When the subject of Chicago Bears roster builders comes up, who do you think of? Typically the names that arise are obvious ones: George Halas, Jim Finks, Jerry Angelo, Phil Emery, and of course Ryan Pace. These are the men directly associated with some of the most memorable eras in franchise history. Maybe this is why the name Mark Hatley doesn’t immediately ring a bell for a lot of people.
He came around during one of the peak down periods of Bears football. He never actually held the title of GM and his time in charge lasted just four years. During which he tainted his legacy by being part of two of the biggest draft busts ever in modern Bears history. This can make a man easy to forget. Yet as is so often the case, things are never that simple.
Beneath the surface of a long-established myth of ineptitude, there is a man who overcame bad circumstances and his own mistakes to establish a foundation for a decade of success. One he never got the chance to be part of and died before he ever got to see.
This is his story.
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Mark Hatley stepped up when the Bears power structure was a mess
The Bears organization had fallen on hard times by the mid-1990s. Mike Ditka was gone and Dave Wannstedt had taken over as head coach. Yet where things were truly out of whack was at the top. Though Virginia McCaskey was the majority owner, the running of the organization was in the hands of her son Michael.
By 1993, the man already had a reputation for meddling in the team’s football decisions. Most notorious among them was the drafting of Texas offensive lineman Stan Thomas in 1991. Something Ditka was vehemently against. So when the coach was fired, McCaskey decided to establish a structure where no one man had too much power.
That is why Wannstedt and Director of Player Personnel Rod Graves shared control of the roster. This move may have seemed prudent to McCaskey, but all it did was divide the team’s scouting department. That lack of a singular voice made it tough to establish an identity.
This resulted in one of the weakest draft stretches in team history
One that included such disappointments as John Thierry, Marcus Spears, Rashaan Salaam, and Pat Riley. By the end of 1996, it was clear the structure wasn’t working. So the McCaskey’s decided to make a change. Graves was fired and Hatley promoted to VP of Personnel. While it was a personal moment of triumph for him, he was stepping into an awkward situation.
“That limbo situation is tough that some teams have and Hatley was in.”
Part of the problem was Hatley wasn’t granted total control of the team from the start. He wasn’t a general manager who could make changes at will. Wannstedt would be retained as head coach. His questionable personnel requirements along with him. Hatley had control of the offseason such as free agency and the draft, but it was never clear who truly ran the show.
If that weren’t bad enough, his first draft in 1997 was made all the more difficult by not having a 1st round pick. This due to Graves trading it the previous year to Seattle in exchange for quarterback Rick Mirer. It was not an enviable position to be in.
The two picks that soured his image
Every GM or top personnel decision-maker has a certain point in their careers where there’s a turning point. A moment or two that either makes or breaks their power. For Ryan Pace, it was his hiring of Matt Nagy and trade up for Mitch Trubisky. For Jerry Angelo, it was the hiring of Lovie Smith and trade for Jay Cutler.
Hatley’s legacy in Chicago can be traced back to the calendar year that took place between 1998 and 1999. It was in this stretch of time where he made two draft picks that cemented his status as one of the worst personnel men the franchise had seen in charge in years. Even if those results weren’t entirely within his control.
On April 18th, 1998 the NFL draft began. It was a big one for Hatley. This would mark the first time he’d have a 1st round pick and it was the #5 overall selection no less. The highest choice Chicago had owned since Jim McMahon arrived way back in 1982. Hatley knew he had to get somebody who could contribute right away and make a difference.
One area they wanted to improve was the running game.
Chicago ranked just 16th in rushing the year before. Rashaan Salaam had already regressed due to injury woes. They were leaning on veteran Raymont Harris. While he was a steady and decent back, he was hardly someone defenses feared. Given the issues at quarterback, this was something that had to change. So Hatley went with Curtis Enis out of Penn State.
Most at the time agreed it was a solid pick. Enis had delivered two great years in college with over 2,500 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. He looked like a franchise type of running back. Then before anybody could even settle in, Enis tore the ACL in his left knee nine games into the season. Keep in mind this was back when ligament tears were still a huge deal and not easily fixed.
Even back then Hatley knew it was bad and left the Bears’ future in question.
