Do not be surprised if you start getting calls from Chicago because the Bears are searching far and wide to fill their vacant general manager position and they are interviewing EVERYBODY! The newest candidate to add to the list is Chargers’ director of player personnel, JoJo Wooden, according to a tweet from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Wooden has been with the Chargers since 2013 overseeing the pro and college scouting department for the Chargers. He got his start with the Jets in 1997 and spent 10 seasons working his way up from pro personnel assistant to the assistant director, player personnel, a position he held for six more years.
What makes Wooden an interesting candidate for the Bears’ job is the connections he has to the search committee. Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer reported a couple days ago that Bill Polian, who has spent time as a general manager for the Bills, Panthers, and, most notably, the Colts, will be a resource to the Bears as they go through the process of hiring a new head coach and general manager. Wooden is known as a key lieutenant for the Chargers’ current general manager Tom Telesco, and Telesco worked under Polian during Polian’s entire tenure in Indianapolis.
To date, the Bears have already interviewed the Browns’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Glenn Cook and their own assistant director of player personnel, Champ Kelly. They’ve also requested interviews with the Colts’ Morocco Brown and Ed Dodds, the 49ers’ Ran Carthon, the Saints’ Jeff Ireland, the Steelers’ Omar Khan, the Giants’ Joe Schoen, and the Patriots’ Eliot Wolf. Texans’ former general manager Rick Smith has also been identified as a candidate.
Adofo-Mensah is smart as hell. I’d bet he’d be a good GM.
I like this writer
I plan on using the Woody Allen quote if the Bears ask me to join their organization.
I have that USPS app that tells you what mail you’re getting. My invitation to interview was sent back because of insufficient postage. They put a 10 cent stamp on it. And I changed my Zoom name to “# No Bears Allowed”.
‘Wooden has been with the Chargers since 2013 overseeing the pro and college scouting department for the Chargers. He got his start with the Jets in 1997 and spent 10 seasons working his way up from pro personnel assistant to the assistant director, player personnel, a position he held for six more years.’
I really don’t recall the Jets being any good from 1997-2007. And the Chargers are more famous for bad losses than division titles. If that’s considered a good resume, then expect more losing seasons.
You have no idea what responsibilities Wooden held though. You can’t just look at the team’s record as a reflection of his work when he was a subordinate. For all we now, his scouting could have been brilliant. I’m guessing it was something along those lines; otherwise he wouldn’t be so popular in league circles
I agree with that assessment, but those teams records shouldn’t be discounted either.
Polian may have been a serious talent in his day, but thinking an 80 year old man whose been out of football for years, has any idea of the current game and can give McCaskey the right recommendation, is a fantasy. And according to the Chicago papers, McCaskey is gonna lean heavily on him. If they make the right hire it’ll be a miracle.
That 80-year-old man is directly responsible for helping guide the careers of likely dozens of people across the NFL, from coaches, to scouts to executives. Add in commentators, former player who are still plugged into the game, and even respected reporters, the number is in the hundreds.
He retired, but he never left the game. And he’s probably talked to a ton of people who respect him about these searches.
It’s been years since he’s actively been involved in the game. You’re mistaken if you think that doesn’t matter. Combine that with a clueless McCaskey hanging on Polian’s every word and that is hardly inspiring.
He’s been an analyst since he left the league. You can’t stay more actively involved than reporting on the game. Absurd comment.
Tony Dungy has been an “analyst”. Outside of resting on his laurels, Polian has been out of the game. Wake up.
So Rondon, Who would you rather make the GM and Coach picks? McCaskey? Phillips? Virginia? I know who I’d Pick. Polian hands down.
Well, the fact that they need someone to tell them is already a joke. But how about Tony Dungy? He hasn’t coached in awhile but is still totally connected and with current knowledge and awareness of the present day game.
You really think Polian isn’t taking to Dungy? They are friends and colleagues.