In February 1997, Dave Wannstedt made the decision that most knew his career would hinge on. Concerned about the health of QB Erik Kramer, Wannstedt traded the Bears' eleventh pick in the first round to Seattle for beleaguered QB Rick Mirer, along with Seattle's fourth round pick that the Bears used to draft Northwestern RB Darnell Autry. After this moment, many began to question Wannstedt's judgement on personnel matters. In the 1997 draft, Wannstedt traded up to pick USC tight end John Allred with the Bears first pick, then took Washington guard Bob Sapp in the third. Sapp wound up being cut in training camp, along with his ineffective second-round pick in 1994, tackle Marcus Spears. After the '97 draft, Michael McCaskey announced that he was "restructuring" the personnel department, and released head personnel man Rod Graves. In his place, McCaskey created the position of "Vice President of Player Personnel", and gave the job to Kansas City personnel director Mark Hatley. Why the move was made just after the '97 draft is curious.

Feelings about the Bears were mixed entering the 1997 season, as were the team's feeling on who would start the season at quarterback. Rick Mirer was named the team's starter the day he was obtained, but Erik Kramer would be back on the field after being cleared by doctors. Kramer had been signed to a one-year deal, and as camp and the preseason progressed, it was apparent that he gave the team the better chance to win. So as the Bears entered their opener, the second Monday Night matchup against the world champions in as many years, Kramer was named the starter until Mirer was ready to play. At Green Bay, Chicago was actually holding their own against the world champs, and led by the score of 11-7 into the second quarter. Green Bay, however, was simply too powerful for the Bears to handle. As Chicago was getting thumped in the fourth quarter, LB Brian Cox threw a temper tantrum at the officials and on the sideline, and was ejected from the game after flipping the bird to the crowd. This display was the first of many to come from the linebacker in '97, which would eventually force his departure from the club.

After a loss on opening day, Chicago played Minnesota and lost at home. The Bears were winning the game until Minnesota's final drive, when they marched the length of the field and scored a TD against Walt Harris, who was playing out of position. The next week, Chicago scored first on a Raymont Harris touchdown, then surrendered 32 points and lost to Detroit. Erik Kramer was pulled for Rick Mirer in the second half, Who was less effective than Kramer. After being pulled, Kramer was captured by the camera on the sideline joking around. When questioned about this by certain sports talk radio hosts, Kramer got into a battle with them after stating "If the fans don't like it, screw 'em." Also lost in the Detroit game for the year was third-year running back Rashaan Salaam, whose fumbling had proven him ineffective for the year anyway. It was later revealed that Salaam smoked massive quantities of marijuana while rehabbing his broken leg, and the Detroit game would be the last he would play for the Bears. Another first-round pick down the tubes.

Rick Mirer was given the starting job for the next three games against New England, Dallas and New Orleans, Iron Mike's return to the city. In these three games, Mirer played horrendously. He was more apt to take off running at the first sign of trouble than to try to complete a pass. Chicago had traded for Mirer partly based on his mobility, but the team didn't exactly want him to play like a running back, which it sometimes looked like he was doing. Mirer was finally pulled for Kramer in the second half of the Saints' game, and Kramer almost brought the Bears back for a victory. However, new Cornerback Tom Carter tripped and allowed a 89-yard touchdown strike, clinching Chicago's sixth loss of the year, The following week, the team tied for their worst start ever by losing to Green Bay, 24-23. The Bears had scored a last-minute touchdown to close to within one point of the Pack, but failed a 2-point conversion attempt that Wannstedt called in hopes of winning the game. Finally the team did win another come-from-behind game in Miami the next week, and at the midway point of the season, the team was 1-7. The final eight games of the season weren't much better. The team looked respectable at times, beating Tampa Bay and Buffalo, then looked horrible in games such as a 55-20 loss in the Silverdome on Thanksgiving. The 1997 season finished in Tampa with a 31-15 loss. The only sure thing heading into the 1998 season was that Dave Wannstedt, under contract through the 2000 season, would return with the unwavering support of team president Michael McCaskey.