Bears chairman George McCaskey takes shot at Joe Buck out of the blue
Football commentator Joe Buck caught strays from Bears chairman George McCaskey on an unrelated topic about Tom Brady. The former quarterback headlines FOX's coverage and was the analyst for the divisional round game between the Lions and the Commanders.
Tom Brady is also a minority owner with the Raiders and is involved in the process of selecting a new head coach and general manager. At the time of the broadcast, Ben Johnson was still the offensive coordinator for Detroit and was a candidate for the Las Vegas job.
Some found that it might be a conflict of interest since FOX's team would have met with the coaches and the teams before the game and it could have influenced Ben Johnson's decision. As it turns out, nothing like that happened since the former Detroit coordinator took the Bears' head coaching job right after the Lions were eliminated.
Nonetheless, George McCaskey was asked if he had any trepidation watching a rival owner announce a game from a broadcast booth while their top head coaching target was down on the sidelines. The Chicago chairman instead replied with a zinger about Joe Buck, saying,
"I don’t care who they put on. When Joe Buck’s on, I turn the sound down."
Chris Russo blasted George McCaskey's Bears using Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
While it is unsure what Joe Buck has done to be singled out by George McCaskey, Chris Russo has previously used his name to slam the Bears. Back in 2023, Minnesota played Chicago in a drab game that Buck and Troy Aikman were commentating on. "Mad Dog" said:
“Did anybody see Buck and Aikman?.. Did you see Buck and Aikman with that Bear-Viking game? I think we’ve all seen enough of the Bears. Last year they lost their last ten games. And I understand they got a lot of mouths to feed with the NFL schedule makers, but who in their right mind – in May – decided to put the Bears on in 2023, FIVE TIMES ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!”
He continued by saying that the Bears' 1985 Super Bowl was a long time ago and emphasized that of all the people who do not watch the Chicago play in primetime, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are top of that list.
George McCaskey has not fired back at Russo for his comments but he certainly made sure to say that he is not sold on Buck, even though the question was on a different matter.