There is no way Dave Wannstedt could have known that he was about to say the words that will forever be linked with his Chicago tenure when he spoke to the Chicago Tribune's Don Pierson in early April 1996. The Bears were readying for the draft, and had just closed the books on a successful free-agent signing period. That February, the Bears had nabbed Bryan Cox-the most coveted free agent on the market-and made him the highest paid Bear in history.

When Pierson asked Wannstedt to give his thoughts on the season, Wannstedt told Pierson he finally felt the Bears were ready to challenge for a Super Bowl title, in 1996. "All the pieces are in place," Wannstedt said.

The season began with the Bears knocking off the NFL's reigning champions on a Monday night, and virtually ended within weeks after a 2-5 start. 1996 was not Wannstedt's worst season with the Bears, but it was the beginning of the end.

Dissapointment followed the 1995 season, when the Bears missed the playoffs due to an improbable Atlanta Falcons upset of the San Francisco 49ers. But there was plenty of hope. The '95 Bears offense was statistically one of the best 5 in the team's 77-year history, and there were building blocks in place on the defense. But the defenders had obvious holes to fill, and that is precisely where the organization focused prior to the '96 season.

For starters, the Bears matched a four-year, $12 million offer the Jacksonville Jaguars made to free agent defensive end Alonzo Spellman, retaining the player with enormous talent but also the propensity to disappear for games on end. Wannstedt and his staff bet their money that Spellman would work out his issues and continue to improve. They bet so much on Spellman that the team could not afford to make an offer on free agent wide receiver Jeff Graham, who departed the Bears to sign with the New York Jets.

The other defensive addition to pair with the re-signed Spellman was the biggest free agent signing in the league that year. The Bears' organization had carefully traded the free agent waters since its advent in 1993, watching other teams get into salary cap trouble by giving too much money to players that provided no return on investment. Wannstedt and his personnel staff publicly commented continually that once every other part of the team's talent was at a high enough level, the Bears would then make a major splash if that was what it was going to take to challege for a Super Bowl run.

Just days into the March '96 free agent signing period, the Bears did just that by inking mercurial Miami Dolphin free agent linebacker Bryan Cox on a four year, $13.2 million contract. Cox was penciled in as the team's starting middle linebacker, but would be a key component on passing downs when he would slide to right defensive end to rush the quarterback. Cox cancelled planned trips to St. Louis and Green Bay when he signed with the Bears, and explained at his introductory news conference that he would wear jersey number 52, as he was sure he'd be the next in line of great Bears linebackers. Mike Singletary (50), Dick Butkus (51), Bryan Cox (52).

The Bears' offensive success the previous season led to a run on their own free agents for the first time, as the team lost offensive linemen Jay Leeuwenburg and Troy Auzenne to the Indianapolis Colts. Backup quarterback Steve Walsh, hero of the 1994 team, signed with the St. Louis Rams. Receiver Curtis Conway signed a four year $10 million extension, and veteran tackle James "Big Cat" Williams inked an extension as well. On special teams, Wannstedt made the first real threat to veteran kicker Kevin Butler's employment by bringing in CFL player Carlos Huerta for competition, and in the return game it was hoped that '95 draftee Jack Jackson would bolster the team's performance. Some had called the fourth-round pick the steal of the 1995 draft after Jackson was selected in the fourth round.

It was thought that the Bears would lose veteran linchpin center Jerry Fontenot to another club, so they signed Arizona's Ed Cunningham to be their new starter. In the end, Fontenot signed a one-year deal with the Bears, and Cunningham was released.

Experts were certain the Bears would go on the defensive in the '96 draft and they did indeed, but not without first going on the offensive. The Bears traded their third and sixth-round picks to the Rams and moved from the 18th to 13th position to take Mississippi State corner Walt Harris in the first round. The Bears had been burned plenty on third-and-long the previous season, so corner was a logical choice. Soon Harris would be peddling shirts that stated "2/3 of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Walt Harris." Right.

In the second round of the draft the Bears selected Penn State receiver Bobby Engram to replace Graham, and in the fourth took defensive tackle Paul Grasmanis. The fifth-round pick was guard/center Chris Villarrial from Indiana of Pennsylvania. Their last pick, running back Michael Hicks from South Carolina State, would stick for part of the season and get a few carries.

