Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ overhaul of the staff at Halas Hall included dismissing one of the men who helped hire him: LaMar “Soup” Campbell, the vice president of player engagement.
The organization dismissed Campbell this week, a source said, ending a run with the Bears that began in 2015. He survived the transition from John Fox to Matt Nagy, but will not be around for the Matt Eberflus era.
Campbell, 45, played defensive back at Wisconsin and played for the Lions from 1998 through ’02 before pursuing post-playing careers in player development and business.
Bears chairman George McCaskey appointed Campbell to the hiring committee when the Bears began their search for a new general manager and coach in January, saying he trusted him to be the voice of players in the interview process. He supported Poles’ hiring, according to McCaskey, who called it a unanimous decision.
Nagy leaned on Campbell more than ever after the George Floyd murder in 2020 as the locker room processed the country’s uptick in racial tension.
“He does a really, really good job of understanding what these players are going through on a daily basis, not even just in 2020 but in prior years,” Nagy said at the time. “He builds unbelievably great relationships with him. They trust. They understand.
“He’s the conduit to making this thing go in times like this. We rely on him. We listen to Soup. We take advice from him, we balance it and then we put it all together. We wouldn’t be here without him.”
The Bears still listed Campbell in his former position on their website as of Friday evening.
