Bears chairman George McCaskey isn’t mincing words regarding a certain ESPN broadcaster.
When coverage of the Lions-Commanders Divisional Round clash was brought to McCaskey’s attention Wednesday — the same day the Bears introduced Detroit’s former offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, as the team’s new coach — the exec stepped around a Tom Brady question to zing Joe Buck, who wasn’t on the call for Washington’s 45-31 upset win over Chicago’s NFC North rival.
McCaskey was asked what he thought of Brady, a Fox broadcaster and minority Raiders owner, being on the Lions-Commanders broadcast Saturday when both Las Vegas and Chicago were pursuing Johnson.
“I don’t care who they put on,” McCaskey, 68, said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “When Joe Buck’s on, I turn the sound down.”
Fox’s top team of Kevin Burkhardt and Brady, 47, called Saturday’s game, which marked Johnson’s final outing as a member of the Lions.
Buck, 55, who joined ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth in 2022 with longtime Fox colleague Troy Aikman, called the Chiefs’ Divisional Round win over the Texans earlier in the day Saturday.
The origins of McCaskey’s dislike of Buck are unclear.
Las Vegas parted ways with the first-year coach-GM tandem of Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco earlier this month, and the “allure” of Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, was said to have helped the Raiders become an enticing option for Johnson, 38.
In the end, Johnson chose Chicago, which boasts last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams.
“It was clear to me from the beginning that the priorities were straight,” said Johnson, who revived quarterback Jared Goff’s career during his three-season tenure as the Lions’ OC.
“There’s only one way for us to have success here and that’s [having] the right people in place.”
Johnson will receive $13 million per year as Chicago’s coach, according to Pro Football Talk.
The Bears finished the 2024 season at 5-12 and fired coach Matt Eberflus in November after nearly three seasons at the helm.
The Raiders, who finished the year at 4-13, are still on the hunt for their next head coach. The team hired Buccaneers assistant general manager Jason Spytek as their new GM on Wednesday.
Coaching vacancies in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Dallas and Jacksonville remain as of Thursday.
Johnson’s defensive counterpart in Detroit, Aaron Glenn, was named the Jets’ new head coach on Wednesday in a highly anticipated move.
The Patriots were the first domino fall with the hiring of franchise great Mike Vrabel on Jan 12.
