"Well, it's the truth, John. Of course, there's a standard answer because it's what happened. I got a phone call out of nowhere from…, saying he was representing by Paul Allen, and in an effort they wanted to change the program, they wanted me to bring everything that I do and everything that I believe in to their club. And they wanted me do everything I could to support that happening. The way that the conversation started and their direction on how they envision changing was just perfectly in line with a great opportunity in the way I was thinking it would always have to be. I had kind of given up on the thought that the NFL thing was ever going to be a factor because I didn't see any organization making the statement that they would let you come in and do all the stuff that it takes I think. When they did and I did my homework on it, this is a tremendous following they have. It's a great Aaron Curry stadium atmosphere they have. This is the loudest stadium in the NFL. They've packed it in, and they haven't won any games. The fans are ready for it. The facilities are brand new. It's an extraordinary place. We have an experienced quarterback with the division that could be up for grabs with the quarterback leaving the Cardinals. That gave us an opening and on and on. All of the things I looked at just fit just right. Being a competitor, knowing that there was a chance to compete on this level with all of those elements in line, I couldn't have been more excited about it. So I couldn't turn it down. I made the shift, and it was a hard transition because I had so much fun at SC as you guys know. It was just an awesome time, and that transition of cutting the ties to go was really the most difficult."
"Well, we went through the thing for so many years. Honestly, knowing the truth and what the facts were, none of us could ever imagine that this could be taken to this level of severity in terms of the NCAA. I was caught off-guard by that stuff. It really wasn't on the top of my mind. If you can imagine, we did all the homework for this thing and the investigation and all the interviews happened years ago. So it wasn't even a factor in thinking about what was happening so that's the first thing. It's a difficult situation. When you put so much into something and you put so much pride into it and you accomplish so much and so many people were involved, you have to deal with it now. It's very difficult. What I've been doing is standing up for the school and standing up for the program and trying to get in this effort and it gives me an opportunity. I look at it differently than you might. It gives me an opportunity to tell people what the program was all about, what the background of it is and even the fact that the book itself is a statement about what we were trying to do, the standards that we set and Deion Branch expectations to do things better than it's ever been done before and everything we were doing, and that included the way our kids handled themselves on and off the field. It included compliance. It included academics and graduation rates and our wins and losses were all tied together with the same approach. So it looks like a difficult time, but this was the time we had scheduled. When I look at it, it's an opportunity to really send the message what we're all about."
The Bears have agreed to terms with free agent Mike Teel on a contract, and he is expected to sign his contract on Wednesday, a league source confirmed. The Bergen Record first reported the news.
They become his third team in two months as Teel was released by the new Seattle Seahawks jerseys on May 21 and then claimed off waivers by the New England Patriots jerseys. They cut the Rutgers product three weeks ago.
The move has the fingerprints of new personnel director Tim Ruskell on it. Ruskell was the general manager in Seattle when the Seahawks drafted Teel in the sixth round in 2009. Teel spent last season on the Seahawks' roster as the third quarterback but did not play. In the preseason, he completed 20-of-41 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns. As a senior at Rutgers in 2008, Teel passed for 3,418 yards with 25 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
The 6-3, 230-pounder joins a crowded group behind starting Matt Hasselbeck QB Jay Cutler. Caleb Hanie served as the backup last season and is entering his third year. The Bears drafted Central Michigan record setter Dan LeFevour in the sixth round.
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