Remembering Jerry Vainisi, GM of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Bears
David Schmidt
Published Apr 07, 2026
The only general manager in Bears history to put his fingerprints on a Lombardi Trophy had a cardiologist appointment this week.
He never made it.
While dining with a friend at an Oak Park, Ill., restaurant Tuesday, Jerry Vainisi had a heart attack and died. He was 80.
He is remembered as many things, including the general manager the Bears should never have fired.
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“He probably had as much to do with the ’85 team as anyone,” former Bears coach Mike Ditka said.
If ever someone was destined to help lead the Bears to a Super Bowl, it was Jerome Robert Vainisi.
He grew up on the North Side of Chicago, about four miles from where the Bears played and practiced at Wrigley Field. His parents, Anthony and Marie Vainisi, ran a grocery store where the family’s American dream began.
Jerry started delivering bags of bread and bottles of milk after school as a 9-year-old and learned life lessons that would serve him as a general manager and man.
“He learned to value family, education, hard work and loyalty to your clan,” his eldest child, Mary Rogers, said.
A number of Bears players lived in apartments in a building across the street and shopped at the store. Marie ran the cash register and befriended many of them, inviting them for family dinners. Single players sometimes spent holidays at the Vainisis. Among the Bears who enjoyed Italian meals at the Vainisis were Hall of Famers George Musso and Danny Fortmann.
Another Bears player who sat at their table was Gene Ronzani, later the head coach of the Packers. Ronzani’s most significant contribution to the Packers was hiring Jerry’s brother Jack Vainisi as a scout in 1950. Without Jack, the Lombardi dynasty probably never would have happened.
In 1959, Jack pushed for the team to hire Vince Lombardi as head coach, and Lombardi told members of the Packers’ board of directors that Jack’s presence was one of the reasons he accepted the job. By then, Jack had already been responsible for drafting Hall of Famers Bobby Dillon, Jim Ringo, Forrest Gregg, Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke and Jerry Kramer. He later helped the team acquire Hall of Famers Willie Wood, Willie Davis and Henry Jordan.
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Jerry, 15 years younger than Jack, roomed with his brother during training camps and served as a Packers ball boy. Gregg, one of the most dominant offensive tackles in NFL history, took Jerry for his first beer.
In November of 1960, Jack died of a heart attack at 33. Jerry was 19, and by then, he wanted to be like his big brother.
“I somehow hoped that God would bless me and get me a job in pro football,” Jerry once said.
Vainisi earned a degree in accounting from Georgetown University and another in law from Kent College. He was working as an accountant for Arthur Anderson & Co. when Lombardi sent a letter to NFL executives around the league with a recommendation: hire Jerry.
Bears president Mugs Halas, who went to grammar school with Jack, brought Jerry to the NFL as the Bears’ treasurer and in-house counsel. At the time, Vainisi had a golden retriever named Packer.
After 11 years, George Halas — Mugs’ father — named Vainisi general manager. Vainisi was 41 years old. It should not be glossed over that he was appointed by Papa Bear himself.
“He was hired by Mr. Halas, and I was hired by Mr. Halas,” Ditka said. “There was a reason for that. We tried to do what was best for the Bears.”
Carrying the hopes and dreams of Anthony, Marie and Jack, Vainisi became known as one of the most respected executives in the National Football League. He was a negotiator whom other negotiators consulted.
But contract talks didn’t always unfold the way he hoped.
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After the Bears selected quarterback Jim McMahon with the fifth pick of the 1982 draft, McMahon and his agent Jerry Argovitz were not pleased with the Bears’ offer. In July before training camp, McMahon flew to Chicago so he and Argovitz could meet with George Halas in his office at 55 East Jackson. Vainisi was dispatched to pick up McMahon at the airport, but McMahon refused the ride and took a cab instead.
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Vainisi once recounted what happened next.
“McMahon comes in, two beers, sunglasses, with Argovitz and (a) family friend,” he said. “We bring them into the old man’s office just to introduce them. The old man said, ‘Jim, you only have one eye, so we feel we’re entitled to a discount.’ It was like the air went out of a balloon for us. It went downhill from there.”
Vainisi had an ace in his pocket, however. He knew Argovitz liked to make a splash, so Vainisi appealed to his sense of drama.
“At about 8:45 (p.m.), I said, ‘If we are going to get this done in time for the 10:00 news, we have to move soon,’” Vainisi said. “After that, it was like the parting of the sea. Argovitz came to the table and we got a deal done right away. He went out to the lobby and started doing interviews.”
Rogers remembers Walter Payton stopping by their house to talk to her father on multiple occasions. Offensive tackle Bob Asher came by for dinner.
“My dad was a welcoming guy and truly generous in a lot of ways,” Rogers said.
