With all the talk about the head coaching position, it is important to remember the Chicago Bears have always operated from a top-down approach. That means they hire a new GM first before they worry about the coaching staff. Is Ryan Pace in trouble of losing his job? Yes, he is. Many around the NFL believe this is the case. His seat might not be as hot as Matt Nagy’s but it may not end up mattering.
If Pace is out, then the search for his replacement will take priority. This could prove a considerable challenge for George McCaskey. His two previous choices since becoming team chairman in 2011 haven’t exactly don’t much in the winning department. So this hire could be rather important. Thus we are going to explore power rankings of the absolute best candidates that will be available and why.
Chicago Bears have no shortage of qualified GM options
10. Quentin Harris (VP of player personnel, Arizona Cardinals)
It really felt like the fortunes of the Cardinals franchise began to turn in 2019. What a coincidence that this was the same year they promoted Harris, a former NFL safety himself, to director of player personnel. Since then they have uncovered some tremendous young talent including Kyler Murray, Byron Murphy, Isaiah Simmons, and Rondale Moore.
He also helped engineer the trade for DeAndre Hopkins and some underrated free agent moves like Jordan Hicks and James Conner. He is a rare breed in that he has extensive experience working both the pro and college scouting sides. Arizona is the top seed in the NFC with one of the most complete rosters in the league.
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09. Marvin Allen (Assistant GM, Miami Dolphins)
Allen is probably one of the more overlooked names on this list because he hasn’t stayed in one prominent spot for a long period of time. He started as a scout for the New England Patriots in 1993 and would rise up their ranks through 2008, helping them win three Super Bowls. This earned him bigger opportunities in Atlanta as a national scout (2011-2013), Kansas City as director of college scouting (2013-2017), Buffalo as a national scout (2018), and now Miami as their assistant GM.
Jaylen Waddle is fast 🤩pic.twitter.com/joOuD2Llz0
— Alabama DieHards (@DiehardsAlabama) November 28, 2021
Across that time span, he has his fingerprints on a lot of noteworthy personnel moves including Julio Jones, Marcus Peters, Chris Jones, Tyreek Hill, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, and Wyatt Teller. Now the 2021 Dolphins draft class may be one of the best in recent memory with Jaylen Waddle, Jaelen Phillips, and Jevon Holland all excelling.
08. Jeff Ireland (Assistant GM, New Orleans Saints)
Dipping back into the Saints pool might not be something the Chicago Bears are anxious to do after the Pace experiment. That said, Ireland was an established talent evaluator long before he arrived in New Orleans. He was the GM of the Dolphins from 2008 to 2013 and managed to get them to the playoffs his first year at the peak of the Tom Brady years.
A lot of good players have ended up on rosters with him involved. Jake Long, Vontae Davis, Reshad Jones, Mike Pouncey, Ryan Tannehill, and Olivier Vernon all became Pro Bowlers. Then in New Orleans, he helped them secure guys like Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, and Ryan Ramczyk. If it is about finding really good football players? His track record speaks for itself.
07. Joe Schoen (Assistant GM, Buffalo Bills)
Taking a team from perennial mediocrity to contention is what the Bears are looking for. That is exactly what the Bills did once GM Brandon Beane took over in 2018. He transformed that roster into one of the most balanced and complete in the NFL. A big reason why they are one of the favorites in the AFC. Schoen is his friend and right-hand man.
Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs vs. New England 12/28/20 #NEvsBUF pic.twitter.com/Fsi4r3dJv2
— Bills TD A Day (@BillsTouchdown) November 29, 2021
Together they swiftly turned Buffalo’s roster around headlined by draft picks like Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, Cody Ford, Dawson Knox, and of course the big-time trade for Stefon Diggs. Throw in some underrated free agent moves like Cole Beasley and Levin Wallace? Schoen has gotten it done in every phase of the job. He interviewed for the Panthers’ job this past January, so it feels like only a matter of time before he’s running his own team.
06. JoJo Wooden (Director of player personnel, Los Angeles Chargers)
If people were to mention the best GMs in the NFL, not nearly enough would bring up Tom Telesco. He has run the shown for the Chargers dating back to 2013. In that time span, he has drafted no fewer than six Pro Bowl/All-Pro players including Joey Bosa, Derwin James, Keenan Allen, and Melvin Gordon. He also happened to select Justin Herbert, one of the best QBs in the league this year.
