The key player in the Bears' 2003 draft, the centerpiece of theirentire plan, wasn't the guy they wound up taking first. Floridaquarterback Rex Grossman, the second of two first-round selectionsacquired when the team traded out of the No. 4 slot, was the guy theBears wanted most.
Months ago, the Bears identified Grossman as their quarterback ofthe future and the one player they felt they must have to justifytheir trading down and stockpiling talent. Michael Haynes, the PennState defensive end selected No. 14 overall, was one of threedefensive linemen--along with tackles Johnathan Sullivan and JimmyKennedy--that the Bears felt they would be choosing among with theirfirst pick.
But Grossman, not Byron Leftwich or Kyle Boller or DewayneRobertson, was the guy the team wanted to land in 2003. In fact, thegreatest moments of tension in the team's war room didn't come asdefensive linemen fell off the board early, but rather during picks20 and 21, when the Bears feared Green Bay might trade ahead of themand take Grossman.
The Bears thought about taking Grossman at No. 14 and doublingback for a lineman later but felt the best way to ensure the coachingstaff got the player it needed for today while the franchise got theplayer it wanted for tomorrow was to sweat out the middle of thefirst round.
With Dick Jauron and his staff on the coaching hot seat, takingthe player couldn't have been an easy sell, but Jerry Angelo knowsthe role of a general manager is doing what he believes is right forthe future of the franchise while still giving the team a chance towin immediately. And if everything works out as expected, the key manin this draft, Grossman, won't play a down next season.
"You nailed it right on the head," Angelo said. "You hit themother lode on that one. We came together as a unit on that decision.[The coaches] bought into [the draft plan], which made me a happycamper because at the end of the day, it's best for business."
Angelo said the key to drafting any quarterback is having a planon how to develop the player and that the Bears' coaches "had a lotof influence and input on that." That might sound a bit scary becausethe last time the Bears traded down in a draft with the idea oftaking a quarterback, they selected Cade McNown and attempted todevelop him by giving him the third series of every game early in hiscareer. But the plan has changed significantly with Grossman.
"We wanted to speed up the process for Cade," Jauron said. "Thatis not necessarily the case now."
Jauron said circumstances have changed this time around withKordell Stewart signed as a free agent and taking the reins of theteam. When the Bears signed McNown, they had Shane Matthews as theirstarter, but the coaching staff was in a grace period, not fightingto save its jobs. Matthews hardly had the reputation or experience ofStewart, and the Bears were a less talented team.
"Everything is different," Jauron said. "When we are healthy, wehave a team that can contend. We're going to put Kordell in controlof that team, and he's going to run it for us. It will give Rex achance to learn as he goes along. We won't throw him right out there,and that's probably a better way to do it. It might work the otherway too. The other way, there are a lot of things you have to dealwith if you're going to play a guy for a series. You have to dealwith your starter. How is it going to affect him?
"Shane was pretty resilient in that regard. I'm not certain Iwould want to take a guy that was an established starter and saywe're going to take you out a series of the game, particularly withthe team we have right now. That's not a very good idea."
With the Bears in the unusual position of teaching two newquarterbacks--Stewart and Grossman--their system, Jauron said the No.2 man next season will be Chris Chandler.
"Chris is our second," Jauron said. "He has done an outstandingjob in the offseason. He will only help us on the field, off thefield in the meetings, those kind of things. It will be positive."
Does Jauron resent being involved in the process of developing aguy when he might never reap the benefits of that development?
"I like this guy," Jauron said. "I like coaching everybody, butwhen you have guys that are talented and coachable and have a passionfor the game, that is a fun guy to coach."
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