Give this to Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace. He’s a man of consistency. He’ll talk to the media before a season and after a season. However, during a season he’s practically invisible aside from the occasional radio spots. Yet even these brief snippets may sometimes offer insight into the man. More importantly what he could be planning for the future.
From the start Pace hasn’t tried to hide his plans for the Bears. The best way in his mind to make this team better is correcting the problem that got them into this position. Namely stacking good drafts on top of each other. This way the roster fills up with quality talent. At a certain point within a 3-5 year span that team should become a contender.
Thus far Pace has seemed to find a groove in that regard. The 2016 and 2017 classes look like strong groups, giving the Bears a foundation to work with. If he can add another in 2018 they might be in business. One issue that is holding them back is the head coaching situation. Will Pace remove John Fox after a third-straight losing season?
Ryan Pace reveals key part of his philosophy that doesn’t fit Fox
In fact he may have offered a clear sign of what’s coming with an innocent answer during an interview with WBBM-AM 780. It took place before the Bears’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday and showed just how different he and Fox are.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“There are a lot of younger guys who are playing and getting better from these experiences,” Pace said on the broadcast. “You can point to teams that have sustainable winning right now, and if you look back on their drafts there were years of draft classes stacked together.
“It’s not just drafting the talent but also playing them and then seeing them grow. If you do that, eventually your roster is strong. It’s sustainable if you stay that course.”
One of the most frustrating aspects of Fox over the past two years is his stubbornness to play rookies. Even if those rookies are clearly better players. He did it with Jordan Howard last year and then Mitch Trubisky, Adam Shaheen and Tarik Cohen this year. Only Eddie Jackson got a pass and that was because he was so clearly better than anybody else at his position.
Not until the Bears lost out on their playoff hopes again this year did Fox relent to start playing younger players. Sure enough they were vital in the Bengals win. It’s not hard to see that this philosophy Fox has may not sit well with Pace who wants to see the draft picks he worked so hard to acquire get a chance to show what they can do.
If this is how Fox plans to run the team, it’s hard to see Pace allowing it to continue another year.
