It feels like 2020 is a drawing of that proverbial line in the sand. The Chicago Bears know they have a limited window to make a run at a Super Bowl. That defense is great but it’s not going to stay that way forever. This is why the team is trying every tactic possible to get the quarterback position fixed. A problem created by GM Ryan Pace when he took Mitch Trubisky back in 2017.

This is why many feel if the Bears don’t make the playoffs, Pace has to go. It will have marked the fifth time in six seasons his team will have failed to accomplish that goal. Common sense dictates a team should never keep a guy in charge who can’t build a consistent winner. Pace says all the right things, but words are hollow when the on-field results don’t deliver.

One analyst though thinks moving to dump him would be a mistake. Adam Rank of NFL.com wrote an interesting piece on the State Of The Bears. A Bears fan himself, he has an interesting perspective on this matter. Rather than join the popular winds, he reminded people of one other reality with Pace.

“Ryan Pace has built a damn good roster. He’s never going live down the fact that he drafted Trubisky No. 2 overall over Patrick Mahomes (No. 10) and Deshaun Watson (No. 12) in 2017. He’s going to have to wear that. Kind of like how Kevin Smith is going to have live with Cop Out, no matter how great some of his other movies are.

But these Bears are loaded. The defense, as mentioned, is pretty great. He’s done a nice job with the receivers. Montgomery is going to prove all of the doubters wrong. Obviously, quarterback is a huge question mark. But when you look at the team, 21 players strong, it’s so deep and good that it’s moronic to suggest the Bears should tank to get one of the top quarterbacks coming into the draft next season.”

Does Ryan Pace deserve one more shot at quarterback?

What Rank says is true. Pace built one of the best defenses in the NFL, loaded from top to bottom with Pro Bowl-caliber talent. Allen Robinson is a stud. Anthony Miller has had some really good games. David Montgomery had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie. Even Cody Whitehair and James Daniels have performed well on the offensive line.

One must also remember he drafted Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Both performed really well on offense at different times for the Bears. The only two positions that have consistently haunted him are tight end and of course quarterback.

That begs the question.

Does Pace deserve one more chance to get it right? Typically GMs who miss big on highly drafted quarterbacks don’t survive to try again. Those who have? Well, let’s just say the results were mixed.

• Jim Schaaf took Steve Fuller 23rd overall in 1979. That didn’t work. So in 1983, he tried again with Todd Blackledge. That also bombed
• Ernie Accorsi selected Art Schlichter 4th overall in 1982. It fast became clear that was a mistake. So Accorsi quickly grabbed John Elway in 1983. While the right choice, Elway refused to play for the Colts and Accorsi soon resigned. He ended up drafting Bernie Kosar in Cleveland and Eli Manning in New York.
• Tom Flores drafted Dan McGwire 16th overall in 1991. After that flopped, he tried again with Rick Mirer in 1993. That was even worse.
• Vinny Cerrato drafted Patrick Ramsay 32nd overall in 2002. Three years later, he tried again with Jason Campbell. Both were disappointments.
• Ozzie Newsome drafted Kyle Boller 19th overall in 2003. After that disaster, he tried again with Joe Flacco in 2008. That led to a Super Bowl title.
• Rick Spielman took Christian Ponder 12th overall in 2011. That failed. He got another shot with Teddy Bridgewater in 2014. That started well before a catastrophic knee injury ended his run.

This is all the evidence available in the Super Bowl era. Safe to say there’s no predicting what would happen if the Bears gave Pace a second chance. He could knock it out of the park like Accorsi and Newsome. Or he could totally bomb like Schaaf and Flores. It would be a total roll of the dice.