# 1999 Chicago Bears season

The 1999 season was the Chicago Bears' 80th in the National Football League (NFL). On January 24, Dick Jauron was named head coach. The team improved on their 4–12 from 1998, finishing with a 6–10 under Jauron, who replaced Dave Wannstedt.
Quarterbacks Shane Matthews (1,645), Cade McNown (1,465) and Jim Miller (1,242) combined for 4,352 passing yards during the season, the most in franchise history.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| T Blake Brockermeyer (Panthers) | QB Erik Kramer (Chargers) |
| DT Shane Burton (Dolphins) | T Andy Heck (Redskins) |
| S Chris Hudson (Jaguars) | |
| QB Shane Matthews (Panthers) | |

### Organizational changes

Head coach Dave Wannstedt was fired after the 1998 season, forcing the Bears to hire their second head coach in ten years. The candidates included offensive coordinators Sherman Lewis of the Green Bay Packers and Joe Pendry of the Buffalo Bills, defensive coordinators Dave McGinnis (Arizona Cardinals), Dick Jauron (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Gunther Cunningham (Kansas City Chiefs), while DC Jim Haslett (Pittsburgh Steelers) was interviewed. Minnesota Vikings OC Brian Billick and New York Jets DC Bill Belichick were also allowed to be interviewed by the team. McGinnis was considered the favorite, and was interviewed last; he would be approached by Bears president Michael McCaskey for contractual terms, with McGinnis stating he "needed some time and he would think about it." However, the next day, McCaskey scheduled a press conference to announce McGinnis as the head coach, despite not having been officially hired. As a result, the conference was canceled, and Jauron would instead be hired, while McCaskey would be replaced by Ted Phillips.

### 1999 expansion draft

Bears selected during the expansion draft :
| Pick | Name | Position | Expansion team |
| 15 | Marlon Forbes | Safety | Cleveland Browns |

### NFL draft

1999 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 12 | Cade McNown | Quarterback | UCLA |
| 2 | 48 | Russell Davis | Defensive tackle | North Carolina |
| 3 | 66 | Rex Tucker | Guard | Texas A&M |
| 3 | 71 | D'Wayne Bates | Wide receiver | Northwestern |
| 3 | 78 | Marty Booker * | Wide receiver | Northeast Louisiana |
| 4 | 106 | Warrick Holdman | Linebacker | Texas A&M |
| 4 | 111 | Rosevelt Colvin | Linebacker | Purdue |
| 5 | 143 | Jerry Wisne | Offensive tackle | Notre Dame |
| 5 | 144 | Khari Samuel | Linebacker | Massachusetts |
| 5 | 147 | Jerry Azumah * | Running back | New Hampshire |
| 6 | 184 | Rashard Cook | Defensive back | USC |
| 7 | 221 | Sulecio Sanford | Wide receiver | Middle Tennessee State |
| 7 | 253 | Jim Finn | Fullback | Pennsylvania |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1999 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Marlon Chambers | Tight end | Louisiana Tech |
| Derrick Spiller | Tight end | Texas A&M |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–17 | 1–0 | 58,381 |
| 2 | September 19 | Seattle Seahawks | L 13–14 | 1–1 | 66,944 |
| 3 | September 26 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–24 | 1–2 | 50,458 |
| 4 | October 3 | New Orleans Saints | W 14–10 | 2–2 | 66,944 |
| 5 | October 10 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 24–22 | 3–2 | 64,107 |
| 6 | October 17 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 16–20 | 3–3 | 66,944 |
| 7 | October 24 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 3–6 | 3–4 | 65,283 |
| 8 | October 31 | at Washington Redskins | L 22–48 | 3–5 | 77,621 |
| 9 | November 7 | at Green Bay Packers | W 14–13 | 4–5 | 59,867 |
| 10 | November 14 | Minnesota Vikings | L 24–27 | 4–6 | 61,481 |
| 11 | November 21 | at San Diego Chargers | W 23–20 | 5–6 | 56,055 |
| 12 | November 25 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–21 | 5–7 | 77,905 |
| 13 | December 5 | Green Bay Packers | L 19–35 | 5–8 | 66,944 |
| 14 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 15 | December 19 | Detroit Lions | W 28–10 | 6–8 | 50,256 |
| 16 | December 26 | at St. Louis Rams | L 12–34 | 6–9 | 65,941 |
| 17 | January 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 6–20 | 6–10 | 66,945 |

## Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 270 | 235 | W2 |
| $^{(4)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 399 | 335 | W3 |
| $^{(6)}$ Detroit Lions | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 322 | 323 | L4 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 357 | 341 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 272 | 341 | L2 |