When it comes to Matt Nagy? Everybody is in agreement. The fourth-year head coach will be fired by the Chicago Bears at some point in the near future. Either in the next week or two in order to take advantage of the new NFL rule where teams can interview candidates two weeks early. Or after the regular season concludes with the Bears missing the playoffs. The bigger question now is whether GM Ryan Pace will join him.
There is no question the man is on thin ice too. He is on the cusp of concluding his sixth non-winning season in seven years with the franchise. Much of it is thanks to some major missteps by him. Headlined by the drafting of Mitch Trubisky and the hiring of Nagy. Not to mention other misguided moves that have left the roster old and the payroll bloated. Plenty of people believe he needs to go. Others aren’t sure the McCaskey family wants to do that.
It is a complicated situation.
Dan Graziano of ESPN provided an interesting update on the situation. He called it a “mystery” at this stage. There is no question that Nagy is out, but it remains unclear if the Bears brass will decide to let Pace seek another coach to develop Justin Fields. It was then he dropped a note that should not be ignored. The idea is that George McCaskey may end up having a specific coach in mind. So what happens if the said coach isn’t interested in working with Pace?
“Eyes are on the general manager’s office there. Ryan Pace’s status is a mystery. He could get a chance to hire a second coach and oversee the team’s building around quarterback Justin Fields, but if ownership were to have a coach in mind who wanted a different GM, the Bears could move on from both.”
That is an interesting subplot that I addressed in a previous SM article. The fact that Pace’s uncertain status has left some possible head coach candidates wary of coming to Chicago. Even with the presence of Fields. They may prefer working with somebody with a less shaky track record. Somebody they may know and trust. Especially given his uncertain contract status.
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TESTIFY!!! @ConorOrr was so on point with this. I’ll expand on the topic tomorrow. #Bears pic.twitter.com/Nof5xpUDj5
— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) December 8, 2021
Ryan Pace is running out of time to make his case
As the team continues limping towards a discouraging finish, there isn’t much for the GM to hang his hat on. The defense has disintegrated over the past two months. The offense is as bad as it’s ever been in Bears history. Aside from a few bright spots like Roquan Smith and David Montgomery, Pace’s roster isn’t performing. His best hope right now is Fields. If the rookie can take a step forward over the final five games, that might get ownership behind him.
On the other hand, another loss to Green Bay on Sunday might be the final nail in his coffin. Ryan Pace was hired to close the gap with the Packers back in 2015. Instead, he’s managed to beat them a grand total of two times since he took over. If somebody were to write anything on his eventual Bears gravestone, it would be that. In the minds of most, he is no different than the GMs who came before him.
Unequal to the task.
So when is clarity coming? Most predict around Christmas time. That is when the two-week window for interviewing coaches will begin. If the Bears part ways with Nagy at that time? It might suggest that Pace is safe and will be part of the picture moving forward. If they don’t? That could suggest McCaskey does what he did back in 2015. Wait until the end of the season and then clean house. Should be an interesting next two weeks.