{"id":708972,"date":"2026-04-12T12:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708972\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T12:54:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:54:22","slug":"regime-change-in-the-chicago-sports-world-is-a-rarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708972\/","title":{"rendered":"Regime change in the Chicago sports world is a rarity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regime change doesn\u2019t happen often on the Chicago sports scene, where who you know is often more important than what you know.<\/p>\n

And the changing of the guard at the top of the Chicago Bulls food chain could be another chapter in a long line of teams \u201cmoving on\u201d with familiar faces still in place.<\/p>\n

Bulls President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf acknowledged after firing executive vice-president of basketball operations Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas that coach Billy Donovan could be more involved in decision-making if he stays on as coach under a new front-office regime, though he suggested Donovan wasn\u2019t interested in \u201ctitles.\u201d<\/p>\n

But whatever happens with the Bulls, it\u2019s obvious that former Ald. Paddy Bauler\u2019s famous line<\/a>, \u201cChicago ain\u2019t ready for reform yet,\u201d also applies to our five legacy sports franchises. Change has been a relative term under current Chairmen Jerry Reinsdorf, Tom Ricketts and Danny Wirtz, while the Bears\u2019 George McCaskey has been the one outlier of our select ownership group.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a brief history of the Chicago Way.<\/p>\n

In the Reinsdorfian worldview<\/a>, staying inside the organization is the preferred process of succession. White Sox and Bulls regimes from the 1990s have bled into the 2020s, with underlings simply moving up the ladder after their predecessors have been axed, promoted or reassigned as \u201cconsultants.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, White Sox assistant general manager Chris Getz succeeded his boss, Rick Hahn, who had succeeded his boss, Ken Williams, after Williams was kicked upstairs to executive vice president in 2012. In 2000, Williams had replaced his boss, Ron Schueler, who was hired as GM in 1990 and \u201cresigned\u201d after a playoff season<\/a> to move into a consultant role under Reinsdorf.<\/p>\n

Williams was responsible for the only Sox championship since 1917, but giving up day-to-day GM duties was sometimes difficult. In an interview in 2015 in Detroit, Williams asked me who I thought Reinsdorf called whenever he was ticked off.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHahn?\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, he hasn\u2019t graduated to that point yet, and I\u2019ve told him that,\u201d Williams replied. \u201cThere are some things that perhaps I may have removed myself a little bit too much from the equation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WhiteWhite Sox general manager Ken Williams, left, is promoted to executive vice president and Rick Hahn as the club’s new GM on Oct. 26, 2012, at U.S. Cellular Field. (E. Jason Wambsgans\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Hahn and Williams both discovered that Reinsdorf gets what Reinsdorf wants, ignoring their advice when rehiring Tony La Russa as manager in 2020. They were fired together in \u201923, and Williams was not replaced.<\/p>\n

Bulls GM Jerry Krause was in charge for six NBA titles but also was partly responsible for the dynasty\u2019s demise after Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson left in 1998, as chronicled in \u201cThe Last Dance.\u201d Michael Reinsdorf last week lumped him in with Karni\u0161ovas as a poor \u201ccommunicator,\u201d forgetting he had never held a news conference himself about the direction of the Bulls in 16 years as team president.<\/p>\n

When Krause moved on for health reasons in 2003, Jerry Reinsdorf hired TV-radio analyst John Paxson, a fan favorite from the first three-peat. Reinsdorf told ESPN he had a short list of candidates from casual interviews over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a matter of refreshing my memory and having one or two conversations to come to the conclusion I came to,\u201d Reinsdorf said. \u201cAnd it was a very easy conclusion.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BullsBulls general manager Gar Forman, left, and executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson talk before a game against the Pacers on Oct. 5, 2013, in Indianapolis. (Nuccio DiNuzzo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Paxson moved upstairs in 2009 and handed off GM duties to Gar Forman, forming the legendary \u201cGarPax\u201d regime that enjoyed some success in the Derrick Rose era. Forman was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2011, but Michael Reinsdorf, who took over as president in 2010, fired Forman in 2020 and moved Paxson to senior adviser, replacing Paxson with Karni\u0161ovas.<\/p>\n

Michael Reinsdorf admitted this week that he didn\u2019t interview his next leader in person<\/a> because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Oops. At least he has hired a search firm this time.<\/p>\n

