The situation surrounding the Chicago Bears head coaching position is going to dominate headlines for the rest of the 2017 season. Four games remain. Come January the clock will strike high noon. What fans are dying to know are two things. Will GM Ryan Pace fire John Fox as expected and who will his replacement be?
Unfortunately there is an undercurrent of fear circulating at the moment. The Bears wouldn’t dare think of keeping Fox would they? Not after producing the worst winning percentage for a Bears head coach in franchise history. His respectable background nor the injury issues on the team should not matter. It’s been three years and there hasn’t been any progress from this team.
So it’s difficult to understand why the Bears continue this farce. Why not just cut the man loose, appoint an interim coach and begin preparations for an overhaul in 2018? Well it seems, if the rumor is true, there are some difficulties to that.
Ryan Pace plans a move but owners hesitant to fire Fox midseason
From the details gathered to this point it’s apparent that Fox is likely gone. Greg Gabriel reported as much a week ago following the Philadelphia Eagles debacle. The loss to San Francisco has only reinforced that. There were rumblings the Bears almost chose to fire him but have since begged off. The prevailing belief is the McCaskeys have never fired a coach midseason and don’t want to start now.
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However, based on a conversation with a source it seems Pace has no plans to get caught flat-footed in the search for a replacement. I was told he already has feelers out on some candidates starting with the offensive coordinators in Philadelphia (Frank Reich), New England (Josh McDaniels) and Seattle (Darrell Bevell). The most interesting comment I pulled out of our talk was this.
“I’m told Pace wants his own McVay.”
This is of course in reference to Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. He’s the hot, young head coach who has the NFL world talking after transforming Jared Goff into a star and the Rams into contenders. This would signal two things. Pace likely wants a younger head coach and one with an offensive background centered on quarterbacks.
Now it’s important to remember nothing is set in stone. It is very early in the process and a lot can change over the next month. Pace is a stickler for details and thorough research. It’s quite possible he could fall in love with a candidate nobody is expecting. Nonetheless it would seem that behind those closed doors of Halas Hall, he’s anything but idle.
