Don’t expect the discussions around the Chicago Bears GM and head coaching jobs to let up for the next six weeks. Considering the team is 4-7 and likely to finish with a losing record, it is a fair assumption both Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy will be gone. In fact, some insiders have already reported it’s a virtual lock. If that is the case, then the next question is obvious. Who will end up replacing them?
SM has reported multiple times that the Bears have already begun compiling lists of potential candidates at both spots. One overarching theme they are leaning towards for both is experience. Somebody who has had success at those jobs in the past. While most would automatically assume a former GM who works with another team or happens to be a free agent, there is another possibility.
Could the Bears target one that is employed in that job already?
It isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Bill Polian was the GM of the Carolina Panthers in 1997. His success there drew the interest of the Indianapolis Colts, who offered him their GM and team president positions. He accepted and eventually guided the organization to a championship. In fact, the Bears organization has done this before too. Jim Finks had been the GM in Minnesota for almost a decade. Impressed with his work, George Halas offered the positions of GM and executive vice president to lure him away. Finks accepted and ended up building the 1985 championship team.
This is a path George McCaskey can take too. It is simply a matter of finding the right guy who has a strong track record and is in a position to be lured away. Is there anybody like that out there? Yes, there is. That would be Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider.
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Schneider has what the Chicago Bears are looking for
Experience, pedigree, and a strong track record. Many credit him as the architect of those great Seahawks teams from 2012 to 2016. A group that featured one of the best defenses in NFL history with guys like Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, and Earl Thomas. He also snagged Russell Wilson at quarterback and traded for Marshawn Lynch. Together that group won the Super Bowl in 2013.
So why would he leave? Well, it seems things aren’t all that great in Seattle these days. The team has just one playoff win since 2017 and are facing their first losing season since 2011. Speculation is rampant that quarterback Russell Wilson will demand a trade out of town next offseason. Add in the fact that head coach Pete Carroll is 70-years old? It is starting to feel like the end of an era for the Seahawks. Mookie Alexander of Field Gulls, the team’s SB Nation affiliate, had this to say.
“I understand the argument that keeping Pete/John/Russ together in 2022 is justified on the basis of all previous success earning them a mulligan. I don’t agree. The mulligan was the 2017 season in which the core of the Seahawks defense went away and the offensive line and running game was a complete mess. They retooled successfully but it looks as if they are going to remain with just a single playoff victory over the past five seasons… a narrow win against a bad Eagles team that played a semi-retired Josh McCown for more than half the game. This does not look like a team on an upward trajectory.
Personally I think it’s time to break this group up before things really get worse.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Schneider might be seeking an exit strategy.
This is where the Chicago Bears come in. The GM is familiar with the NFC North. Prior to Seattle, he was a scout and executive with the Green Bay Packers from 2002 to 2009. He is still just 50-years old. Getting the chance to start fresh with a young quarterback in Justin Fields who has many of the same qualities as Wilson could be a nice sales pitch. Especially if he gets total control of the roster.
Keep in mind, Schneider doesn’t have the final say on Seattle’s personnel decisions. That falls to Carroll who is both head coach and executive VP of football operations. One can imagine the GM would like to be in a position where he wouldn’t have to answer to somebody else. Chicago could offer that. If McCaskey is interested in taking a big swing, then that is the phone call to make.
