1985 Bears Coverage: Ryan terms Perry wasted draft choice

Every day of the 2015 Chicago Bears season, Chicago Sun-Times Sports will revisit its coverage 30 years ago during the 1985 Bears’ run to a Super Bowl title.

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Ryan terms Perry wasted draft choice

Kevin Lamb

Originally published Aug. 7, 1985

Bear defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan said first-round draft choice William Perry was “a wasted draft choice” last night after Perry’s second day in training camp.

Talking on Jimmy Piersall’s radio show, “Calling All Sports” on WIND (560 AM), Ryan suggested the nearly $1.4 million it took to sign Perry would have been better spent on veteran holdouts Todd Bell, Mike Singletary, Al Harris and Keith Van Horne.

“He hasn’t shown me anything, Jimmy, since he’s been here,” Ryan told Piersall. “He was a wasted draft choice and a waste of money. They should have paid Todd Bell and those other pros who we know can play, and brought them in and forgot about him.

“He’s just a big, overweight kid. He’s a nice kid, but I’ve got twin boys at home that are nice kids, too, and I don’t want them playing for me.”

Ryan amazed Piersall when he said the defensive coaches weren’t involved in scouting Perry, a 330-pound defensive tackle from Clemson. Another Bear source has told the Sun-Times the defensive coaches were not impressed from the little they saw of Perry at scouting combine workouts.

Coach Mike Ditka, who was heavily involved in Perry’s selection, criticized him after he missed yesterday afternoon’s practice because of dehydration. It would have been Perry’s fourth Bear practice.

But Ditka said he did not regret drafting Perry. “Not at all,” he said. “Because he’s going to be a good football player.”