Everybody knows the pressure is on Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace. For just the second time in the Super Bowl era, he’ll be able to hire a second head coach. Only Jim Finks had that honor before and he had made the playoffs by that point. Pace has no such protection behind him. This essentially means it’s win-or-bust for him with this next hire. If it flops, he’s gone.
So there’s no doubt that he has to get it right. To that end he stated quite clearly that the Bears weren’t going to “paint themselves into a corner.” That is to say they won’t favor coaches from any sort of specific background. Rumors persist they are favoring an offensively-driven head coach. He just wants to get the best coach possible.
Well knowing how good Pace is at misdirection, it’s hard to take him at this word. One must not forget that this man was raised in New Orleans under the umbrella of Sean Payton. He’s seen first-hand what a great offensive head coach and a top shelf quarterback can do together. In fact he’s had to watch it the past three years in Green Bay.
Indications are growing he wants his own version of that.
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Ryan Pace already zeroing in on three favorite targets
A few weeks back I reported that Pace was intent on finding his own version of Sean McVay. That is to say a young, bright offensive mind who can hopefully grow with Mitch Trubisky over time. A source reached out to me stating that he continues to follow through on this plan.
“Ryan Pace is in love with Matt Nagy, John DeFilippo and Josh McDaniels and will have a hard choice to make.”
It’s no coincidence those are the three names. Nagy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator, is 39-years old. So is DeFilippo, the Eagles quarterbacks coach. McDaniels is only 41 but has been Patriots offensive coordinator since 2012. Several league circles consider them some of the best and brightest in the NFL. Is it any coincidence that all three are among the early interviews the Bears have set up?
#Bears interviews:
Vic Fangio ✅
Vikings DC George Edwards ✅
Vikings OC Pat Shurmur (Friday)
Patriots OC Josh McDaniels (reportedly Friday)
Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo (Saturday)
Chiefs OC Matt Nagy (next week)— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 5, 2018
McDaniels is a known quantity at this point. He’s consistently produced a top 10 offense every year since he regained the Patriots OC job. Most like to say he’s a product of Tom Brady, but that’s not the case at all. In 2008 Brady missed 15 games with a torn ACL. Despite having a quarterback in Matt Cassel who never started a game in the NFL or college, New England still had the 5th ranked offense in the league. Last year, with Brady suspended the first four games, they averaged 27 points through the first three games.
The heavy focus is on Nagy and DeFilippo though
McDaniels though is haunted by his failures during his first head coaching tenure in Denver from 2009 to 2010. Teams are wary of whether or not he’s learned anything from that experience. Nagy and DeFilippo meanwhile are fresh. Both have garnered major buzz for the work they’ve done with their respective quarterbacks.
Nagy is a disciple of Andy Reid who has one of the most productive coaching trees in the NFL. DeFilippo is known as a detailed specialist who approaches his task with lots of energy. It sounds like Pace knows what he wants for the Bears going into 2018. As to which of these men it will be? Only the the interviews will decide that outcome.
