Joe Mansueto setting up Fire to fail by keeping Georg Heitz and Sebastian Pelzer

In picking up the 2023 options on sporting director Georg Heitz and technical director Sebastian Pelzer, owner Joe Mansueto sent a strong message to Fire fans:

Don’t get your hopes up for next season.

Under Heitz and Pelzer, the Fire have missed the playoffs three years in a row. They have swung and missed on designated players and have not built enough depth to survive a season, and their lopsided rosters have been prone to the worst kinds of losses.

Yet Mansueto is giving them another chance, opening himself up to questions about his judgment and whose advice he’s taking.

“I’m pleased that Georg and Sebastian will return in 2023,” Mansueto said in a statement. “Going into next season, we feel that we have established a strong foundation with a new coaching staff, led by Ezra Hendrickson, and a core group of players to build around.”

Keeping Heitz and Pelzer for another season hurts the Fire’s chances in 2023 but could have repercussions beyond next year.

Heitz and Pelzer can sign another designated player this offseason after restructuring Gaston Gimenez’s deal. The roster flexibility should be a positive that gives the Fire the chance to add a striker, but Heitz and Pelzer could bring in a high-priced player who might handcuff their successors if they’re gone after 2023.

If that happens, it will be Mansueto’s fault.

Mansueto has done some good things since taking over for Andrew Hauptman late in the 2019 season. He has injected much-needed money into the club and seems to genuinely care about its success, and his deep pockets give the franchise legitimate hope for the future on and off the field. Ditching the infamous “Fire Crown” signaled that he’s willing to listen to supporters and reverse a mistake, and getting games on WGN brought in new fans.

But he can’t seem to quit Heitz and Pelzer, a duo whose failings have undermined some of the gains made by the club. And their successes shouldn’t have been enough to justify a fourth year even if Mansueto is looking for steady long-term growth, not quick fixes.

Since the beginning of 2021, the Fire have sold Gabriel Slonina to Chelsea and Przemyslaw Frankowski to French side RC Lens, but both were with the club before Heitz and Pelzer came to Chicago. Jhon Duran looks like a shrewd signing who will bring in an eight-figure transfer fee and should have been a member of the starting lineup earlier this year.

Selling players, however, shouldn’t be the crowning achievement for a front office or a rationale for maintaining the top executives.

The duo’s other successes — adding Chris Mueller, Rafael Czichos and Federico Navarro — haven’t translated into a playoff berth. Signing 10 homegrown players and investing in the youth system is a plus, though it remains to be seen how many will be difference-makers at Soldier Field.

Mansueto had a chance to bring in new executives with different methods. Unfortunately for the Fire, Mansueto didn’t take advantage of that opportunity. And if the 2023 season is like the last three, there’s only one person to blame.

And it’s not Heitz or Pelzer.

The Chicago Sun-Times receives funding from the Mansueto Foundation.