The Chicago Bears are not going in a positive direction. After fighting their way to a 5-1 record to start the season, they’ve lost their last two games. The latest being a heartbreaker in overtime against the New Orleans Saints. Now they’re 5-3 with what feels like a must-win game against Tennessee on Sunday. Could this game end up deciding the fates of Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy?
This a topic of conversation that remains ongoing among Bears fans. What is the eventual fate of the GM and his head coach? Both came into 2020 not necessarily on the hot seat but certainly not looking overly great after an 8-8 season. Team chairman George McCaskey made it clear he still trusts both men but also made it clear he expects this team to win.
Thus far they’ve done that.
It’s whether they can keep it up down the stretch. Finishing seasons has been a recurring problem for the Bears in the past decade. It feels like these next three games could decide their fate. First the Titans, then Minnesota, and finally Green Bay coming out of the bye. They should win at least one of those. If they can’t? Then the talk about Pace and Nagy’s futures will begin in earnest.
Are they really in danger? At least one Bears insider doesn’t think so. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune made it clear that barring a catastrophic meltdown, it’s likely both men will be back in 2021.
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“I believe Pace and Nagy will return in 2021. This is an unusual year with COVID-19, and some teams will hesitate to clean house after the season because of that. Thus far, Pace has done a nice job guiding the Bears through the pitfalls of the pandemic.
Both will no doubt be under pressure to produce a winning team next season, and at 5-3, the Bears very well could be a playoff team this season. Right now, I don’t see a scenario in which they make sweeping changes at the end of the season.”
Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy have a clear objective
So what happens if this statement holds true and both return for 2021? Well, the good news is their mission is hardly muddled. Everything wrong with this Bears team stems from the offensive side of the ball. Specifically the offensive line and the quarterback spot. Both have underperformed to a major degree this season and it’s not getting better.
Germain Ifedi will be a free agent. Charles Leno and Bobby Massie have bloated contracts they’re not living up to at this point. Mitch Trubisky will be gone. Nick Foles has yet to show he can be a long-term option as a starter. All of this on top of the possibility that Allen Robinson might leave unless they franchise tag him.
So yeah. Lots to do.
What makes it more challenging is the resources at hand. Right now the Bears have six picks in the upcoming draft. They could end up with eight or nine depending on how many compensatory selections they’re awarded. Pace will have a 1st round choice for the first time since 2018. Early projections are the 2021 draft class appear deep both at QB and on the offensive line. That’s good news.
The bigger problem is the payroll. Right now the Bears are projected to be almost $7 million in the red next offseason. Even with a rollover of their current cap space, they’ll have between $4-5 million at most. All of this will 30 pending free agents including Robinson and Cordarrelle Patterson among others. Pace will need to get creative in finding more space if he wants to keep this roster mostly intact.
Nevermind Nagy’s ongoing pursuit of putting together a coherent offensive scheme. These next two months will be eye-opening.
