Angelo at Bears 2008 training camp
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Date of birth: | 1949 (age 67–68) |
Career information | |
College: | Miami (Ohio) |
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Jerry Angelo (born c. 1949) is an American football executive who was the general manager for the National Football League's Chicago Bears from 2001 to 2011. Prior to joining the Bears, Angelo spent 14 years overseeing Tampa Bay Buccaneers' scouting department as their director of player personnel. Angelo graduated from Miami University in 1971.
Angelo began his career in the NFL as a scout for both the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys in the early 1980s. Four years later he moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that had experienced brief success. An expansion team established in 1976, the Buccaneers lost the 1979 NFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles Rams. What followed were a chaotic series of player tragedies and setbacks that sent the team into a slump. A succession of coaches and numerous roster changes failed to revive the team throughout the 1980s. Angelo was associated with the appearance of front office divisions and management mistakes. By the late 1990s his 14-year tenure in Tampa Bay was perceived as successful, as the Buccaneers made the playoffs three times from 1997 to 2000. With new ownership of the franchise, Angelo moved on to the Chicago Bears.
Angelo became the Chicago Bears' general manager in 2001.
After firing Dick Jauron, Angelo sought a new coach. The short list was Nick Saban, Russ Grimm, and Lovie Smith. Nick Saban was the frontrunner, but wanted the GM powers Angelo just acquired. Saban went on to a short tenure with the Miami Dolphins prior to returning to college football. Russ Grimm was the second choice but was not hired.