Ryan Pace made it to his sixth season as Chicago Bears GM this year. Not a terrible accomplishment in this day and age. However, it feels like for the first time his grip on the job is starting to slip away. Several poor decisions he’s made in recent years have come back to haunt the team. Drafting Mitch Trubisky. Ignoring the offensive line too often. Hiring Matt Nagy. All of that and more has culminated in watching a 5-1 start crumble to a 5-6 record with five games left in 2020.

If the Bears fail to make the playoffs, it will be the fifth time in six seasons for Pace. A reality he can’t escape no matter how he tries to spin it. His plan for bringing the offense into the 21st century has backfired horrendously. He drafted a quarterback who wasn’t proven enough and hired a head coach who wasn’t proven enough.

Now there is a growing chance he could be fired.

In fact, rumors persist that the decision is already all but made by George McCaskey. Only a miracle run down the stretch would change his mind at this point. So it’s safe to assume team brass will begin their search for a replacement not too long from now. The question everybody is asking continues to be who that man should be.

While there are plenty of popular names out there, one notable draft insider believes an unheralded evaluator out east would be perfect for Chicago. Charlie Campbell of Walter Football has hit on a number of draft predictions in recent years. He seems to have solid connections around the scouting community. He believes Pace should and will go and has one guy in mind who’d fit their franchise perfectly.

“Brandon Hunt, executive with the Steelers. They’ve been such a rock-solid franchise in terms of consistently drafting well. Making smart decisions on contracts and just keeping a really talented core team together. I think the experience in Pittsburgh, that type of franchise with an old NFL family I think would really be helpful for the Bears GM spot.”

Hunt would be an interesting switch at Chicago Bears GM

Taking somebody from an organization like Pittsburgh is never a bad idea. No franchise has done a better job of loading and reloading their roster through the draft in the past two decades. Hunt isn’t a noteworthy name in the mainstream because he’s been their pro scouting coordinator for years. One would think he doesn’t mean much but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

According to Ed Bouchette of The Athletic, Hunt is actually the favorite to replace Kevin Colbert if and when the longtime GM decides to step down. This would seem to indicate the Rooney family holds Hunt in high esteem. Significant given how good they’ve been at finding good coaches and talent evaluators for years. Word is Hunt started getting more involved with their draft process more last season.

A move that looks like it’s already paying dividends.

Pittsburgh added names like Devin Bush, Diontae Johnson, and Chase Claypool in the past two drafts. All of whom have already become prominent playmakers for the organization. Hunt was also involved in the big trade to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick from Miami last year. He promptly became an All-Pro safety for that top-ranked Steelers defense.

So the guy certainly seems to have been well-groomed for a GM job. The question is would he be interested in becoming Chicago Bears GM? Something to remember here is Hunt grew up in Pittsburgh. He’s worked for the Steelers for many years. If he gets the sense he’ll be the successor to Colbert, why would he want to leave? It would likely take a significant sale pitch from the McCaskeys to convince him.

Either way, it isn’t a terrible idea.