Over the past week, SM has reported a strong buzz coming from around Halas Hall that tensions are high for the Chicago Bears. Especially at the top. GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy took a lot of major gambles during the offseason to turn this team around. Instead, it looks like they merely accelerated the downfall. After a 5-1 start, the team is 5-5 after another brutal offensive showing on Monday Night Football. One that may have pushed George McCaskey to his breaking point.
The latest word from a source says he’s furious with the state of the team. Particularly with Pace and Nagy since they’re primarily responsible for that eyesore of an offense. One that had six points and 149 total yards against one of the worst defenses in the league. McCaskey isn’t in this business to be embarrassed and the Bears are once again a national embarrassment because they can’t get the offense fixed.
So what does this mean?
Adam Jahns of The Athletic, one of the top Bears insiders in the business, also confirmed the same. He said he his most recent article that “frustration is real” for McCaskey and the top brass. They aren’t happy and are now considering serious changes. It’s just a matter of what those changes will be. Firing Pace? Fire Nagy? Or simply clean house and bring in a totally new regime?
They’ve tried both of the former strategies. They had multiple new GMs for Mike Ditka, Dave Wannstedt, and Lovie Smith. Then they allowed Pace to fire John Fox and hire a new coach. Neither strategy worked out. They cleaned house in 2015 following the Marc Trestman and Phil Emery debacle. That seemed to put the team on the right course. Unfortunately, they failed to hit on enough of their moves.
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George McCaskey may take personal charge this time
Where this gets a bit interesting is in how the next search might unfold. The last time the Bears sought a new GM, the team hired a consulting agency. Former GM Ernie Accorsi lent his experience and advice to the search, eventually landing on Pace and Fox. It’s early but initial signs indicate McCaskey may be taking personal control of this next search.
That isn’t a bad thing. Why? Mostly because it won’t be the recommendation of somebody else that will sway the man one way or another. The owner of the Bears wants to find his guys. People he thinks can make this team a success. Look around the NFL and this is the case for most top owners. They don’t hire consultants. They conduct the searches themselves.
That is what George Halas did.
Could he end up being wrong? Sure. At least he’d be wrong making the decisions for himself and his franchise for once. No Accorsi. No Ted Phillips. Just George McCaskey. The grandson of Papa Bear himself That is how it should be. Chicago has six games left on the schedule. Given the state of this offense, odds are good they won’t win many of them.
While Pace and Nagy won’t be fired midseason, it’s fair to expect changes to happen early this coming January.