It’s hardly news that things are in flux regarding the Chicago Bears power structure this season. After it seemed like GM Ryan Pace was setting himself up to survive into 2021, things have begun to crumble around him. The team went from 5-1 to 5-5 in the blink of an eye. Their playoff hopes are hanging by a thread. Much of that blame is being directed at Pace himself.
After all, he’s the one who constructed this roster. Specifically, the offense which will likely rank 32nd in the NFL by the end of this weekend. It’s been a true abomination to watch. Nowhere more so than the offensive line and quarterback positions. Two areas that have his fingerprints all over them. Mitch Trubisky? Bust. Nick Foles? False prophet. On top of that, injuries have haunted the O-line, exposing how little Pace has actually invested in it.
Is it possible these blunders have cost him the faith of ownership?
We reported last week that George McCaskey was angry with Pace and head coach Matt Nagy. Enough to where both are squarely on the hot seat. Something Bears insider Adam Jahns confirmed. Now it’s well-known that the McCaskey family loves Pace. He’s done a lot to earn their respect. However, everything has a breaking point.
The sixth-year GM may have reached his. A source revealed that ownership has tightened the leash on Pace for the rest of the season. He is not allowed to make any significant roster moves without consulting them first. The two words used were “management freeze.” Essentially until they have a clear idea of what to do next, Pace is not allowed to make any significant organizational decisions.
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Ryan Pace has six games left to determine his fate
This shouldn’t be a huge surprise. If McCaskey does end up making a change, the last thing he should do is let Pace squander more resources the next guy will need to fix this team. The question is if this is true, how long ago did the team make that decision? It would actually explain a lot from both their unwillingness to pursue noteworthy free agents like Quinton Spain to making no moves at the trade deadline despite needing obvious help.
This is just speculation though. Ryan Pace put himself in this position. His hyper-aggressiveness to trade picks in the NFL draft along with some questionable spending in free agency hasn’t helped his reputation. Giving $70 million to Robert Quinn is looking like a brutal miscalculation. Sending a 4th round pick to Jacksonville for Foles and paying him $21 million probably isn’t doing him favors either.
These final six weeks will tell the story.
Chicago heads into Green Bay next Sunday night. Waiting for them will be a Packers team that has beaten them in three of the past four meetings and is stinging from an overtime loss in Indianapolis. It should be noted they’ve won in blowout fashion after each loss this season. Also, Matt Nagy is 0-2 coming out of the bye week in his coaching career. So one can understand if optimism isn’t too high going into this one.
That said the NFC playoff picture is hardly insurmountable. Chicago is 8th in the rankings and there are seven playoff spots. If they can get to 10-6 or even 9-7 they might be able to sneak in. Pace better hope so.