 |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | January 16, 1959 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Garden City (MI) |
| College: | Wayne State |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| As an executive: | |
| |
Phillip Emery (born January 16, 1959) is a former American football executive. He served as the general manager of the Chicago Bears from 2012 to 2014 and also held scouting positions with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons.
Emery was born and grew up in Michigan and attended high school at Garden City East High School (which is now Garden City High School). He attended college and earned a teaching degree at Wayne State University in Detroit. [1] Emery received his Master of Arts degree in secondary education from Western New Mexico University in 1983.
Emery was an area scout for the Bears from 1998 to 2004, working first under VP of Player Personnel Mark Hatley and then Jerry Angelo while serving head coaches Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith. He was hired by Rich McKay as the director of scouting for the Atlanta Falcons in May 2004 and served in that role through the 2008 draft. After the 2008 Draft and with the hiring of new Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff; Emery worked as the Eastern Regional Scout the fall of 2008 and through the 2009 Draft. Emery was named director of college scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs immediately following the 2009 Draft and remained in that role through the end of the month of January 2012. Prior to the Bears job, he was a graduate assistant football coach at Central Michigan University (1981), offensive line and strength and conditioning coach at Western New Mexico University (1982–1983), defensive line and strength coach at both Georgetown College (1984–1985) and then Saginaw Valley State University (1985-1987), before being named assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Tennessee (1987–1991). Emery was hired as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach and Assistant Professor at the United States Naval Academy (1991–1998). [2]
Emery returned to the Falcons in 2016 as a scout. [3] On May 12, 2023, Emery announced his retirement from the NFL.
In 2012, Bears general manager Jerry Angelo was fired. During the team's search, Emery was one of the four candidates, and was one of the two finalists for the job, along with Arizona Cardinals director of pro personnel Jason Licht. [4] After being hired, Bears chairman George McCaskey told Emery that though head coach Lovie Smith's contract ran through 2013, and that Smith would be head coach in 2012, Emery would have the ability to make a change at the position after the end of the 2012 season. [5] Smith was eventually fired on December 31, 2012, after the Bears missed the playoffs, despite having led the team to a 10–6 record. [6]
In Emery's first draft, he selected Shea McClellin, [7] Alshon Jeffery, [8] Brandon Hardin, [9] Evan Rodriguez, [10] Isaiah Frey, and Greg McCoy. [11] Overall, critics had mixed reviews on Emery's debut draft, with the Chicago Sun-Times experts giving the draft an average "C" grade. [12]
On December 31, the Bears front office released long-time head coach Lovie Smith, and Emery began searching for a new head coach. [13]
On January 16, the Bears announced the hiring of Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman as head coach. [14] Trestman was widely regarded as Emery's pick due to his cerebral approach to the game and ability to improve the performance of the quarterbacks he has worked with. [15]
In Emery's second draft, he selected G Kyle Long in the first round (20th overall), LB Jon Bostic (50th overall), LB Khaseem Greene (117th overall), OL Jordan Mills (163rd overall), DE Cornelius Washington (188th overall), and WR Marquess Wilson (236 overall). [16] Reaction was mixed with ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. giving the whole of the Bears draft a C+ overall grade, stating the late round picks lacked value. However Jason Chilton rated the individual picks more highly in the later rounds. [17] The Bears ended the season with an 8–8 record and failed to make the playoffs. [18]
In Emery's third draft he selected CB Kyle Fuller in the first round (1st round, 14th overall), DT Ego Ferguson (2nd round, 51st overall), DT Will Sutton (3rd round, 82nd overall), RB Ka'deem Carey (4th round, 117th overall), S Brock Vereen (4th round, 131st overall), QB David Fales (6th round, 183rd overall), P Pat O'Donnell (6th round, 191st overall), and OT Charles Leno (7th round, 246th overall). The Bears traded with the Denver Broncos, swapping the Bears fifth round picks in 2014 and 2015 for the Broncos 4th and 7th picks in 2014. This ended up giving the Bears no fifth round pick, but two additional picks in both the fourth and sixth rounds. Emery also brought in undrafted free agents Jordan Lynch and James Dunbar. [19] Bucky Brooks of NFL.com gave the Bears draft a B, and called the 4th round pick of Carey the draft's biggest steal. [20]
Additionally, Elliot Harrison of NFL.com ranked the Bears offseason moves as the second best in the league based on a strong draft and the additions of free agents DE's Jared Allen, Willie Young, Lamarr Houston, Israel Idonije, and QB Jimmy Clausen. [21]
On December 29, 2014, Emery was fired from the Bears after the team merited a 5–11 record, their worst since their debut year with Lovie Smith, and, once again, missed the playoffs. [22] A significant, contributing factor to Emery's demise was his directive to extend quarterback Jay Cutler's contract in January 2014 to a lucrative seven-year deal with $126.7 million, of which $54 million was guaranteed. This negotiation has been deemed to be the worst contract in the NFL. [23] [24] [25] [26]
The Bears hired Ryan Pace on January 8, 2015, to replace Emery as the GM. [27]
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The Bears have won nine NFL Championships, eight prior to the AFL–NFL merger and one Super Bowl. They also hold the NFL records for the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the most retired jersey numbers. The Bears' NFL championships and overall victories are second behind the Green Bay Packers, who they have a long-standing rivalry with.