Wooden has been his second-in-command for the entirety of that time. It is surprising more people don’t bring his name up. He has been a scout since the late 1990s and helped build the New York Jets into an AFC contender in the late 2000s. Now he has kept the Chargers competitive for years despite moving cities and significant roster turnover.
05. Jon-Eric Sullivan (Co-director of player personnel, Green Bay Packers)
The Bears have kept saying for years they’re trying to close the gap with the Green Bay Packers. Yet for the past decade, they haven’t been able to. Most chalk that up to their rivals having Aaron Rodgers. While fair, one should not discount the facts. Green Bay has consistently fielded good rosters across the board as well. They’re an organization that has drafted well for a long time. Going all the way back to the early 1990s.
Few are more well-versed in the Packers style than Sullivan. He joined the organization as a scout in 2008. By 2017, he was their college scouting director. Since then the team has enjoyed considerable success in April with names like Aaron Jones, Jaire Alexander, Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins, A.J. Dillon, and Jon Runyan Jr. He could bring the Packers blueprint to Chicago without the handcuffs of limited spending in free agency.
04. Joe Hortiz (Director of player personnel, Baltimore Ravens)
People have viewed the Patriots and Packers as the model franchises of the NFL for their consistency. The truth is what Baltimore has done is more impressive. Those organizations had Hall of Fame quarterbacks to lean on. The Ravens have managed to do it with good enough play at QB mixed with a proven ability to load and reload the roster each and every year. A testament to their prowess at drafting and developing talent.
Hortiz has been involved in that process for a long time. He became their college scouting director in 2009 and later their director of player personnel in 2019. In that time the Ravens have secured many standout names like Kelechi Osemele, Brandon Williams, C.J. Mosley, Za’Darius Smith, Darren Waller, Ronnie Stanley, Matt Judon, Marlon Humphrey, and Lamar Jackson. Not much else to say.
03. Ed Dodds (Assistant GM, Indianapolis Colts)
Some are surprised Dodds isn’t a GM already. He’s been one of the more respected talent evaluators in the league for some time now. He was a secret weapon for the Seattle Seahawks as they constructed their Super Bowl-winning roster in the early 2010s. Only when his longtime friend Chris Ballard came calling did he decide to leave for Indianapolis. Now the two are doing tremendous work for the Colts.
Jonathan Taylor = MVP? @JayT23 | @Colts | #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/SsJ38QMnPS
— NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2021
Dodds is known for being hyper-competitive and exceedingly blunt in his assessment of things. He’s not afraid to tell it like it is. As for his track record? Names like Quenton Nelson, Darius Leonard, Braden Smith, Rock Ya-Sin, Michael Pittman Jr., and Jonathan Taylor have turned that franchise back into AFC contenders. Dodds isn’t flashy. He is just really good at what he does.
02. Will McClay (VP of player personnel, Dallas Cowboys)
A former coach and personnel director in the Arena Football League, McClay cut his teeth in the business through unconventional means. Still, his success led to a big opportunity in Dallas. One the Cowboys don’t regret in the slightest. The man has become one of the more sought-after GM candidates in the league for the past few years. When looking at his work to date? Yeah, it’s easy to see why.
Zack Martin, Demarcus Lawrence, Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, Leighton Vander Esch, CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Micah Parsons have all become central to their recent run of success. Not to mention the huge trade for Amari Cooper that continues to pay dividends. McClay understands how to build a team. Specifically one meant to cater to a young quarterback.
01. Rick Smith (Former Houston Texans GM)
The key difference between Smith and everybody else on this list. He has done the job before. Nobody else has been a GM yet in their career. Smith was for a decade in Houston. He had considerable success too. With his guiding hand, the expansion franchise transformed into an AFC contender that featured exciting talent on both sides of the ball.
His best work was on the offensive side of the ball. Guys like Duane Brown, Brandon Brooks, DeAndre Hopkins, and Deshaun Watson headlined his biggest hits. This doesn’t include a slew of defensive standouts too like J.J. Watt, Connor Barwin, Glover Quinn, and Whitney Mercilus. If the Chicago Bears were looking for somebody experienced and who understands how to build around a quarterback? Then Smith is absolutely the guy to call.
