As is often the case, Custard has a peculiar interpretation of events.
Yes, the Bears were basically bad on purpose last year. So of course, just about anything could be “headed in the right direction.” But I don’t think the point of the article is that the Bears are gonna be better because “how could they not be?” Improvement is the lowest of bars.
I think by “headed in the right direction” means they are improving their roster (again, how could they not?), and look to have a plan in place to be competitive sooner rather than later.
Of course they are “headed in the right direction (if that’s being interpreted as “better than last year”). It would be hard to be as bad or worse.
Lastly, I don’t think PAMan was “joking.” There’s nothing to lead one to that conclusion.
I interpret “headed in the right direction” as more than just “not as bad as last year.”