Nobody can say for certain what the Chicago Bears are going to do with Ryan Pace. However, the rumblings indicate that one of two things are going to happen. Either Pace will be reassigned to a new position in the organization or he’ll be fired outright. This creates the strong possibility that the GM position will be vacant by this time next week. That would explain why they’ve been doing research on possible candidates.
A number of names have already come up, but a source indicated that one at or near the top of the list is Ed Dodds. He might not be a rock star name to fans or the media, but he certainly is in scouting circles. Many feel the Indianapolis Colts assistant GM is one of the best talent evaluators in the business. Somebody that served as the right-hand man to John Schneider in Seattle and is now doing so with Chris Ballard. The man Chicago passed on for the GM position back in 2015.
The NFL never lacks for irony.
Dodds interviewed for two GM spots last offseason. Detroit passed on him in favor of Brad Holmes while he withdrew his name from consideration for the Carolina job. Considering how his profile continues to grow, it feels like only a matter of time before he’s in charge of a front office. Looking at some of the players he has helped draft, the Bears should consider doing everything in their power to make it Chicago.
- Max Unger
- Russell Okung
- Earl Thomas
- Golden Tate
- Kam Chancellor
- K.J. Wright
- Richard Sherman
- Bobby Wagner
- Russell Wilson
- Frank Clark
- Tyler Lockett
- Quentin Nelson
- Darius Leonard
- Jonathan Taylor
- Michael Pittman Jr.
If you’re not impressed by that, there isn’t much that’ll convince you Dodds knows what he’s doing. Just look at what happened to Seattle after he left. From 2010 to 2016, the Seahawks landed 10 eventual Pro Bowlers. Since he left, they’ve managed only three and one of them is a punter.
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Chicago Bears may have to give Dodds what they couldn’t Ballard
That is the authority to shake up the football operations. By the sound of it, George McCaskey seems far more open to the idea now than he was seven years ago. Dodds would be walking into a somewhat challenging situation. While the Bears do have some nice young pieces in place and maybe a franchise quarterback in Justin Fields, they also have salary cap problems and only five picks in the upcoming draft. Such things will take time to sort out.
Another reason Dodds might be one of their top targets is the Chicago Bears are also vetting Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus for their head coaching position. Dodds and Eberflus have worked together since 2018. They know each other well. It would make perfect sense to bring them in as a tandem. Dodds would already know the kind of players Eberflus prefers.
There are other names connected to him as well.
Dan Quinn and Kris Richard are two others to watch. It is nice to hear the Bears are getting good advice on which executives they should be targeting for GM. Dodds is one of the best in the business and probably should’ve been running his own team years ago. The fact he is still available could be quite fortuitous for Chicago if they end up going that route.
