For all the talk about replacing Matt Nagy as head coach, there should be an equal conversation had about Ryan Pace. He has been GM of the Chicago Bears since 2015. In that time, the team has delivered one winning season. That doesn’t figure to change this year with the Bears 4-7 and six games to play. While Pace has done some good things over the past few years, it clearly hasn’t been enough to make them legitimate playoff contenders.
Why should the McCaskey family reward him with the honor of choosing the next head coach? Hence the belief that Pace will either be “re-assigned” to a different position in the organization and the GM filled by somebody else or he’s simply fired and replaced outright. Either way, it makes for a difficult decision by ownership. Who do they go after? There is no shortage of options. Typically a team would prefer somebody with a proven track record but more than that a person who would throw their full weight into the job.
Somebody who genuinely covets it.
This is often why some teams like to hire executives that may have actually worked for their organization in the past. Or simply promote from within. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog made an interesting revelation. It seems there is one prominent GM candidate out there who not only has the track record, but also the significant desire to take over the Bears. Even viewing it as a “dream job.”
And Harbaugh, while very Parcellsian in his ability to ruffle feathers & wear out his welcome, has a million friends in the NFL. Pairing him with great evaluator – Jeff Ireland, perhaps – would be easy.
Both Harbaugh & Ireland have told friends Chicago is their dream job.
(5/7)
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) November 27, 2021
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Ireland is the assistant GM of the New Orleans Saints. A native of Texas, he joined the NFL scouting ranks in 1994 and worked his way up the ladder with organizations like Kansas City and Dallas before becoming the GM for the Miami Dolphins in 2008. A job he would hold for six seasons. After that, he eventually landed with the Saints in 2015 as their assistant GM. Since then the organization has enjoyed a considerable amount of draft success.
So what ties are there between Ireland and the Chicago Bears?
Why would he view it as a dream job? This goes back to before he started working in football. Many may not know but Ireland is the grandson of Jim Parmer. The former Eagles running back became a prominent NFL scout after his playing days. Most of those 35 years were spent with the Bears. He eventually became their college scouting director and a vital component during the construction of the 1985 Super Bowl championship roster. Ireland spent a lot of time with Parmer in those days, learning about the game. Even becoming a ballboy for the team in the 1980s.
“He was my inspiration. I spent (seven) summers with him, often sitting in film rooms with a 16 millimeter projector just watching football, looking at players. That’s how I fell in love with scouting.”
So yeah. It’s easy to understand why the Bears hold a special place in his heart.
Is he worth the look though? That is where the argument becomes difficult. During his first stint as a GM in Miami, Ireland developed a reputation for being a jerk. Somebody who didn’t always have the best people skills. To be fair, he was 38-years old when he got the job. Quite young and probably a little too immature. At age 51, one would hope he’s learned some lessons since then. The thing that should interest the Chicago Bears most with Ireland is his talent evaluation.
Both during his time with the Dolphins and Saints, he built a reputation for identifying good football players:
- Jake Long
- Vontae Davis
- Sean Smith
- Brian Hartline
- Reshad Jones
- Mike Pouncey
- Ryan Tannehill
- Olivier Vernon
- Andrus Peat
- Michael Thomas
- Marshon Lattimore
- Ryan Ramczyk
- Alvin Kamara
- Eric McCoy
- Chauncey Gardner-Johnson
History shows Ireland would perform well in the draft room. The trick would be can he handle the Chicago media and can he identify a capable head coach? Both are significant questions. His two head coaching hires in Miami were Tony Sparano and Joe Philbin. Both ended up disappointing. Besides that, it’s worth asking if the McCaskeys would be willing to dip into the Saints pool again after what has happened with Pace.
That depends on if Ireland becomes one of their interview candidates in January. If so, he will have a chance to sell them on how the Bears job has been a dream since he got into scouting all those years ago.
