Angelo Out as Bears GM

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 3, 2012 4:45PM

The house cleaning has begun at Halas Hall. Tribune reporter Brad Biggs and WSCR-AM morning co-host Mike Mulligan reported about an hour ago that Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo has been relieved of his duties by chairman George McCaskey.

Angelo, who addressed rumors of his job status by saying he was "whistling 'Dixie'," leaves after 11 years with a 95-81 record, four division titles, an NFC championship and a loss in Super Bowl XLI, will be better remembered for his poor drafting and talent evaluation skills. Angelo deserves credit for the 2009 trade that brought Jay Cutler to the organization, but his other moves did very little to strengthen the organization. Never was that more evident than when Cutler was lost for the season in Week 11 with a broken thumb; the Bears' 1-5 record after Cutler's injury sent the team from playoff contenders to an 8-8 record.

It's unknown whether Angelo's firing will lead to a major house cleaning at Halas Hall. WSCR-AM Bears beat reporter Zach Zaidman announced via Twitter that head coach Lovie Smith will not be following Angelo out the door. Smith instead will continue to evaluate the coaching staff, furthering speculation on the future of offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

Bears President Ted Phillips will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. to discuss the GM situation. Phillips broke the news to Angelo this morning.