PALM BEACH, Fla. — Bears principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey died on Feb. 6 at 102 years old. She was mourned by many in the NFL community and beyond for her good works and charitable endeavors.

Bears chairman felt that during this week’s NFL annual meeting, when so many offered condolences and stories about her tremendous impact.

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“It’s been very gratifying to see the support from our friends around the league,” McCaskey said in a meeting with Chicago reporters on Wednesday at the NFL annual meeting. “People have been very gracious in their comments, and it’s very much appreciated by the family.” 

While Virginia’s loss was felt by many, it didn’t change long-term plans for the Bears. The storied NFL franchise will remain with the family. McCaskey stated that fact was stated without question or condition.

“We’ve said for many years that we intend to own the Bears for as long as possible,” McCaskey said. “Another 100 years would be great. She set it up for us to accomplish that. She gave us the playbook. She coached us up. Now we’ve gotta execute the plan, and we’re prepared to do that. We’ve got to stick together.”

That was the crux of Virginia’s edict. Don’t sell. Stick together.

The McCaskeys have vowed to do exactly that. George McCaskey will remain the Bears chairman as his mother wanted. All teams must submit succession plans for approval by the NFL, but theirs remains largely unchanged.

There is no change to the ownership structure.

“There shouldn’t be,” McCaskey said. “Like I said, she set it up for a smooth transition, and it’s a credit to her. In law school, I heard stories about people who just couldn’t contemplate their mortality, and as a result, it caused a lot of confusion and problems for the family. She had the foresight to set it up, so we don’t have that problem.”

George McCaskey understands that he’s now in charge of shepherding this franchise into the future. He has long been clear about the fact he’ll leave football decisions to the football people, and has charged president Kevin Warren to build a new Bears stadium either in Chicago or Arlington Heights.

Don’t take that fact to imply he’s not involved in important decisions, or that he isn’t striving to make the franchise better. The Bears have been in the Halas-McCaskey family since their inception more than a century ago, and he wants to help usher an era of great progress for the franchise on the field and off.

“George Halas was an innovator,” McCaskey said. “I think that’s one of the biggest elements of his legacy. We want to be striving to improve all the time, to move the franchise forward, to bring championships to Chicago. We want to celebrate our history and strike that balance between what’s an appropriate recognition of what’s been accomplished before and striving for excellence in the future.”

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