Former Bears center Olin Kreutz took to the airwaves to defend himself against team chairman George McCaskey’s accusation that Kreutz essentially lied when he said last week that the Bears offered him $15 an hour to be a player consultant in 2018.
“If that man woulda said that to my face, we woulda had a problem,” Kreutz said Monday on 670 The Score.
During the news conference to announce the firing of general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy, McCaskey was asked about the story Kreutz shared Friday on The Score. His response about the well-respected former Bears captain raised eyebrows.
“I’ve learned over the years to take just about anything that Olin says with a grain of salt,” McCaskey said. “And I look forward to hearing that story again and hope he includes it in his Hall of Fame induction speech.”
Asked if he was saying the story isn’t true, McCaskey replied, “That's the way it is sometimes with Olin. You don’t get the whole story. Olin knows what the story is.”
Kreutz first responded with a tweet: “Unreal but i can’t say I’m shocked is my response Haven’t talk to George since i left Halas but he knows me well . Crazy response by him”
Later, he went on 670-AM for an emotional and revealing visit. Kreutz said he checked his story’s veracity with former Bears offensive line coach Harry Heistand, who made Kreutz the job offer, and Pace, who knew of it. Kreutz suggested McCaskey should have done the same.
“Guys who are leaders, who are in charge, guys who are worried about their character, they call people and actually talk to them,” Kreutz said. “What George McCaskey should have said was, ‘Maybe I need to talk to Harry and Ryan about what happened with Olin. Maybe this was a misunderstanding,’ if he had any respect for me.
“I have respect for the organization. So what I do, I call people who are a part of the story instead of calling somebody who spent that long in your building, played through injuries for you, who spent that much time trying to win football games for you, who not only is a father of six who coaches kids in football, who now is 44 years old, who you haven’t seen in 11 years, instead of calling the guy a liar and everything I say you take with a grain of salt, if that man woulda said that to my face, we woulda had a problem.”
Kreutz said Pace told him “a little different version” of the story. The now-former Bears GM said the $15 hourly wage was the standard offer made to those who help in training camp.
“All George had to do was look at the story and say, ‘There’s our side and there’s Olin's side and there’s a misunderstanding here somewhere, and maybe we’ll talk to Olin about it one day,” Kreutz said. “The people in that building do have my number. Instead, he went out there and said that about me.
“I see it this way: If a guy like George McCaskey doesn’t like me, that is a win for me.”
