The Chicago Bears were so close. GM Ryan Pace had a plan and he was executing it. After arriving in 2015, he dismantled an old and broken roster before proceeding to rebuild it from the ground up. The first two years were spent shoring up a franchise-worst defense while adding pieces here and there on offense. All the while he was waiting for the right opportunity.
That opportunity to secure his franchise quarterback. Everything lined up perfectly too. After a 3-13 season in 2016, the Bears held the #3 pick in the 2017 draft. Better still? Cleveland passed on drafting one. That meant Chicago would have their choice of at least two of the top options available. Not willing to chance it, Pace decided to make sure and traded three extra picks to San Francisco for #2 overall.
That gave him his choice of any in the entire class. What happened then is pretty much an infamous part of NFL history. Chicago took Mitch Trubisky out of North Carolina, passing on a future MVP/Super Bowl champion and another Pro Bowler for a guy who got benched three games into his fourth season.
Now the organization likely has to resume their search for that elusive QB once again in 2021. If they aren’t willing to give Pace another chance, and those odds are growing, then here are some names who might finally break this everlasting curse.
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A few names who could succeed where Ryan Pace failed
Marvin Allen (Dolphins Assistant GM)
Most people won’t know the name outside of Foxborough. Allen was a running back for the New England Patriots from 1988 to 1991. He didn’t last long and entered the scouting world with the same team in 1993. He was on the staff in 2000 when New England decided to draft a kid out of Michigan named Tom Brady. Of course, he can’t claim credit for that, right?
Well, after a stint in Atlanta between 2009 and 2013 he became the director of college scouting for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. In his final season there in 2017, he was one of the primary guys who helped scout Patrick Mahomes. Still not convinced? A year later he was a national scout for the Buffalo Bills when they drafted Josh Allen out of Wyoming.
Then just for a nice little chaser, he became assistant GM for the Miami Dolphins this year when they selected Tua Tagovailoa. The same rookie QB who has four touchdown passes and no interceptions through his first three starts at the time of writing this.
Duke Tobin (Bengals Director of Player Personnel)
This guy has been a target for teams going back years, and for good reason. Tobin is one of the best personnel guys in the business. A man who has built and rebuilt the Cincinnati Bengals into winners on multiple occasions. Part of his secret? An ability to identify good quarterbacks when they’re in front of him.
He was director of player personnel in 2003 when they drafted Carson Palmer. Eight years later he took a calculated risk in the 2nd round on a kid out of TCU named Andy Dalton. Now? He made the obvious but still correct decision to take Joe Burrow out of LSU #1 overall. A guy who is squarely in the running for Rookie of the Year.
Tobin would be a huge get if the Bears could somehow lure him away. They do have an in as well. His father, Bill Tobin, was a mainstay of Chicago’s front office from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At one point he was their de facto GM. So there is a familiarity with the family the McCaskeys could try to exploit.
Lionel Vital (Cowboys Director of College Scouting)
A former running back who bounced between the CFL and NFL in the late 1980s, winning a Grey Cup in the process. By 1990, he chose to enter the scouting ranks in Canada. His work caught the attention of Bill Belichick in Cleveland and he made his way back south. Step by step he made his way up the ranks until he was a national scout in New England in 2000. The same year they drafted Brady.
After a few more years there, Atlanta plucked him away in 2007 to become their assistant director of player personnel. One year later, they drafted Matt Ryan 3rd overall. That success elevated his profile and in 2016, the Dallas Cowboys made him their director of college scouting. The same year they drafted a young man named Dak Prescott in the 4th round (another Ryan Pace passed on).
So Vital has seen it done both at the top of the draft and later in the draft. Never a bad sort of experience to have. At age 57, one could argue he’s overdue for his opportunity.
Jeff Ireland (Saints Assistant GM)
After trying his hand at coaching in the early ’90s, Ireland became a scout by 1994. After a nice run in Kansas City, he drew the attention of Dallas in 2001 where he became their national scout. Two years later he helped them sign a nondescript kid out of Eastern Illinois named Tony Romo as an undrafted free agent. That worked out pretty well.
By 2008, he’d ascended to running both the college and pro scouting departments. Miami offered their GM job and he took it. He spent a pair of 2nd round picks on Chad Henne and Pat White that first couple of years to no success. Finally, in 2012, he grabbed Ryan Tannehill out of Texas A&M 8th overall.
Despite showing early promise those first two years, Ireland was fired after the 2013 season. Yet his decision has since been validated. After leaving Miami in 2019, Tannehill morphed into a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Tennessee Titans. Nice justification for Ireland who has done some good work in New Orleans since leaving.
How ironic if he ended up being the one to replace Ryan Pace.
