The old story about the Bears hiring a football consultant – this time Bill Polian – that broke anew last Sunday morning as the Bears prepared to play the Detroit Lions in Detroit is puzzling on a number of fronts.

Much like when it broke five or six weeks ago with a slightly different spin, the Bears insist it isn’t true.

Regardless, with the city now all abuzz, the story isn’t going away even though we will never really know the truth until the Bears either hire someone or continue into next season under their current structure.

But in the meantime, there are several things that are troubling about the report.

First, if in fact the Bears are looking to hire someone to tell them for sure whether or not their current employees know what they’re doing and whether or not they’re getting it done, it is a tacit admission they are incapable of knowing for themselves.

Again, I am told this is not the case.

But if it is, clearly the only reasonable move is to get out of the business.

Why would anyone ever attempt to operate a multi-billion dollar business they know nothing about?

The choice would then be to ruin it or get filthy rich getting out of it.

Or, if they don’t believe they can run it successfully (which is not a fact currently in evidence) but they can’t or don’t want to give up the family business, sell the majority 51 percent control to someone who is qualified to run it, get filthy rich on about $1.2 billion instead of $1.8 billion, and keep the other 26 percent as a really nice, expensive toy.

There is no shame in that, and it isn’t selling out the family legacy if the McCaskeys believe they can’t run it successfully themselves.

Secondly, if you’re not capable of knowing whether or not you have the right people working for you and whether or not they’re doing the job correctly, what would make you capable of hiring the right person to tell you whether or not your other folks are any good?

It makes no sense.

When Ernie Accorsi – a man with identical if not quite as voluminous credentials as Bill Polian – was brought in to oversee the hiring of Ryan Pace and John Fox, we were told Pace was the right guy and he would have complete control over the football operations.

There is a much more logical option for George McCaskey than now seeking out someone else who might be better at his job than he is.

Step to the table and reaffirm as loudly and clearly as you can that Pace is your guy and give him a chance to finish the job he’s started.

Rebuilding the mess left behind by Phil Emery and Marc Trestman was always going to be a minimum three-year job. The Bears were never going to be good this year with Pace, Bill Polian or George Halas himself.

Injuries and suspensions have just made it worse.

What exactly has Pace done wrong so far that he suddenly needs a handler?

I am honestly not at all convinced the Bears' glass isn’t half full.

The McCaskeys’ best bet right now is to see if their people make the obvious adjustments they need to on the coaching staff, and then if their third truckload of new talent is enough to allow them to at least compete.

If at the end of Year 3 they haven’t at least turned a corner, then you clean house and start over. You don’t bring in someone you hope will be good to oversee the guys you fear might be bad.

The only question that really needs to be answered right now is, does Pace in fact have complete control of the football operation?

If he does, I like most of what we’ve seen. If he doesn’t, it’s ownership’s fault as much as his if Pace fails.