Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace figure to remain the topic of discussion in Chicago for weeks to come. A byproduct of the Chicago Bears being on a five-game losing streak and watching their playoff hopes fade away. Barring a major rally down the stretch, it looks like they’ll end up squandering a 5-1 start to the season. Easily one of the biggest collapses in modern team history.

It is for this reason that team chairman George McCaskey is reportedly furious. He expected improvement this year after the team spent a considerable amount of money to bring in guys like Robert Quinn and Jimmy Graham. He expected the offense to be better after Nagy basically gutted his entire staff. Yet nothing changed. In fact, things got even worse from last year.

This is why people are calling for his and Pace’s heads.

One person though is urging caution on that decision. Mike Tirico has been a sportscaster and analyst dating all the way back to 1991. He’s covered the NFL extensively throughout the entirety of that time. So he has an intimate understanding of how the league works. That is what makes his answer about whether the Bears should clean house so interesting. He explained in an interview with NBC Sports Chicago.

“I would be more patient, but I’m not living there. Matt, wasn’t he the Coach of the Year two years ago? He was, right? So you’re thinking: GMs get two coaches, do coaches get two quarterbacks?”

Tirico went on to explain the complications of the 2021 salary cap that won’t be easy to sort out. Last but not least? They’re going to have a ton of competition for those top GM and head coach candidates if they do pull the trigger.

“…The third one is, where are you finding those two new guys to be the GM and the coach, in this environment, in this time. If you’re doing it, and somebody else in the division is doing it, and Atlanta’s doing it… Houston’s already in the market. You’re the sixth team out there trying to do it. Are there really six GMs and coaches who are better than the guys you have here?”

This is the question some fans are wrestling with. It sounds pretty simple, but there are factors in play that can’t be ignored.

Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace dug their own graves

Something critical to remember here starts with Pace. As things stand, the 2021 season will be the last of his current contract. The Bears have to ask themselves a serious question. With quarterbacks topping the list of needs, are they willing to put that decision in Pace’s hands? Imagine if he drafted somebody in the 1st round, but the season went sideways and the Bears fired him. That decision would then be forced onto the shoulders of the next GM, who may not have wanted that QB if he’d been given a choice.

This is the sort of butterfly effect the team would be inviting if they kept the status quo next year. So their decision needs to be one of two things. Either fire Pace or give him a contract extension. This way he’d be allowed to see that QB acquisition through. However, given he’s the one who signed Mike Glennon, drafted Mitch Trubisky, and traded for Nick Foles? That may not be a chance McCaskey should give him.

Which goes into the other part of the argument Tirico made.

He said coaches should get two quarterbacks. Well if Trubisky was his first guy, then isn’t Foles the second for Nagy? Remember it’s been widely believed that the coach was a big proponent of bringing the veteran over from Jacksonville. A move that cost the Bears a 4th round pick and $21 million. It was felt the 31-year old would be able to run this offense properly. That has not proven to be the case. Truth be told, no offensive player has gotten better since he arrived in 2018.

Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace both come across as good guys. Their plans are in the right place. Unfortunately, they just haven’t done a good enough job implementing them. It’s understandable that Tirico would urge caution because of the extreme circumstances of 2020. Yet the reality is every team has faced them and the Bears haven’t handled them as well. Such problems start at the top.