Kyle Raymond Orton is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. After an injury to Bears starter Rex Grossman, Orton was pressed into service as the starting quarterback during his rookie year, starting the first 14 games of the 2005 season, but was replaced by Grossman for the playoffs that year. Orton did not play at all in 2006, and sparingly in 2007. He regained his starting job from Grossman in 2008, but the team finished a disappointing 9–7 and out of the playoffs. In the offseason of that year, he was traded to the Denver Broncos.
Jason S. Campbell is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. Campbell also played for the Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals. After his playing career, he became an analyst for Auburn Sports Network.
Lovie Lee Smith is an American football coach. He has served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL), and as the head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has been to the Super Bowl twice, as the defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams in 2001 and as head coach for the Bears in 2006.
David Patrick Ragone is an American football coach and former quarterback who currently serves as quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and also served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans.
The Chicago Bears American football franchise is a charter member of the National Football League (NFL), and has played in all of the league's 100 seasons. The team has captured nine NFL championships – eight NFL championships and one Super Bowl – second most all time behind the Green Bay Packers. The franchise has also recorded more victories than any other franchise (739), retired the most uniform numbers (14), and have the most members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (29). The Bears have played in over a thousand games since becoming a charter member of the NFL in 1920.
Devin Devorris Hester Sr. is an American former football wide receiver and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL). The only primary return specialist to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he is widely considered to be the greatest return specialist of all time. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, where he was the first player in the university's recent history to play in all three phases of American football: offense, defense and special teams. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft. In addition to Chicago, Hester also played for the Atlanta Falcons, the Baltimore Ravens and the Seattle Seahawks over his 11-season NFL career. He is also the only player to return the opening kick of a Super Bowl for a touchdown. Hester was selected to the NFL All-Decade Team for both the 2000s and 2010s.
Jerry Angelo is a former American football executive who was the general manager for the National Football League's Chicago Bears from 2001 to 2011. Prior to joining the Bears, Angelo spent 14 years overseeing Tampa Bay Buccaneers' scouting department as their director of player personnel. Angelo graduated from Miami University in 1971.
Marc Marlyn Trestman is a Canadian football and American football coach. He led the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) to back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 2009 and 2010, and another as head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 2017. He was also named CFL Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2017.
Jason Licht is an American football executive who is the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL), a position he has held since 2014. Before joining the Bucs in 2014, Licht worked for the NFL's Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals. In his 26-year executive career, Licht has appeared in 5 Super Bowls, winning 2 of them with the Patriots in 2002 and Buccaneers in 2021, both led by Tom Brady. His other appearances were in 2005 with the Eagles, 2009 with the Cardinals, and 2012 with the Patriots.
The 2009 season was the Chicago Bears' 90th season in the National Football League, and the sixth under head coach Lovie Smith. The Bears had looked to improve upon their 9–7 record from 2008 and return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season, but failed to do so for the third consecutive season. The team finished 7–9, and third in the NFC North. This season was Lovie Smith's sixth season as the team's head coach. The Bears played all their home games at Soldier Field.
Christopher Michael Conte is a former American football safety. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He played college football at California.
The 2013 Chicago Bears season was the franchise's 94th season in the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first year under head coach Marc Trestman after Lovie Smith was fired on December 31, 2012. The Bears played at Soldier Field for the 11th season since its reconstruction in 2001. For the sixth time in seven years since the Super Bowl XLI loss in 2006, they failed to qualify for the playoffs with an 8–8 record.
Jonathan Earl Bostic II is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida and was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Bostic has also been a member of the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Commanders, and New Orleans Saints.
Christian Jones is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played college football at Florida State, and also played for the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks.
The 2014 Chicago Bears season was the franchise's 95th season in the National Football League (NFL), as well as the second and final under head coach Marc Trestman. The Bears failed to qualify for the playoffs after being eliminated from contention in week fourteen, their fourth consecutive season without making the postseason.
The 2015 Chicago Bears season was the franchise's 96th season in the National Football League (NFL). After the firing of general manager Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman following the 2014 season, the team hired former New Orleans Saints director of player personnel Ryan Pace and Denver Broncos head coach John Fox to fill those positions, respectively. Fox's hiring marked the Bears' third head coach in four seasons.
Ryan Pace is an American sports executive in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the general manager of the Chicago Bears from 2015 to 2021. Before that, he worked in the New Orleans Saints' front office for 14 years.
Kwon Alexander is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at LSU. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Alexander has also played for the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.