This was going to be my regularly scheduled Bears Mailbag column. But with the news leaking to the media last night that the Chicago Bears are likely to retain Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy in 2021, the main purpose of this column changed.
The rumor flying around the NFL right now is #Bears will retain GM Ryan Pace & coach Matt Nagy into 2021. That's what folks working in the league have heard. We'll see if team has something this evening but that is the chatter that's out there right now.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) January 13, 2021
A quick reminder — the Bears’ 2020 season ended with a playoff loss in New Orleans on Sunday. The Bears held things tight into the second half before unraveling, similar to what happened against the Saints at Soldier Field in Week 8. The poor offensive performance fueled speculation that major changes were coming. Alas, it appears things will largely stay the same for another year.
One piece of change, though — it appears Chuck Pagano is retiring, meaning the Bears will have a new defensive coordinator in 2021.
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How much of it was a forced retirement is unclear. But the Bears needed a change here, and they will get one.
However, the Bears haven’t released any news officially yet, so there are a few things that could still be under consideration:
- Organizational changes to the power structure. Ted Phillips has long been the Bears’ Team President. But folks have always believed the Bears need someone reporting directly to the McCaskeys on Football Operations. Could the Bears install a new role allows for that? A “President of Football Operations”, for example, who can evaluate Pace and Nagy in 2021 and make the decisions going forward?
- Reconsidering possible wholesale changes. The news leaked last night, but usually it’s followed by official team releases. Maybe the Bears tested the waters by leaking this, and could react to public reaction?
It’ll be a fascinating remainder of the week at Halas Hall, and I, personally, am looking forward to their year-end press conference — whenever it is.
My initial thoughts on the changes? I’m not entirely surprised, though there are some mandates I’m giving if I’m George McCaskey:
- “Win or else.”
- “Don’t mortgage the future. No wild trades, especially not an insane move up for a QB.”
- “Move on from Mitch Trubisky.”
- “Figure out what the new QB can do well (quickly) and run that.”
- “Fix my salary cap situation.”
- “Make my football team entertaining again.”
With that, let’s reach into the Mailbag. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Bears Mailbag
If I'm the Bears, and I can have a guarantee that I'm getting Sam Howell in 2022, I'd be ready to go 0-16 in 2021. That's how much I like him as a prospect.
I like him more than Lawrence, for as much as that might get me killed on Twitter.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
The longer this drags on, the more I think there's a likelihood that the changes won't be as sweeping as I thought, originally.
If I had to guess right now, they will install a VP/President of Football Ops who spends this year evaluating Pace and Nagy.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
The Bears can make an argument for either choice. Ryan Pace won't be allowed to rebuild. If he stays, he'll have to re-tool.
They absolutely have to hit on the QB. That's the quickest way out of mediocrity. It's a simple answer, but true.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
I sincerely believe the pandemic impacted this a lot. Not knowing where the salary cap will be was a massive blind spot for the Bears to commit so much money when they're already constrained for resources.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
Trubisky's one of the few evaluations recently (other than Josh Allen) that I've truly gotten wrong. His limited abilities to read the field/process were dooming qualities (that I missed).
You can scheme around QBs' issues to make them "productive", but there's always a limit.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
Neither. Unless Zach Wilson falls to 15, for example, this team needs to make use of its draft capital and re-tool the roster. Take a QB in the draft, yes, and have them compete with Nick Foles.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
If we're talking strictly trades, keep an eye on the following guys:
Akiem Hicks
Kyle Fuller
Allen Robinson (tag and trade)— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
I'd look at roughly a four-year deal for Santos, for now.
I'm on board with punting the orange jerseys. They have to wear those white throwback ones forever.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
Why do you feel Pace & Nagy's relationship has soured?
Having a football person involved in hiring the next GM is critically important. The Bears have a much better chance finding a good candidate with Pace involved in the interviews over Phillips.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
Nick Foles is the only QB under contract, IIRC. So the Bears need another QB, and it'd be negligence not to take one at some point in the draft, honestly.
They may *have* to trade from their defense to free up cap space. Hicks and Fuller are the likeliest candidates.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
I'd guess he is listening to Pace and Nagy's pitch on how to position the Bears in 2021 to compete with the Packers, etc. They may also be figuring out how far this goes (is Phillips included?).
Pace and Nagy have endeared themselves to the McCaskeys. This isn't easy for them.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
It's a tough one, but I'll give it a shot:
Amazing candidate:
HC — Trade for Sean Payton
DC — Rex Ryan
OC — Mike KafkaReasonable candidate:
HC — Joe Brady
DC — Jay Rodgers
OC — Jay Gruden— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) January 12, 2021
