Chicago Bears Suffer Another Tragic Loss

The Chicago Bears family was hit with the expected but sad news that Virginia McCaskey died at the age of 102 earlier this week. Unfortunately, an unexpected twist arrived when another forgotten member of the team’s legacy also passed. Dick Jaurion, their head coach from 1999 to 2003, has died at the age of 74, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. A native of Peoria, he graduated from Yale and became a big part of helping turn the Green Bay Packers around in the mid-1990s before elevating the Jacksonville Jaguars from expansion team to contender in 1997.

Jauron’s tenure as Bears head coach is often misunderstood. He wasn’t the first choice for the McCaskeys in 1999. They had planned to hire Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis, but flubbed communication and some ill feelings led to that falling through. Jauron became their backup plan. His first two years were spent trying to clean up the mess left behind by Dave Wannstedt. Then, in 2001, magic happened. Riding a resurgent defense and ground attack, the Bears went 13-3 and won the division for the first time in a decade.