After proving he was the answer to the Cubs' century-old question, could Theo Epstein be the answer for the Bears next?
"He's won three World Series," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "Yeah, he's ready for a Super Bowl."
Maddon, who won the historic World Series during a five-year run as Cubs manager under Epstein, was asked Friday about what Epstein might do next in his career after resigning as Cubs president last month.
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"Whatever he wants to do, whether it’s something within the baseball industry, whether he wants to be something in politics, if he wants to get into private-sector business wise — there isn’t anything he can’t do," Maddon said. "I believe that."
Wide-ranging media speculation of what could be next for Epstein included the possibility he could fix what's ailed the Bears for over a decade.
Maddon laughed a little at the Bears question, but seemed serious about his belief that Epstein would succeed in any walk — Bears and NFL included.
"DePodesta's broken the glass ceiling with that, right?" said Maddon, referring to Paul DePodesta, a former MLB executive who later became a Browns executive. "We’ve already had some crossover."
NFL
Epstein won two World Series during his nine-year run as Red Sox GM, including breaking the Curse of the Bambino in 2004. He took over as Cubs president in October 2011 and snapped their 108-year title drought in 2016.
"He could pretty much place himself in almost any situation and succeed at it," Maddon said. "His attention to detail, his ability to process and think things all the way through are incredibly different.
"He could literally do anything he wants, as long as the marriage is there, the match is made with whatever the organization may be. If he’s motivated to want to do it, he’ll kill it."