The Chicago Bears have some big decisions ahead of them. Especially if they end up losing on Sunday to the New Orleans Saints. Most of the eyes will be on one man. That being GM Ryan Pace. He’s held the job since 2015, inheriting a mess left behind by Phil Emery. Over the first few years, he cleaned up the culture and rebuilt the defense. Both of which were big successes. However, not everything went according to plan.
His selection of Mitch Trubisky in the 2017 draft continues to haunt the Bears at quarterback. His expensive trade for Anthony Miller isn’t bearing fruit and his recent inking of Robert Quinn for $70 million looks like a disaster. Combine that with only one year remaining on his contract? It isn’t hard to understand why many think he could be out of a job come next week.
What people want to know is who might replace him. Based on all the rumors and information available, these are the names connected to the Bears as potential next GMs.
Names connected to the Chicago Bears GM spot
Mike Borgonzi (Director of Football Ops, Kansas City Chiefs)
This is the name who has been connected to Chicago multiple times. First through SM itself and more recently via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Borgonzi is considered the right-hand man of Chiefs GM Brett Veach. He’s been with the organization since 2009 and has risen through the ranks at rapid speed. Since gaining a primary voice in the front office in2 2015, Kansas City has enjoyed some of their best drafting with names like Chris Jones, Tyreek Hill, and Patrick Mahomes highlighting their work.
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Borgonzi would make sense if the Bears intend to keep head coach Matt Nagy. The two worked together from 2013 to 2017. So there is an established relationship. No doubt it’s hoped the two would be able to instantly formulate a plan to take this team to the next level.
George Paton (Assistant GM, Minnesota Vikings)
Two notable NFL insiders mentioned Paton as a name to watch in Chicago. They being Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports and Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network. It’s believed Paton would be the GM of choice for head coach Pat Fitzgerald who is finally considering a jump to the NFL after over a decade at Northwestern. Most believe the Bears job is the one he wants most. He shares an agent with Paton so the two know each other well.
On top of that, Paton was a scout and personnel director for the Bears back in the 1990s until 2000. So he has ties to the organization and understands ownership. The fact he’s worked for years with the highly-respected Rick Spielman as well only enhances his value.
Omar Khan (VP of Football and Business Administration, Pittsburgh Steelers)
This isn’t a name that gets a lot of attention even though he’s been at the top of one of the best front offices for a long time. Khan has equal experience on the football and business sides of the Steelers organization. He’s learned at the feet of Kevin Colbert, one of the NFL’s most consistently successful GMs. It isn’t hard to understand why a team might consider him an outside-the-box option for that top job.
The McCaskey family also has a long-established relationship with the Rooneys in Pittsburgh. So there is a comfort level involved. If that weren’t enough? Khan is longtime friends with Bears college scouting director Mark Sadowski. That means he has connections to the organization as well.
Lake Dawson (Assistant Director of College Scouting, Buffalo Bills)
This is a name that has sniffed a lot of GM positions for years. In fact, people don’t remember this but Dawson interviewed for the Chicago Bears job back in 2015. So there was already some interest at the time. One can probably argue it’s only gone up since then. Why? Dawson is viewed as a big part of the Buffalo Bills front office that helped produce a roster that just finished going 13-3 this season.
He also has a reputation for being able to say no. It looked like the Miami Dolphins jobs was his that same year but he ended up declining. So he clearly has conviction. During his run between Tennessee and Buffalo from 2011 to 2020 he’s helped drafted the likes of Jurrell Casey, Zach Brown, Taylor Lewan, Tre Edmunds, Josh Allen, Cody Ford, and Dawson Knox.
