The Chicago Bears started off 2020 with such promise, going 5-1 with some impressive wins highlighted by a major upset of Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. Since then? It’s been mostly rough to watch. A three-game skid has the Bears at 5-4 and facing was could be a do-or-die game on Monday Night Football against the red hot Minnesota Vikings. Jobs could be on the line. Not just head coach Matt Nagy but maybe even GM Ryan Pace.
Bears ownership remained steadfastly in support of him through the roller coast of last season. However, George McCaskey made it clear he expected this team to win this year. Rumors are the recent skid has him growing “frustrated” and everything is on the table if the Bears crash and burn. That includes the possibility of cleaning house.
Pace isn’t exactly earning a lot of praise lately.
His major free agent signings in Jimmy Graham and Robert Quinn haven’t produced as hoped. Graham has five touchdowns but isn’t the explosive weapon they were hoping for at tight end. Quinn has just one sack in the eight games he’s played. If that weren’t bad enough, word leaked out that the team has ceased contract extension talks with star wide receiver Allen Robinson.
This begs the question. If the Bears did give Pace another year in 2021, what would he do with it? Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune has a pretty good idea. In his mailbag, he was asked about Pace’s status in the organization. Based on what he’s learned from multiple sources, the belief is strong the GM plans to make another run at finding a quarterback.
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“Do the Bears give Pace another swing at the quarterback position? I don’t know. I do believe they need to be beating the bushes for their next young quarterback, and smart personnel people I know say if Pace is back in 2021, he sure as heck would do just that with the idea of buying himself more time on the job.”
Ryan Pace desperately wants to avenge the Trubisky failure
This probably isn’t music to the ears of Bears fans. Pace hasn’t exactly built a strong track record of identifying good quarterbacks. He signed Mike Glennon for $45 million in 2017. This year he traded a 4th round pick and paid $21 million to Nick Foles. Glennon was benched after just four games. Foles’ limitations have been exposed by a bad offensive line. Then of course there is the elephant in the room.
Pace put all his chips on the table when he drafted Mitch Trubisky in 2017. Not only did he take him #2 overall, but he also gave up three extra picks to move up from #3. He was so convinced the North Carolina product was the right guy he blatantly ignored the opinion of his head coach who wanted Deshaun Watson. Not to mention many of his scouts who preferred Patrick Mahomes.
Everybody knows the result.
Trubisky had some early success but quickly became overwhelmed by the speed and complexity of NFL defenses. They figured out how to play him and he never found a way to adjust. By Week 3 of this season, the coaching staff had seen enough. The 26-year old was benched. Now his future in Chicago is all but over.
That failure falls directly at the feet of Ryan Pace. He knows this. It’s a stink that may never wash off. Not unless he somehow finds that elusive franchise quarterback as quickly as possible. Going after another one in 2021 is logical. The Bears need fresh blood and they’ll be in the 1st round for the first time since 2018. It’s supposedly a strong crop of talent with five potential 1st round prospects. The timing could work out in his favor.
Whether Bears ownership gives him another chance? That will likely be answered over the next month and a half.