Through the rest of the offseason and training camp, the Bears focused on their main goal: Wannstedt's first meeting with his former team the Dallas Cowboys, reigning NFL Champions and due into Soldier Field for the first Monday Night Football game of the season. News through the preseason focused on this matchup, although the Bears opening Carolina's new stadium and a season-ending injury to Chris Zorich also made headlines. In the Bears' final preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field, starting running back Rashaan Salaam injured his knee, and the heavens opened up with a deluge of rain and massive bolts of lightning striking perilously close to the stadium. The NFL officials called the game before its conclusion for safety of the fans. Then Wannstedt would rock Chicago himself the day after the game.

In perhaps Wannstedt's first move that would not endear him to Bears fans in his career, on August 23rd the coach/personnel boss released the final 1985 Bear, Butler, in favor of Huerta, the newcomer from the Canadian league. "The easy thing to do is to say yeah, we're OK. Sometimes to get ahead you don't make the easy decision," Wannstedt said. Going with Huerta over Butler was the right thing to do, Wannstedt thought, and time would tell. Butler hit the talk shows to discuss how he felt it was a money decision made as early as 1995, and fans mourned the loss of the last link to their most recent championship.

The new kicker and his Bears played to the potential Wannstedt thought they had in the opener against the Cowboys. Huerta converted on 3 of 4 field goal attempts while his team shocked the defending champion Cowboys 22-6 on national television. While the Bear offense didn't seem to resemble the 1995 version--the unit was generally out of synch and ineffective--the rest of the team picked up the slack. Cornerback Kevin Minifield sacked Troy Aikman and forced a fumble that Cox recovered for a touchdown, the Bears converted a fake punt, and starting running back Raymont Harris caught a bomb from Curtis Conway for a touchdown, keying the win. The rookie Harris shut down Deion Sanders, who was playing receiver in addition to defense, and the Cowboys and their large contingent of road fans were quieted. For one week at least, the Bears were backing up their coach's bold prediction.

After knocking off the champions, the Bears traveled to Washington to play the Redskins, a team that would finish 9-7 this season and miss the playoffs. The Bears' offense again looked punchless in the nation's captial, and Chicago lost 10-3 in a meeting of the Turner brothers (Bear offensive coordinator Ron and Redskin head coach Norv). Bear running back Robert Green rushed for 107 yards, but Huerta missed his lone field goal try and Erik Kramer couldn't get the ball into the endzone from inside the 20 on the Bears' final posession.

In week 3, the Bears lost to Minnesota at home to go 1-2, and Huerta was released after beginning the season 4/7 on field goal attempts (Kevin Butler hit his first 16 in 1995). Instead of taking another look at Butler, the Bears signed veteran Jeff Jaeger for the season's fourth game. Butler was livid with the decision, saying "it's deceitfulness, the difference between Wannstedt and Mike Ditka. Dave doesn't know how to tell the truth. He likes to beat around the bush and comes up with all these intangibles, like age." Wannstedt countered that "we gotta do what we gotta do. You make a decision, and if it doesn't work out and you keep your mistake, then you're making two mistakes." The change in kicker didn't affect the score of the next game, as the Bears were blasted 35-16 in Detroit. While Kramer did hook up with Conway on a long touchdown, the offense was still looking like a completely different unit from 1995, and Chicago's record was 1-3.

Following the Detroit loss it was announced that Kramer was suffering from a herniated disc in his neck, a potentially career-threatening injury, and the quarterback was shelved "temporarily". The injury did end up costing Kramer the season, he would not play again in 1996, but with the way the offense had performed behind him in the season's first 5 weeks, it could not be concluded that Kramer's loss would be the reason for a poor finish. Kramer's replacement would be 17-year veteran Dave Krieg who had been signed to replace Walsh. Krieg and Jaeger would team up to stun the Oakland Raiders in a 19-17 upset in the season's fifth game, but a season turnaround it was not.

Considering 1996 was the season Wannstedt had predicted the Bears would challenge for a Super Bowl title, things got real interesting from there. In week six, the Bears hosted the Green Bay Packers, whom they had not defeated in almost three years. The Packers seemed to be the team that was rolling toward the title game, and they thoroughly beat Chicago 37-6. After the game, Cox unleashed a tirade against his teammates to curious reporters. "We've got to get some damned heart!" Cox declared. "Some of our guys need to go see the wizard because we don't have a lot of heart. If people aren't doing their jobs, let's get their asses out of here and get some people who want to play," he declared. After the Packer game, Cox also committed the first of his many fineable offenses with the NFL when he "verbally abused" an official. He and his attorney announced that he would be fighting the $87.500 penalty levied by the league.

