BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Jerry Angelo says he's not concerned about popularity contests. Good thing for him since his Q-rating among Bears fans probably isn't at its peak.
Contract negotiations with veteran free-agent center Olin Kreutz came to a bitter end over the weekend, and the six-time Pro Bowl pick is out after 13 seasons, creating a big leadership void in the locker room.
For linebacker Brian Urlacher, that was tough to see.
"It's sad," he said Monday. "I learned a lot from Olin. I don't play O-line, but just watching him as a rookie and watching the way he works, plays hurt, plays injured, never complains. He just practices and does his job. It's too bad we couldn't get it done."
Angelo insisted he bargained in good faith, but agent Mark Bartelstein claimed that wasn't the case and indicated the general manager and coach Lovie Smith might not have been on the same page when it came to Kreutz.
Either way, the Bears will have a new center. And Angelo's reputation has another mark.
The Bears got the guy they wanted anyway, at No. 29, when they took offensive tackle Gabe Carimi, but they opted not to send the Ravens a draft pick even though Commissioner Roger Goodell urged them to do so.
Now, there's the messy divorce with Kreutz even though players and coaches had said they wanted him back, and newcomer Chris Spencer could be in a difficult spot after leaving Seattle for a two-year deal with Chicago.
Angelo said Spencer will have to earn a starting spot at center, and guard Roberto Garza could wind up there. The 11-year veteran has been filling in the first few days of training camp and, at 32, is the oldest offensive lineman on the roster.
"I'm the old guy now, you know? I've been here the longest and been around a great leader," said Garza, who joined the Bears in 2005. "Tough to fill his shoes, but you've got to step into the role that's asked."
Safety Chris Harris made his feelings clear Sunday with several Twitter posts, including this: "Olin Kreutz departure won't sit well in the locker room for a few days."
Angelo said he tries to take players' feelings into account when he puts together the roster, but it doesn't always work out.
"They didn't hire me to be loved," he said. "They hired me to make decisions based on what's in the best interests of the team. That's what it's about, people. Come on, this isn't a wake. We're sad, but nobody died. We wish (Kreutz) the best. He had a great career. Long after I'm forgotten, he's going to be long remembered, as well he should be."
Quarterback Jay Cutler, who was sacked frequently in the early going last year, was not available to reporters Monday to discuss Kreutz.
For now, the Bears are trying to move on.
Even if he wasn't quite the dominant force he had been on the field, Kreutz still was the vocal leader on the team and a stabilizing force on an offensive line that had its issues last season.
"He was the leader of this team," veteran cornerback Charles Tillman said. "Not just the offense, but the entire team. One of the greatest, hard-working competitors I've ever played against. Extremely competitive. Hard-working. Great leadership skills."
Harris said Kreutz was "a huge voice."
"He was kind of that guy that set the locker room straight," he said. "If things needed to go down, he was the guy that did it. He'll definitely be missed from that point, but at some point in time, we've got to get over it."
Asked if he had heard from the organization about his Twitter posts, Harris said, "No, I haven't. I haven't. I might, I might not." He also said the Kreutz situation was simply "business," just as it was when he got traded by the Bears to Carolina four years ago. He wound up getting dealt back to Chicago before last season.
For Urlacher, watching the Kreutz saga unfold was not easy. Kreutz and long snapper Patrick Mannelly were the only Bears who had been around longer.
"No one's going to be like he was, I'll tell you that much," said Urlacher, entering his 12th season. "It's going to be a lot of guys who will have to do it. We'll get it done somehow."
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
