parted with vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the general manager, the Bears called for change after an 8-8 season. A questionable draft record and an inability to fill big holes, particularly on offense, led the ouster of Angelo, who had been on the job 11 years.

“I think Jerry achieved a lot as general manager,” Bears President Ted Phillips said. “He’s a wonderful man, high character.”

Angelo’s dismissal comes after a wild season in which the Bears at one point seemed a lock to make the playoffs. A five-game losing streak spoiled a 7-3 start, keeping Chicago out of the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, and Angelo wasn’t the only one on his way out Tuesday.

The Bears also confirmed that offensive coordinator Mike Martz and quarterbacks coach Shane Day won’t be back.