The losing continued the following week in New Orleans, when the Bear defense was overrun by an average Saints running game. The team entered its bye week 2-5.

The second half of the 1996 season didn't contain enough highlights to write extensively about. Chicago did at least finish the final nine weeks of the season with a 5-4 record, but also ended the year on a sour note, losing in Tampa to an improving Buccaneer team 24-19.

What did Dave Wannstedt, the organization and Bears fans learn from the 1996 season? Clearly, all the pieces were not in place. Granted, the season was somewhat derailed by injuries, as many key positions were decimated by the end of the season. Some younger players began to emerge, such as guard Villarrial, quarterback Shane Matthews who showed a flash in the finale (but would not return in 1997) and rookies Harris and Engram.

But instead of January 1997 being filled with a playoff run, Wannstedt and his associates again buckled down to assess the damage, both physical and mental, from another losing campaign.

Quote of the Year: "I like our team.  It's going to come together in a big way.  We will get over the hump.  All the pieces are in place." Dave Wannstedt, speaking to the Chicago Tribune's Don Pierson in an April 4, 1996 article.

1996 Records: Preseason 1-3, Regular Season 7-9

1996 NFL Rankings: Offense 21st Overall, 16th Rush, 19th Pass; Defense 12th Overall, 11th Rush, 14th Pass

1996 Coaches: Dave Wannstedt, Head Coach; Bob Slowik, Defensive Coordinator; Ron Turner, Offensive Coordinator

Excerpts from the April 4, 1996 Don Pierson article on Wannstedt's 1996 Bears:

After four years of building, this is the team coach Dave Wannstedt has assembled to make a Super Bowl run. This season. "All the pieces are in place," Wannstedt said.

If it is not exactly the team of his dreams, it is the team of his schemesin a salary cap era that limits possibilities. Call it downsizing, NFL style. Free agency and the cap offer smaller windows of opportunity. You simply can't have everything you want. You can't wait long for things to develop. That's all right with Wannstedt, who thinks this group is ready now.

"I like our team. It's going to come together in a big way," he said.

If the Bears don't get to the Super Bowl this year, they could be rebuilding again with a new quarterback, a new cornerback, new linebackers, new kickers.

Walter Payton played 10 years before the Bears put together the final pieces of a championship team. The same deliberate, patient building process is not possible for Rashaan Salaam, destined in the current system to play with all kinds of different players and maybe different teams, hoping to hit on a winner. Has Wannstedt built one?

"I look at our team and I really see potential," Wannstedt said. "I see potential in Raymont Harris, Rashaan Salaam, Curtis Conway, Chris Gedney, John Thierry, Todd Sauerbrun. We know what Erik Kramer is. We hope he can play this year like he did last year. We hope Michael Timpson can play like he did in New England. Established guys like Andy Heck, what you see is what you get. But we've got a lot of guys that potentially should be better.

There are millionaires at receiver, offensive line, quarterback, defensive line, linebacker, and secondary--every unit but one, running back. Salaam is close with a cap number of $910,000. He is also eager to prove himself. When the Bears started their offseason conditioning program March 18, Salaam came through the door at 7:20 a.m. [BH note-did he want to get home early in the morning to burn one?] Only one player was already there, kicker Kevin Butler, oldest member of the team and lone holdover from the 1985 champions.

