Bears release Ray McDonald following latest arrest

On Monday, Ray McDonald bought the farm – at least as far as his career is concerned.

The defensive end, given a second chance at reviving his career by the Bears following his release by the 49ers, likely squandered that opportunity when he was arrested following a Monday morning arrest for domestic violence charge that included child endangerment.

Chicago released McDonald within hours.

“We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray, we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear,” Bears GM Ryan Pace said in a statement released Monday afternoon. “He was not able to meet the standard and the decision was made to release him.”

McDonald is alleged to have shown up at the Santa Clara apartment of his ex-fiancé and baby son and asked her to leave after he showed up following a night out with friends. From there the argument escalated, and McDonald is accused of assaulting her while she held the baby boy. The police were called to the apartment at 3:48 a.m., but McDonald was found at a home owned by former teammate Justin Smith at 7 a.m.

The same woman accused McDonald of assaulting her in August, but those charges were dropped due to a lack of witnesses and cooperation from the victim.

In March, McDonald filed a defamation lawsuit against a different woman who accused him of rape.

The 49ers released him last December following what GM Trent Baalke called “a pattern of poor behavior.”

Bears owner George McCaskey is now the one looking like a prize fool. When the team made the controversial signing in March, McCaskey cited a conversation with McDonald’s parents as one of his deciding factors.

“We have a 96-year tradition of doing things a certain way, of bringing a certain type of player into our team,” McCaskey said at the time of the signing. “And those were my concerns going into the conversation with Ray. But I think you look at every situation individually. You try to find out as much information as you can that’s reliable to make the best decision you can about whether to offer a player the privilege of becoming a Chicago Bear.

“I was impressed with how sincere he was and how motivated he is. He understands, I think, that he could have well been facing the end of his football career. And he loves football, and he wants that career to continue. So I was impressed with his motivation.”

At this point it is unlikely any team will mistake McDonald’s “sincerity and motivation” for anything other than pathetic desperation.

Schwartz to work as liaison with officials

Despite leading the fourth-ranked defense in the NFL last season, Jim Schwartz was left without a job this offseason when Doug Marrone idiotically walked away from the Bills head coaching job with the expectation he’d be hired by the Jets in the same role but instead ended up as Jacksonville’s offensive line coach.

But Schwartz, who was displaced when Rex Ryan brought his defensive scheme to Buffalo when he was hired, will at least get to do something this year. On Monday he was named as a consultant to the league’s officiating department.

According to Fox Sports, Schwartz’s role will give officials a coach’s perspective about certain calls and situations. In theory, it should help improve in-game interactions and communications between officials and coaches, though given Schwartz’s natural demeanor it is hard to imagine that won’t include a lot of yelling.