Bear Digest

Report hits Bears and others for hirings with the same agents

In-depth look league-wide by an ESPN article shows what can happen when teams begin hiring too many coaches and front office people, who have the same agents like the Bears have.
Gene Chamberlain|
Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles talk with Robert Saleh, the former Jets coach, prior to a game.
Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles talk with Robert Saleh, the former Jets coach, prior to a game. | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears' habit of hiring too many people represented by agent Trace Armstrong has been blasted repeatedly over the past few years.

The classic case was Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles but they're not the only ones hired who have been represented by the former Bears defensive end.

There are some really good reasons not to hire so many people represented by the same agency and Kalyn Kahler wrote an in-depth story for ESPN Friday looking at the topic from a league-wide view but focusing greatly on possibly the greatest buyers of what Armstrong is selling: the Chicago Bears. 

One of the sharpest jabs at the Bears is taken by one of Armstrong's apparent competitors.

"I've never seen one agent have so much influence on one team and had so little success, but they keep going back and taking his guys," the coaching agent, who requested anonymity, told Kahler. "And we all kind of shake our heads like, have they not figured this out yet?"

Armstrong represented Matt Nagy in addition to Eberflus, as well as former Bears offensive coordinators Mark Helfrich, Luke Getsy and Shane Waldron, in addition to Poles.

Armstrong can't be too bad of an agent or he wouldn't be this successful running the Athletes First agency.

In his very early days in Chicago as a player, Armstrong was a great delight for media to deal with. His former Bears teammate, Ron Rivera, is quoted by Kahler within the story talking about why he signed on with Armstrong: "The guy had a lot of connections, and that's what you look for, is a guy that can get you in front of other people. ... The guy's a hustler. The guy works really hard."

However, there are potential dangers to what the Bears have done in this regard, whether it actually has happened or not.

Among the numerous reasons this is a dangerous habit is the conflict. A GM can be more likely to stick with a coach who should be fired and isn't getting the job done if they have the same agent and the relationship is too tight. Some complained about this last year in the offseason when the Bears didn't dump Eberflus while some other potentially strong candidates existed.

However, Kahler's story suggests a real danger on a much greater scale than just Chicago, and that's the way the NFL always has had too few black head coaches. Minority clients haven't been picked up to a large enough extent by the small number of super agencies.

It's just one more obstacle to black coaches being hired and advancing to coordinator and then head coach.

With Poles being black and the past Bears coaches mentioned white, it does seem like there are other places the NFL should be looking in this regard. Team president Kevin Warren is black and interim coach Thomas Brown is, as well. Brown is considered a serious head coach candidate now, although the 1-4 record while taking on a tough assignment probably weighs against him.

At least in this regard, it doesn't seem like as much of a problem with the Bears as elsewhere.

Nevertheless, Kahler cited a league office source indicating the Bears' habit of hiring people represented by one agent has been noticed elsewhere.

"As another hiring season continues, the league office is looking at McCaskey's Bears and the NFL's other remaining coach and GM suitors with particular scrutiny," Kahler wrote.

"'Everybody is abundantly aware of it,' " she said a league office source told her.

An interesting fact is unveiled regarding the ultimate reason they're all working and that's winning.

There were five teams who had both coach and GM affiliated with the same agent or agency in the last two years. They were the Bears, Arizona, Cleveland, the Giants and Kansas City.

Obviously, the only perennially successful team in the bunch is Kansas City, although the Browns did get in the playoffs in 2023. The other teams besides the Chiefs have been through really difficult times and the losing just keeps coming for all of them.

It's a well-sourced article discussing the full league and pointing out dangers of coaching super agents or agencies—something the league does need to scrutiize more closely, whether it applies to the Bears or any other team.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.