One of the greatest Bears of all time isn’t happy with the team’s state of affairs.
Gale Sayers took aim Tuesday at coach Lovie Smith, quarterback Jay Cutler and personnel moves that left the Bears without a pick until the third round of the recent NFL draft.
“Cutler hasn’t done the job,” Sayers said. “(Brian) Urlacher, I don’t know how good he’s going to be coming back. He’s 33 years old. They need a couple wide receivers, a couple defensive backs. They haven’t done a good job.
“If Lovie doesn’t do it this year, I think he’s gone. He had a good team the Super Bowl year. Nothing came together for him the last couple years.”
Sayers is chairman and CEO of Sayers Inc., a computer business headquartered in Vernon Hills. He also works in athletic fundraising at Kansas, his alma mater, and is involved in a number of charitable causes in the Chicago area.
Other than a few public appearance he makes on behalf of the Bears, he said, he has little contact with the team these days.
“I go to every game I can,” he said. “Yes, I do live and die with them.”
So he knows well that the Bears lost star linebacker Urlacher to a season-ending injury in last year’s opener at Green Bay, a big loss for a team that was hoping to contend in the NFC.
The Bears, who traded Kyle Orton and 2009-10 first-round picks to Denver for Cutler, finished 7-9 in Cutler’s first season in Chicago and missed the playoffs for the third straight year. The Bears have overhauled their coaching staff — keeping Smith — and signed pass rusher Julius Peppers to a six-year deal.
Sayers was the most explosive offensive player in the NFL in the late 1960s. He retired from football in 1971 after the second of two devastating knee injuries and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (1977).
Sayers, who scored six touchdowns and gained 336 all-purpose yards in a game against San Francisco in 1965, is best known for his speed and elusiveness. He was one of the first running backs to return punts and kicks.
“I had some good moves and I used them very well,” he said. “The person who reminds me of myself is Barry Sanders. We both used the whole field.”
He shook his head when reminded that some pundits have compared the New Orleans Saints’ Reggie Bush with him.
“You can’t compare that, because he gets hurt too much,” Sayers said. “He’s a fine young man. He’s a little light. He’s not a player who’s going to carry 25 times a game. He’ll get five carries, catch three passes and run back a couple punts.”
Sayers pointed out that he made $50,000 in his final season and a total of $275,000 over his entire career. He said he would like to be playing today.
“You know why? Because of the money,” he said. “I wouldn’t change my game. I probably would be just as good because I would be on AstroTurf. The money, that’s the key right now. Everybody is making so much. A person snapping the football is making a million dollars.”
