Many Chicago Bears fans have likely heard the name Jeff Hughes at some point or another. He is the owner of Da Bears Blog, a prominent resource on Bears discussions going back several years. In that time it has become apparent that Hughes actually has strong sources close to the organization. He was first on the hirings of both Harry Hiestand and Juan Castillo among other notable team events. So it is worth listening whenever he brings something up. Perhaps the biggest topic of conversation this past week is Ryan Pace.
He like most others couldn’t get a serious read on the situation with the Bears GM. While head coach Matt Nagy is a virtual lock to be fired next week, nobody could say the same for Pace. Then Hub Arkush of Shaw Media stated on 670 The Score there is a better than 50% chance that Pace will remain with the organization. Not only does Hughes disagree with that, he outright refuted it. During an appearance on The Irish Bears Show, he stated quite clearly that Pace will be fired Monday along with Nagy.
It will be a complete house cleaning for the Bears.
The details line up with what SM has heard as well. That George McCaskey brought in outside consultants made up of several Super Bowl winners and Hall of Famers and asked them to evaluate the football operations. Their assessment was straightforward. While Pace had done a solid job in multiple aspects of the position, it wasn’t good enough. Several other men around the league could’ve accomplished the same things he has. In this case, seven years with just one winning season and two one-and-done trips to the playoffs.
People are quick to point out all of the missteps he’s made over the years. In reality, that is the case for most GMs. What this came down to was a pair of blunders that will define his legacy. Drafting Mitch Trubisky #2 overall in 2017 and then hiring Nagy a year later to develop him. In the four seasons since it became apparent neither man was what Chicago hoped for and Pace has nobody to blame but himself for that.
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If Ryan Pace is fired it will have been the correct decision
Not just because his mistakes have put the Bears in their current situation but because half-measure responses haven’t worked for this organization in the past. Too often they’ve chosen to keep the head coach and fire the GM (Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo) or keep the GM and fire the head coach (Ryan Pace and John Fox). Neither approach ended up getting the franchise where they wanted to go.
The best thing for this team is to start fresh. Open up both jobs. This way the McCaskeys have a chance to land the best possible candidates on the market. There is no reason to limit themselves on the coaching front because there will be some that aren’t interested in working with Pace. Not after he had a hand in getting two previous coaches fired.
Despite the obvious fear of change, the Bears can do better.
There will be no shortage of qualified options for that job. Rick Smith, Ed Dodds, and Will McClay are just a few of the high-profile names around the league that experts claim are personnel rock stars. Guys that are ready and waiting to run their own teams. That have had significant success in other locations. All George McCaskey has to do is trust his advisors and be willing to spend whatever money is necessary to get the right guy.
