After the mad dash of draft week and the seemingly silent free agent period, we can reflect on the status of each Chicago team's quest for a championship.

Many fans are adamant that rebuilds should never happen in Chicago. I get the sentiment, but that’s only possible when a front office builds a sustained winner that has real staying power. The 2010s Blackhawks were the last example of this, but we all know how Stan Bowman ran them into the ground after the 2015 Cup run. Rebuilds are necessary when the organization needs a total reversal, and we have been unwillingly stuck in a cycle of them.

Let's check in on each team's rebuild!

Chicago Bears

Rebuild Start: March 10, 2022 (Khalil Mack trade)

Rebuild Type: Full Scale

Architect: Ryan Poles (Hired January 25, 2022)

Coach: Ben Johnson (2nd - previously Matt Eberflus)

Records:

2022: 3-14

2023: 7-10

2024: 5-12

Current Rebuild Grade: B-

How Close To A Trophy (1-10): 5

Confidence in Future Championship (1-10): 4

Face of the Franchise: Caleb Williams

Stars: Jaylon Johnson, DJ Moore, Joe Thuney

Future Stars: Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze

This is the hardest one to grade. I love Ryan Poles as a GM and as a person, but his coaching staffs have been so incompetent that any evaluation of his rosters is cloudy at best. There are a lot of talented veterans and young players with huge futures on the roster, but 2025 will be a real measuring stick to see how much the roster has improved since Poles took over.

Chicago Blackhawks

Rebuild Start: March 18, 2022 (Brandon Hagel trade)

Rebuild Type: Full Scale

Architect: Kyle Davidson (Hired March 1, 2022 on a permanent basis)

Coach: Jeff Blashill (2nd - previously Luke Richardson)

Records:

2022-2023: 26-49-7 (59 points)

2023-2024: 23-53-6 (52 points)

2024-2025: 25-46-11 (61 points)

Current Rebuild Grade: A

How Close To A Trophy (1-10): 3

Confidence in Future Championship (1-10): 6

Face of the Franchise: Connor Bedard

Stars: Connor Bedard

Future Stars: Frank Nazar, Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel, Anton Frondell

Sipping a drink and taking a backseat to a strange free agency period is perfectly fine by me. Kyle Davidson has checked every box to fully reset a franchise that had spiraled in the wrong direction. Their cap is in great shape, they have a #1 overall franchise star in Connor Bedard, and they have an exciting young core that spans each position group. The sky is the limit for the Hawks.

Chicago Bulls

Rebuild Start: June 21, 2024 (Alex Caruso trade)

Rebuild Type: Reshape Roster

*2nd Rebuild - 1st attempt was March 2021 (Nikola Vucevic trade) to June 21, 2024

Architect: Arturas Karnisovas (Hired April 13, 2020)

Coach: Billy Donovan

Records:

2024-2025: 39-43

Current Rebuild Grade: F

How Close To A Trophy (1-10): 1

Confidence in Future Championship (1-10): 1

Face of the Franchise: None (soon - Matas Buzelis)

Stars: None

Future Stars: Matas Buzelis?

Four years after acquiring Nikola Vucevic and "skipping steps" in an attempt to win right away, the Bulls are now focused on "not skipping steps" to build...something? The first rebuild only succeeded for 2 months in 2021-2022 before the front office refused to make the necessary changes. I barely allowed myself to call this iteration a rebuild because they see it as a reshaping of the roster. And they don’t believe in actual rebuilds for the sake of “competing”. Matas Buzelis becoming a star is truly our only hope.

Chicago Cubs

Rebuild Start: July 29, 2021 (Anthony Rizzo trade)

Rebuild Type: Full Scale

Architect: Jed Hoyer (Hired November 17, 2020 as President)

Manager: Craig Counsell (2nd - previously David Ross)

Records:

2021: 71-91

2022: 74-88

2023: 83-79

2024: 83-79

2025 (so far): 51-35

Current Rebuild Grade: B

How Close To A Trophy (1-10): 6

Confidence in Future Championship (1-10): 6

Face of the Franchise: Pete Crow-Armstrong

Stars: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker

Future Stars: Cade Horton

Jed Hoyer actually catered to the demanding fans by attempting to compete and rebuild at the same time. The Cubs were left with virtually no minor league talent and only Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner remaining on the field once the dust settled from the World Series core exodus. Instead of replicating the 2012-2016 rebuild by solely focusing on prospect trades until the very end, Hoyer has attacked the free agent market every single winter. The 2023 collapse hurt, 2024 underwhelmed, but the true rebuild timeline has a bright future. The major league team has 51 wins at the beginning of July, 2 superstars, and the AAA roster is loaded with future Cubs.

Chicago White Sox

Rebuild Start: March 13, 2024 (Dylan Cease trade)

Rebuild Type: Full Scale

Architect: Chris Getz (Hired August 31, 2023)

Manager: Will Venable (2nd - previously Pedro Grifol)

Records:

2024: 41-121

2025 (so far): 28-57

Current Rebuild Grade: C

How Close To A Trophy (1-10): 1

Confidence in Future Championship (1-10): 1

Face of the Franchise: None

Stars: None

Future Stars: None

The historic 121 loss season was the culmination of organizational distress. Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn's power struggle led to push-and-pull managerial hirings and trade deadline moves. They had a young core locked up on long-term deals with 2 playoff appearances under their belts, and then the floor fell out from underneath them. Chris Getz was the safe choice to take over as GM for Jerry Reinsdorf, but he has made encouraging changes. The pitching infrastructure seems promising with a few elite arms in the minors, Venable is changing the culture in the clubhouse, and the Pedro Grifol era has been fully flushed away. Even so, this is just getting started.

State of the Rebuild, Chicago: July 2025