For the first time since the advent of free agency in the NFL, the Chicago Bears signed the most coveted free agent available on the market in Miami linebacker Bryan Cox. The four year $13 million contract surpassed Jim Harbaugh's 1993 deal as the highest salary ever paid to a Chicago Bear. Also re-signed to major contracts were WR Curtis Conway, OT James Williams and DE Alonzo Spellman. Spellman had been named the Bears' transition free agent prior to the open signing period, guaranteeing him a salary in the top 10 of defensive ends and giving the Bears the right to match any new offer he received. Spellman signed a take-it-or-leave-it deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Bears had one week to match. The day before signing Cox, the Bears decided to match Jacksonville's four year $12 million offer. It didn't take long for the clock to begin ticking on Spellman's attitude, however. The contract the Bears matched contained a provision for annual $100,000 payments for Spellman's charity promoting diversity awareness, and the Bears organization refused to match that term. This would be the first crack in what would become a break between Chicago and Spellman. For virtually the first time, other teams came calling on the Bears' own free agents in 1996. The team lost receiver Jeff Graham, offensive linemen Jay Leeuwenburg and Troy Auzenne, quarterback Steve Walsh and linebacker Ron Cox to other clubs. It was thought the Bears would also lose center Jerry Fontenot, and they signed free agent Ed Cunningham from Arizona as his replacement, but Fontenot eventually re-signed with the Bears for a year and Cunningham was released. To replace Walsh at backup quarterback, Chicago signed 17-year veteran Dave Krieg from the Cardinals, never expecting to use him at the position, of course. Speaking of Spellman and Cox, the former had been moved to left defensive end in 1995, and part of Spellman's demand to the team he signed with was that he be moved back to the more pass-rush centric right side. After signing Cox, the Bears agreed to play Spellman again on the right side, then slide him into right tackle when Cox played right end on passing downs. In the season opener, on Monday Night Football against the world champion Dallas Cowboys, the Bears pasted the visitors 22-6 without putting up much of an offensive fight. One touchdown was scored on a gadget pass by Curtis Conway, the other when Cox recovered a Troy Aikman fumble in the end zone. Resurgent punter Todd Sauerbrun even chipped in on a fake punt pass to Raymont Harris. After the game, Spellman delcared "there's a new sheriff in town." A war of words erupted in the second week of the season between outspoken punter Todd Saurebrun and Redskin kick returner Brian Mitchell. Sauerbrun mostly quieted Mitchell, but the Bears lost the game. Bears coach Dave Wannstedt made his first highly controversial decision when he cut kicker Kevin Butler prior to the season. Wannstedt went with kicker Carlos Huerta, citing Butler's unreliability down the stretch in 1995. Butler claimed it was solely due to money. Huerta was himself released after three games and replaced by Oakland Raider veteran Jeff Jaeger. Jaeger had himself just been cut by Oakland and replaced by Cole Ford in a salary cap move. Ford would later find himself in legal trouble for firing a gun at the home of performers Seigfried & Roy. The '96 Bears looked horrible on October 6th and 13th, losing to Green Bay and New Orleans in ugly losses. Following the bye week, they came back to upset the Vikings in Minnesota and beat Tampa at home. The outspoken Cox ranted at the media following the Packer game, then broke his hand against the Vikings. He announced that he would forego surgery on the hand for one more week, then miss the rest of the season, and the Bears beat the Buccaneers 13-10 with a strong defensive performance. Cox would finish his first of two seasons with the Bears with 99 tackles, 3 sacks and 3 fumble recoveries. Quarterback Erik Kramer, who had performed shakily to begin with in the season's first four weeks, was lost for the remainder of the season with a herniated disc in his neck. Wannstedt would later call it a "broken neck." This began a season of follies for Bear quarterbacks. Following Kramer's injury, former Bear Shane Matthews was re-signed. In the waning moments of the loss to Green Bay on October 6th, second-year player Steve Stenstrom took seven snaps, but broke his foot on the first, and was lost for the season. The Bears then signed Mark Butterfield as the third stringer. In the final game of the season, a 34-19 demoralizing loss at Tampa, Matthews got his first live snaps as a Bear and went 13/17 for 158 yards and a touchdown. But he would not be back in 1997. The quarterback situation led to flirtations with Seattle's Rick Mirer just before the trade deadline in October. It was reported at the time that the Bears had offered a second-round pick and a package of players to acquire Mirer, but Seattle rejected the offer. Good thing for them they waited. The '96 Bears featured three different running backs that started games and rushed for 100 yards in a contest: Robert Green, Raymont Harris, and Rashaan Salaam. Harris led the team with 748 yards in his third campaign. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner announced on December 2 that he was leaving the Bears to become Head Coach at the University of Illinois. Turner did finish the regular season with the Bears. In addition to losing Kramer for the season, DT Chris Zorich missed the entire season with a knee injury, the tight end position was a revolving door, and Spellman played part of the season with a massive club wrapped around his hand. DT Jim Flanigan ruptured his achilles tendon in the season finale. 1995's first second-round pick, DL Patrick Riley, lasted just one season in Chicago. He was traded to Atlanta during training camp but cut with no compensation to the Bears after he failed his physical.

Let's just cut to the chase. The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1967 season.