When Bears president Ted Phillips was asked about his patience after the Bears finished 8-8 last season, it didn’t sound like he had that much of it — for a Bears executive, anyway. It almost sounded like he was drawing a line in the sand.
“I think we should be able to turn it around next year,” Phillips said two days after the regular season concluded. “We were 12-4 just a year ago. We had the coach of the year, the executive of the year. They haven’t lost their abilities, and we haven’t lost the talent level. We’ve just got to be able to maximize it better this coming season.