The Chicago Bears have been connected to a couple of notable deaths this week. On Thursday, reports surfaced that owner Virginia McCaskey died at 102.
McCaskey had the title of principal owner since 1983. One of the head coaches during her tenure died this week.
Dick Jauron died at 74
Per Brad Biggs with the Chicago Tribune, Dick Jauron died at 74.
“Dick Jauron, a Peoria native and the head coach of the Bears from 1999 through 2003, has passed away. He was 74. The NFL’s Coach of the Year in 2001, he also was a HC for the Bills,” Biggs posted on X. “Jauron played safety in the league and was a legend at Yale.”
Jauron was a three-time first-team All-Ivy League athlete at Yale before the Detroit Lions selected him with the No. 91 pick in the 1973 draft. He played with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1978-1980.
Jauron had one successful season with the Chicago Bears
Jauron started his coaching career as a defensive backs coach with the Buffalo Bills in 1985. He became the Bears head coach in 1999. He earned the NFL’s Coach of the Year award in 2021, as Chicago went 13-3, winning the NFC Central but would lose 33-19 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round.
The Bears fired Jauron after 2003. He went 35-45 during his five seasons in Chicago. Jauron spent time as the defensive coordinator and interim coach of the Detroit Lions before taking the Buffalo Bills head coaching job in 2006. He went 24-33 with the Bills and was fired during the 2009 season.
Jauron went 60-82 (0-1 in the postseason) as a head coach in the league. He finished his NFL coaching career as a defensive coordinator for the Browns from 2011-2012.
