Phil Emery

Bears general manager from 2012 to 2014 who hired Marc Trestman and extended Jay Cutler.

Phil Emery (born 1959) is a former football executive who was general manager of the Chicago Bears from 2012 to 2014, after scouting roles with the Bears, Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs. He was fired after a 5-11 season in 2014 and replaced by Ryan Pace.

Quick Facts

Born: 16 January 1959
Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
High school: Garden City (MI)
College: Wayne State

Facts from the source article.

Background

Emery had been a Bears area scout from 1998 to 2004 under Mark Hatley and Jerry Angelo before running college scouting for Atlanta and Kansas City. When Angelo was fired in 2012 he was one of two finalists for the job, and chairman George McCaskey told him he could change head coaches after the 2012 season even though Lovie Smith was under contract through 2013. Smith was dismissed on December 31, 2012, after a 10-6 year without a playoff berth.

Emery hired Marc Trestman from the Montreal Alouettes in January 2013, a choice seen as his own because of Trestman's cerebral style and record with quarterbacks. His drafts brought Alshon Jeffery and Shea McClellin in 2012, Kyle Long and Jordan Mills in 2013, and Kyle Fuller, Ka'deem Carey, Pat O'Donnell and Charles Leno in 2014, with grades from the press ranging from C to B. The 2014 offseason, with free agents Jared Allen, Willie Young and Lamarr Houston, was ranked second-best in the league by NFL.com.

The team went 8-8 in 2013 and 5-11 in 2014, and Emery was fired on December 29, 2014. A major factor was the seven-year, $126.7 million extension he gave Jay Cutler in January 2014, with $54 million guaranteed, which has been called the worst contract in the NFL. He later scouted again for Atlanta and retired from the league in May 2023.