“It’s a strange deal. It makes you want to hit your head against the wall.”
Enis did come back the next year and had over 900 yards, but it was clear he’d lost something. Further injuries continued to haunt him and by 2001 he was gone. Going into 1999, Hatley knew he had to try to find that franchise piece again. Maybe this time he’d try at the more important position of quarterback.
There was reason to think he could do it.
Chicago held the 7th overall pick, which put them in great position to land a quality QB. The 1999 class appeared to have a lot of talent including Donovan McNabb out of Syracuse, Tim Couch from Kentucky, and a big kid from UCF named Daunte Culpepper. The odds of one of them falling were good. Unfortunately, two events led to a disaster.
First was how the 1st round started. The first three picks ended up being quarterbacks. Couch went #1, McNabb #2, and Akili Smith from Oregon #3. Suddenly the pickings were much slimmer. Even so, Culpepper was still on the board. Hatley could just take him and be happy. However, it was then he made his biggest miscalculation.
The Washington Redskins came calling with a massive trade offer. One that would give the Bears five additional draft picks to move down from #7 to #12. Being a scout at heart, it was a deal Hatley couldn’t refuse. He felt confident enough that he could still get a quarterback after the move. It was almost a perfect move. Culpepper made it past #8, #9, and #10.
One more pick and the Bears would be in business. Then the Minnesota Vikings ruined everything, selecting him at #11. Just like that Hatley was put on the spot. Does he continue with taking a quarterback as planned, or look elsewhere at a less picked over position? He chose the former, taking UCLA starter Cade McNown with the 12th pick.
“He figures out some way to beat your butt, and that’s what you’re looking for.”
It’s not a surprise that Hatley chose those words to describe McNown. He couldn’t get away with talking up his physical potential. The QB was railed by draft experts who were concerned about his limited 6’1 size, his awkward three-quarter throwing motion, and his rather average arm strength. Never mind he was the fifth QB taken in the round. Rarely a good sign.
Sadly this proved prophetic.
Things got off to a bad start when McNown held out most of training camp. When he finally did arrive, he was relegated to the bench for the first half of the season, getting only brief appearances to help gain him experience. Upon starting towards the middle of October, things didn’t get off to the best start. In his first two games he completed barely 46% of passes with a touchdown and three interceptions.
It never really got better. McNown suffered from constant inconsistency through two seasons, made worse by injury setbacks. By December of 2000, the Bears had seen enough. He was traded shortly after and never played another down in the NFL. Many consider him the true low point in a dark legacy of quarterbacks for this franchise.
That failure is undoubtedly the driving force behind what got Hatley fired.
Screwing him over
Then again it’s not like the Bears were doing him any favors. Hatley was picking for new head coach Dick Jauron that year in ’99. It’s clear the new staff wanted a fresh start at quarterback. However, what a lot of people don’t remember is that Jauron wasn’t supposed to be the coach. Chicago had given Hatley the power to choose the man to replace Wannstedt.
Jauron was not the first choice.
That was supposed to be Dave McGinnis. At the time, the 48-year old coach had been defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals since 1996. Before that? He’d been the Bears linebackers coach. A job he held for 10 seasons. The man not only had strong ties to the organization but also Hatley himself. The two were known to be friends.
Unfortunately, ownership completely blew the situation. In one of the more infamous moments in Bears history, the team seemed so confident that McGinnis would be the next head coach that the McCaskeys called a press conference to announce it. There was one problem though.
McGinnis hadn’t actually agreed to any deal.
So when the announcement hit, he was furious. Not only had the Bears shown a lack of good faith for the process, but they’d also reportedly made initial contract offers that were well below league standard. Discussions grew heated and eventually, the coach decided he’d had enough and decided to pass on the job. He stayed in Arizona.
Hatley wouldn’t get his guy. Jauron was quickly hired 24 hours later. It makes one wonder if things might’ve been different if the exec had somebody he knew and trusted during that critical stretch.
A quiet magician
What’s truly tragic about those misfires and the coaching debacle is they overshadowed how good the man was when it came to finding talent in smaller places. One need only look at the work he did following those picks to understand. A round after getting Enis in ’98, he selected defensive back Tony Parrish. Then in the 3rd round, he grabbed a young center out of Washington named Olin Kreutz. The final day he scooped up unheralded Duke long snapper Patrick Mannelly.
