Chicago Bears fans probably don’t want to walk over the same ground again after enduring the misery for years, but with Patrick Mahomes gunning for his third Super Bowl ring, it’s difficult not to—that and because crazy details keep coming out about what happened in April of 2017. Everybody knows the story. Former GM Ryan Pace traded up from #3 to #2 to select North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky. It was a shocking decision at the time. Trubisky had only one year of starting experience. It felt like the Bears were bidding against themselves in that moment.
Everything about the process that led to that moment felt off. Had the Bears front office, scouts, and coaches really reached a consensus that such a move was the right course of action? As it turns out, no. Former Bears director of player personnel Josh Lucas shared details of what happened on Football Night in Chicago. It turns out that the Trubisky decision was led mainly by Pace and himself. Contrary to previous reports, there wasn’t nearly a consensus on the choice. That is especially true for the coaching staff, who were apparently cut out of the decision entirely.
This is in addition to several people inside Halas Hall preferring Mahomes.
Lucas didn’t recognize how flawed the Mitch Trubisky process was until later.
Watching Mahomes thrive in Kansas City, and even Deshaun Watson in Houston woke him up to the many mistakes he and Pace made. So when the golden opportunity to draft another quarterback arrived in 2021, the two worked hard to fix the issues. This time, the coaching staff was heavily involved in the evaluation process. Communication was open and honest. Lucas admitted debates went back and forth between Justin Fields and Mac Jones right up until the day of the draft. In the end, they felt Fields was the better choice.
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Overall, they were correct. Fields proved to be the more productive quarterback at the NFL level, while Jones floundered in New England. It was a small victory in the end. Lucas, Pace, and the coaching staff were fired after that first season ended. A rookie quarterback couldn’t mask their other failures. It was another depressing chapter in the Bears’ tortured legacy at the position. Mitch Trubisky wasn’t the worst, but his story serves as a grim reminder of how bad the organization is at this.
One can only hope Ryan Poles can get it right this time.