Vainisi understood the art of the deal, but he could hold a hard line, too. In 1985, he refused to bend to the demands of defensive players Todd Bell and Al Harris, and both sat out the entire season. The Bears could get away with their absences partly because they had capable replacements. One of the replacements, Wilber Marshall, might not have been a Bear if not for Vainisi. The Bears selected him in the first round in 1984.
“I always felt he was kind of my pick,” said Vainisi, who was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2020. “The rumor on him was he had signed with the Washington team of the USFL. His agent taught sports law at Georgetown. He was a full-time attorney who represented athletes. I called him and he assured me Wilber had not signed. I told him, ‘I need your word as a fellow (Georgetown) Hoya that he’s not signed.’ But he told me if we drafted him, we would have to sign him quickly. I said, ‘OK, we’ll take him if he falls to us at No. 11.’ We negotiated the contract the night of the draft. We were up all night.”
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Vainisi never had final say on personnel, as his predecessor Jim Finks did. One of the reasons Halas made Vainisi general manager is so Halas could have more influence in personnel. But Halas died about two months after promoting Vainisi. New team president Michael McCaskey subsequently split the authority on personnel between Vainisi, Ditka, personnel director Bill Tobin and himself.
The first significant conflict came with the first-round pick of the 1985 draft. Ditka and Tobin wanted to draft defensive tackle William Perry. Vainisi and McCaskey preferred wide receiver Jessie Hester.
“I thought Fridge didn’t keep himself in shape and would have a short career,” Vainisi said. “Mike thought he was the one guy who would make a difference. We debated it … for six weeks. The night before the draft, 10 at night, we’re walking downstairs out of Halas Hall. I told Mike, ‘Go home and sleep on it. If you still feel that way in the morning, I’ll flip and talk to Michael and we’ll take the Fridge.’ The next morning, about 5:30, we pulled into the lot at the same time. We’re walking upstairs. ‘Do you still want him?’ ‘OK, I’ll take care of it.’”
Another conflict in 1986 led to Vainisi’s eventual departure. McMahon had started to wear on the organization because of his inability to stay healthy and his off-color behavior. Ditka and Vainisi wanted to trade for Doug Flutie, but McCaskey and Tobin were against the move.
McCaskey eventually deferred to Ditka, and the way the season played out made him regret it. It also made McCaskey conclude that having an even number of voices in personnel decisions was problematic. He wanted three voices, with his voice being the deciding one.
By then, Ditka and Vainisi had become closely aligned. They were partners in a Florida golf course and in the Chicago hot spot Ditka’s/City Lights. Shortly after the 1986 season ended with a disappointing playoff loss to the Redskins in which Flutie threw two interceptions, McCaskey broke up Ditka and Vainisi by firing Vainisi.
When he learned what McCaskey had done, Ditka wept and threatened to quit. At a news conference, Ditka called Vainisi his best friend.
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Vainisi’s even-handed leadership was missed in Chicago, especially when he brought it to the rival Lions. His title was vice president of player personnel, and he was in charge of the draft. During his tenure, the team selected Barry Sanders, Chris Spielman and Bennie Blades. Vainisi was proud of having a hand in the careers of Sanders and Payton, two of the greatest running backs in history.
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While working for the Lions, he purchased Forest Park National Bank & Trust, where he had been a board member, and became chief executive officer. He and Doris Vainisi, his wife of more than 30 years, owned approximately 80 percent of the bank’s shares at his death.
“He tried very hard to foster a family culture at the bank and was very appreciative of the people who put the bank in the position it’s in today,” Rogers said.
After three years in Detroit, Vainisi became head of operations of the World League of American Football. Later he worked as a sports agent.
In 1993, the Vainisis purchased a house on Lake Geneva that became a nerve center for the family. “Papa’s Lakehouse,” they called it.
“My dad was an amazing provider in many ways,” Rogers said. “One of the many things he provided was the family experiences we were able to have in Lake Geneva. My dad loved to cook for his family. We always woke up to a big breakfast. Dinners were feasts.”
In addition to Rogers, Vainisi is survived by his sons Jerry A. Vainisi, Jack Vainisi, Mark Vainisi, daughter Melissa Love, and 14 grandchildren.
Later in life, Vainisi spent his winters on the Gulf Coast of Florida, where he had lunch with Ditka about a year ago.
“He was my best friend, definitely was,” Ditka said. “We got pretty close when we were working together. Hell of a guy. I hate to lose him.”
Visitation for Jerry Vainisi will be on Oct. 13 from 3-8 p.m. at Woodlawn Funeral Home in Forest Park, Ill., and on Oct. 14 from 9-10:30 a.m. at Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago, with a funeral Mass to follow.
(Top photo of Jerry Vainisi and Otis Wilson: Chicago Bears)
