The Chicago Bears will likely go hunting for a new GM next month. All signs point to Ryan Pace being shown the door by the McCaskey family after six seasons in charge. His legacy will be defined by upholding the franchise staple of great defense but failing to find that elusive franchise quarterback. The search for a replacement figures to be fascinating. One name that isn’t getting a ton of buzz yet but could in the weeks to come? That is Dwayne Joseph.
George McCaskey has seemed to prefer bringing in guys who understand the Bears organization. That is why Phil Emery was hired in 2012. He’d been a scout for the team from 1998 to 2004. It looked like Chris Ballard, another man who’d scouted for them from 2001 to 2011 would end up being his replacement in 2015 before the job surprisingly went to Pace.
If they consider going back to this well? Joseph is a name to watch.
An undrafted free agent in 1994, he played three seasons for the Bears as a defensive back. By 1998 he’d decided to get into the personnel side of the business, becoming their coordinator of player programs. Three years later he was promoted to Director of Player Development. From there he left for Miami where he entered into the business of scouting.
After gaining some experience on this front, the Bears brought him back in 2012 to be their Assistant Director of College Scouting. Then Emery promoted him the next season to Assistant Director of Pro Personnel. So he was getting a valuable education on both the college and professional sides of scouting. When Pace arrived in 2015, Joseph opted to leave for a big opportunity out east.
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Dwayne Joseph really began to emerge with Philadelphia
The Eagles made him their Director of Pro Personnel. It was there that Joseph’s ability to impact a roster began to shine. In 2016, they made some huge moves on the veteran market with free agent signings like Rodney McLeod and Brandon Brooks. A year later, he struck again with Alshon Jeffery, LeGarrette Blount, and Nick Foles. All of those names would become instrumental in Philadelphia winning the Super Bowl that season.
Two years later, the Las Vegas Raiders lured Joseph west to become their new Director of Pro Scouting. It’s probably not a coincidence they had immediate success. Their signings of both Trent Brown and Richie Incognito paid off immediately with both making the Pro Bowl that year. Then in 2020, they struck again with the additions of Nick Kwiatkoski and Nelson Agholor.
Nick Kwiatkoski being healthy has changed this defense.. This Huge hit by him on the blocker set the tone for the second half. #Raiders pic.twitter.com/Xcuuic4JhI
— Sanjit T. (@Sanjit__T) October 12, 2020
The success seems to follow wherever he goes.
Dwayne Joseph is 48-years old. He now boasts 11 years of front office experience. He’s gotten to work under several different GMs including Rick Spielman, Jeff Ireland, Howie Roseman, and now Mike Mayock. Witnessing those very different philosophies on how to build winning teams will only serve to help him if and when he gets his own shot.
From the Bears’ perspective? There is a lot to like. He played the game at the pro level. He’s worked within the organization itself for several years. So he understands both this ownership and this fanbase. To top it off, he’s found success away from them so he likely won’t adhere to their traditional way of thinking.
