The beatdown of the Houston Texans last Sunday was unexpected. While a win wasn’t entirely out of the question for Chicago Bears fans, to see their team so thoroughly dispatch an opponent with a franchise QB in Deshaun Watson like that? A bit shocking. This inevitably led to speculation. Could such a victory change the narrative that has dominated for the past two months? Namely the possible fates of Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace.
Nobody would’ve thought it would get to this point for the GM and the head coach he hired. After going 12-4 in 2018, this team looked ready to compete for a Super Bowl. Then the next year the offense regressed instead of improved and they stumbled to an 8-8 finish. It felt like Nagy and Pace needed to deliver a bounceback year in order to quiet the questions about their job security. Things certainly began well with the Bears jumping out to a 5-1 start in 2020.
Then it all seemed to go wrong.
Chicago lost their next six games in a row. Their worst drought in 18 years. Suddenly a team that was in the conversation for the #1 seed in the playoffs was in the conversation for a top 10 pick. So it was no surprise that Nagy and Pace were constant targets of derision by fans and media alike.
The Texans win does seem to have at least quieted the masses for the time being. What nobody knows is whether such a victory has swayed George McCaskey. It’s been rumored for weeks the team chairman is furious with the two men. Could such a victory have begun to change his mind? Not according to insider Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network. From what he’s heard, there is really just one way the head coach and GM can survive into 2021.
Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace still need a lot of help
One must not forget McCaskey isn’t so easily swayed by victories against bad teams. Remember after the Patriots and Packers debacles back in 2014, Marc Trestman managed to win back-to-back games against the Vikings and Buccaneers before losing down the stretch. Those wins did nothing to save him or GM Phil Emery from getting canned.
A source indicated to me that the situation is pretty straightforward from McCaskey’s perspective.
“They need to make the playoffs.”
That seems like a fair stipulation. McCaskey stated before this season that he wanted to know which team this Bears roster is. Are they the ones that dominated in 2018 or the ones that trod water in 2019? Based on recent results, they are much closer to the latter. They still can’t beat the Packers. They still have quarterback problems. Beating up on a bad, injury-riddled opponent changes nothing.
Want to stay employed? Prove it.
Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace only have themselves to blame for this situation. Pace misfired at quarterback and made some misguided moves this offseason to bolster the roster. Nagy failed to do what he was primarily hired for which was improving the offense enough to match the defense. It got so bad he had to relinquish play-calling.
Only a run through the final three games including rematches against the Vikings and Packers can and should sway ownership that the Bears might be turning a corner. Otherwise, it’s time to clean house.