Chicago Bears history is packed with tons of what-if scenarios. Especially when it comes to the quarterback position. One that probably doesn’t get talked about enough is the brief flirtation they had with Doug Flutie. For those who don’t remember, Flutie was a college football legend at Boston College, famous for his iconic upset of powerhouse Miami. He then went on to the upstart USFL where he played for the New Jersey Generals.
However, the league folded by 1986, and his rights were traded to the Bears. It was a controversial move at the time. A number of veteran players on that team weren’t happy about bringing in an outsider when the team still had Steve Fuller and Mike Tomczak backing up the often-injured Jim McMahon. It was felt they should’ve gotten an opportunity to play rather than Flutie who was viewed as a personal favorite of head coach Mike Ditka.
The 24-year old QB ended up starting both the regular season finale and the playoff opener against Washington. Losing the latter ended a 14-2 Bears season and what many felt was their last, best chance to win another Super Bowl. In 1987, it was decided that Flutie would be traded to New England in favor of drafting a new quarterback.
A decision that according to Dan Pompei of The Athletic, Ditka was against.
“In January, team president Michael McCaskey said the Bears would draft a quarterback.
Ditka still believed Flutie had a future and didn’t want a quarterback. He argued to take linebacker Alex Gordon in the first round. Tobin, who was in charge of personnel at that point, agreed with McCaskey that a quarterback was needed, and they overruled Ditka.
The Bears chose Jim Harbaugh with the 26th pick in the first round. Had Montana been on the team, it’s possible Gordon, who went 17 picks later to the Jets, would have joined the Bears.”
Doug Flutie is a fascinating what-if for the Bears
Flutie went 6-3 his first year with the Patriots. However, then-head coach Raymond Berry was not his biggest fan. He felt the offense wasn’t putting up enough points with the 5’9 quarterback under center. So with the playoffs on the line in the season finale, Berry benched him. The Patriots lost to Denver to finish 9-7. The quarterback was never the starter after that and by 1990 had exited the NFL for Canada. There he became an all-time CFL great. Eight years later he returned to sign with the Buffalo Bills where he led them to the playoffs while making a Pro Bowl.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
It’s fair to wonder how different the Bears’ fortunes might’ve been had they embraced Flutie. While obviously undersized, his natural playmaking instincts were hard to ignore. Maybe they could’ve had their starter for the long-term. Sadly the toxic situation in the locker room made that impossible. It’s clear Flutie was just ahead of his time. If he’d played in the NFL of today, he would be the face of a franchise somewhere.
