Even though the Decatur team had had a successful season, A.E. Staley encouraged Halas to take the team to Chicago because the former didn’t think a professional football team could survive in Decatur. He offered Halas $5,000 to get started as long as Halas kept the team name of the Staleys for at least one season.
In 1922, Halas chose to rename the team the Bears to acknowledge the goodwill of William Veeck, Sr., the owner of the Chicago Clubs who allowed the Staleys to share Wrigley Field in exchange for a portion of the concessions, gate, and program sales.
In addition to coaching the Staleys and later Bears throughout the 1920s, Halas also played various positions on the team until he retired as a player after the 1929 season. In 1930, he hired another head coach for several years, who took the Bears to the 1932 championship. Perhaps because Halas wanted a championship himself, he returned to coaching. His 1933, 1940, and 1941 teams won the NFL championships with Halas as their head coach.