Bears name Phil Emery as GM

• Reprints

Phil Emery

Updated: January 28, 2012 2:35PM

The Bears turned to a familiar face in replacing longtime general manager Jerry Angelo.

The club announced Saturday that Phil Emery, who was an area scout from 1998 to 2004 for the Bears, has been named the team’s fifth general manager.

He’ll be introduced at a formal press conference at Halas Hall Monday at 2 p.m.

Emery and Jason Licht of the New England Patriots were the two finalists after three others were eliminated from contention. They were Marc Ross of the New York Giants, Tim Ruskell of the Bears and Jimmy Raye of the San Diego Chargers.

As the Sun-Times reported on Jan. 20, after Emery’s interview, he was widely viewed as the favorite by league sources. The following Monday, several outlets, in fact, reported that Emery was offered or landed the job, although that was premature.

Licht was interviewed a second time on Thursday followed by Emery on Friday.

Emery has a unique career path.

A native of Michigan, he started his career at his alma mater, Wayne State, as a student assistant. He then headed to several other schools, before landing at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was the director of strength and conditioning services and an associate professor.

He started his NFL career with the Bears, as an area scout by former general manager Mark Hatley. He was retained when Angelo took over in 2001.

In 2005, Ruskell – the assistant general manager of the Atlanta Falcons – hired him to be the team’s college scouting director.

When the Falcons hired Thomas Dimitroff, Emery was demoted, but he once again survived a change of leadership. Dimitroff, in fact, was so impressed with Emery’s professionalism that he recommended Emery to one of his closest friends in the business, Scott Pioli, when he became general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009.

Emery has been the Chiefs college scouting director ever since.

“He didn’t rock the boat,” Dimitroff told the Sun-Times Wednesday.

Pioli told the Sun-Times on Tuesday that Emery was ready to be a general manager.

“The things that stand out are his work ethic, his work habits, how detailed he is, how meticulous he is,” Pioli told the Sun-Times. “He’s a very good teacher, and he’s a very good listener.

“I think those things are valuable, in that position. I also feel that he’s a good evaluator of talent.”