\"CubsCubs GM Jed Hoyer, left, and President Theo Epstein watch batting practice before the home opener against the Brewers on April 8, 2013, at Wrigley Field. (Jose M. Osorio\/ Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The Cubs, meanwhile, have had only two real regimes over the last 32 years under two ownership groups: MacPhail-Hendry under Tribune Co. and Epstein-Hoyer under the Ricketts family.<\/p>\n

Andy MacPhail took over as Cubs president in 1994<\/a> under the marketing slogan: \u201cWe\u2019re working on it.\u201d After an epic fail with the hiring of GM Ed Lynch and his own brief stint as president\/GM, MacPhail turned to assistant GM Jim Hendry, who built three playoff teams in 2003, \u201907 and \u201908 but could never get over the hump.<\/p>\n

Hendry finished the 2011 season even after being told he was being let go, before Tom Ricketts hired away Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, who also brought in his old sidekick, Jed Hoyer, as GM. Epstein and Hoyer won a championship in 2016, as you might have heard. But the dynasty never materialized, and Epstein resigned after 2020, handing the baton to Hoyer.<\/p>\n

Like MacPhail, Hoyer is also \u201cworking on it,\u201d with one postseason appearance and no division titles in five years and a slow start this spring. He got an extension in July<\/a>, so regime change is unlikely for the 2020s.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoBears leadership Brian McCaskey, from left, Kevin Warren, George McCaskey and Patrick McCaskey listen as coach Ben Johnson speaks at Halas Hall on Jan. 21, 2026, in Lake Forest. (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

The McCaskey-owned Bears are the only team that usually went outside the organization for a new regime. Jerry Angelo, hired from Tampa Bay in 2001, took them to a Super Bowl in the 2006 season but was fired after 2011 and replaced by Kansas City Chiefs director of scouting Phil Emery, a former Bears scout George McCaskey knew well. The next two picks were both outside hires \u2014 Ryan Pace in 2015\u00a0 (New Orleans) and current GM Ryan Poles (Chiefs) in 2022. The arrow, at long last, is pointing up.<\/p>\n

The Blackhawks have been run by the Wirtzes since the 1960s<\/a>, so change has not often been part of their vocabulary. For decades the Wirtzes usually turned to Bob Pulford<\/a> when it was time to get rid of whoever was in charge. Pulford began as GM\/coach in 1977, was kicked upstairs in 1990, resumed GM duties in \u201992, and went back upstairs in \u201997, saying: \u201cI\u2019m 62 years old. I\u2019ve got to step aside and let the young guys have their turn. It\u2019s time for an old guy like me to sit back.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n

Or maybe not. Pully returned to the GM role in \u201999 for a season and in 2003 for two seasons before director of player personnel Dale Tallon, a former Hawks TV analyst, took over in 2005.<\/a> Tallon built a Hawks team that made the playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2008-09, getting into the Western Conference Finals with two young stars, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Change had come at last, and the Rocky Wirtz era was one Hawks fans had waited for all their lives.<\/p>\n

But Tallon was fired nevertheless<\/a>\u00a0and replaced by Stan Bowman, who reaped the rewards of the Kane-Toews rebuild with three Stanley Cup titles before a scandal over the team\u2019s mishandling of sexual assault allegations against a former video coach led to his resignation in 2021<\/a> and the promotion of Kyle Davidson in \u201922 to start another rebuild.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoBlackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson speaks at a news conference on Dec. 6, 2024, at Fifth Third Arena. (Stacey Wescott\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Davidson said the would \u201cnot rush anything for a quick run. We want to do this right and stay at a top level.\u201d <\/a>Four years later, we\u2019re still waiting.\u00a0Danny Wirtz took control of the team after his father\u2019s death in \u201923.<\/a> The Hawks rebuild remains in slow-motion, despite three seasons of star Connor Bedard, whose talent has kept fans from deserting the team.<\/p>\n

What the future holds for our legacy teams is unknown.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re looking for an owner who thinks outside the box, you\u2019ve come to the wrong town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regime change doesn\u2019t happen often on the Chicago sports scene, where who you know is often more important…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708973,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3771],"tags":[7,920,919,6546,17986,329,440,88597,3824,88599,88600,4744,24589,6,88598],"class_list":{"0":"post-708972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bulls","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-bulls","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-bears","12":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","13":"tag-chicago-bulls","14":"tag-chicago-cubs","15":"tag-chicago-whte-sox","16":"tag-chicagobulls","17":"tag-danny-wirtz","18":"tag-george-mccaskey","19":"tag-jerry-reinsdorf","20":"tag-michael-reinsdorf","21":"tag-nba","22":"tag-tom-ricketts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116391843113581158","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}