It was no different in ’99 either. In the 3rd round, Hatley grabbed Marty Booker out of Louisiana-Monroe. Then in the 4th, he bolstered the linebacking corps with Warrick Holdman and Rosevelt Colvin. Last but not least came solid cornerback and excellent kick returner Jerry Azumah in the 5th. All of those men would become starters by 2001. Kreutz was a six-time Pro Bowler.
It wasn’t just them either. Back in 1997, Hatley’s first year, he grabbed an overlooked wide receiver out of South Carolina named Marcus Robinson. Though he didn’t become a starter until two years later, he made up for the lost time by setting a franchise record with 1,400 yards and nine touchdowns. A mark that would stand for 13 years.
It was clear that Hatley was building something. The problem was it continued not to show in the win column. Over his first three seasons, the Bears won 14 games. With the prospects for 2000 looking lukewarm at best, the writing was pretty much on the wall.
So naturally, the man waited until that point to deliver his pièce de résistance.
Parting gift
Going into the 2000 draft, the Bears held the #9 overall pick. It looked to be a strong class across the board. Hatley and his front office felt there was a collection of players at the top that they had a reasonably good shot at. So there would be no trade down this time. After the first six picks, there were still three guys on the board he wanted. So the Bears were guaranteed at least one.
They were Michigan State wide receiver Plaxico Burress, Virginia running back Thomas Jones, and a fast-rising kid out of New Mexico named Brian Urlacher.
Sure enough, Jones went the next pick at #7 to Arizona. Pittsburgh was next at #8. It was later reported that their head coach Bill Cowher wanted Urlacher but the Steelers were desperate for more help on offense. They ended up going with Burress. That made the decision for Hatley an easy one, taking Urlacher at #9 overall.
Just like that, the fortunes of a franchise had changed.
After a debate during the summer and early fall about where to play him, the Bears eventually decided to put Urlacher at middle linebacker. He finished that season with 125 tackles, eight sacks, two interceptions and the first of eight Pro Bowls. Chicago had themselves the next great defensive superstar and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Hatley wasn’t done though.
In the 2nd round, he grabbed an undersized but highly intelligent safety out of Nebraska named Mike Brown. He’d go on to become an All-Pro with 17 interceptions, five sacks, and seven defensive touchdowns in nine seasons. Then in the 6th, the Bears secured quality kicker Paul Edinger out of Michigan State. He’d be a big part of their division title run the next year.
Unfortunately, that incredible year came too late to save Hatley.
An underappreciated legacy
After the Bears went 5-11, he was fired. Yet it was his roster that eventual replacement Jerry Angelo won with in 2001. People don’t remember that Hatley still ran the 2001 draft and free agency periods. He was the one who drafted eventual Rookie of the Year Anthony Thomas. He also signed big defensive tackles Ted Washington and Keith Traylor. Both of whom would play critical roles in that #1 Bears defense. By May though, he was gone.
Urlacher and Kreutz ended up being the core of the teams that would win four division championships over the next decade and reach the Super Bowl in 2006. Most people shed the bulk of that credit on Angelo but there is no way that happens without Hatley setting the stage for him.
The veteran personnel man wasn’t unemployed long. He was scooped up by the Green Bay Packers and proceeded to help extend their divisional dominance for another four seasons. Along the way, he helped them add Pro Bowlers like Javon Walker and Aaron Kampman. Still, he never stopped being a Bear at heart.
One of the picks he assisted with in Green Bay, a 5th rounder named Hunter Hillenmeyer, was cut as a rookie and ended up becoming a quality starter next to Urlacher in Chicago. One final gift before the man suddenly passed away in the summer of 2004 at the age of 54.
This is honestly a person who should be celebrated by Bears fans.
Yet because of two ill-fated draft picks and a ton of things out of his control, he is largely forgotten today. Seen nothing more as another in a line of front office disasters that plagued the Bears in the 1990s. More people need to understand that the most recent era of successful football in this town doesn’t happen without him. It’s fair to wonder how different things might’ve gone had he been afforded the same powers that Angelo, Emery, and Pace eventually got.
We shall never know.
