Trading Greg Olsen Cost Jerry Angelo His Job
By Erik Lambert
Sep 7, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen (88) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Carolina Panthers defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
News emerged recently that former Chicago Bears GM Jerry Angelo regrets trading tight end Greg Olsen. Did it end up costing him his job?
Chicago Bears offense felt sting of his loss at worst time in 2011
The entire basis of the trade began in 2011, which marked the second year of the offense under coordinator Mike Martz. By that point people well knew he didn’t have much use for receiving tight ends. He preferred blockers to help protect the quarterback so he could deliver the ball to the wide receivers and running backs. To that end Angelo was faced with a dilemma. Greg Olsen was a consummate member of the team and a favorite target of quarterback Jay Cutler, but in the spirit of making the Martz offense better, he chose to deal the young tight end to Carolina in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick.
Unfortunately that move would come back to haunt the Bears and Angelo. Ten games into the season Chicago was rolling on a five-game winning streak. Everything however took a turn for the worse when Cutler broke his thumb, leaving the offense in the hands of Caleb Hanie. Shortly after that the team also lost Matt Forte. Suddenly Hanie was being asked to win games down the stretch with guys like Roy Williams, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett as his primary targets. During those final six games the Bears scored an average of 17.5 points per game. They lost five of those six.
How much of a difference would having Olsen have meant?
Olsen thriving with Carolina Panthers while Angelo is jobless
It’s fair to say quite a bit. During his first year with the Carolina Panthers in 2011, Olsen made 45 catches for 540 yards and five touchdowns. That would’ve made him the second leading receiver on the Bears offense. Carolina would boast the 7th overall offense that season and since then Olsen has emerged as the most dependable target of quarterback Cam Newton.
As for Jerry Angelo, that collapse in 2011 was the final straw for Chicago Bears ownership. He was summarily fired and replaced by Phil Emery. So looking back it can be stated with confidence that the Greg Olsen trade probably ended up costing him his job.