One of the most pressing questions that Chicago Bears fans and even the media have asked all season is this. Given that GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy are supposedly on the hot seat, would George McCaskey and ownership sign off on an aggressive move up the board in the 1st round for a quarterback? It doesn’t make logical sense. Letting two men with their jobs hanging in the balance potentially sacrifice the future of this franchise to save their own skins.
So what gives? Do they have the green light? Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was posed this same question during his weekly mailbag and had a rather telling answer. He revealed that McCaskey was fine with Pace making a huge trade offer for Russell Wilson last month. That was the first clue that the GM might have some leeway. Biggs believes if a strong enough pitch is made, the Bears chairman will sign off.
“If Pace and Nagy can present a compelling case to McCaskey to make a big draft move for a quarterback, my bet is they would receive his blessing. But that’s not a move made without ownership knowing full well what the future ramifications would be.”
It comes down to whether McCaskey can be sold on if it’s a good idea.
Given the types of personalities that Pace and Nagy have? That shouldn’t prove too difficult. They both come across as good salesmen. If they are passionate about something, they have the ability to convey it through words. McCaskey seems to believe in both men. That is why he decided to keep them despite obvious outside pressure. He trusts them and their vision for the franchise.
SM’s own sources have indicated Pace has the green light already. If the QB they want is obtainable, they will make a strong push to go up and get them. The belief is Justin Fields of Ohio State is their primary target. However, this front office is notorious for pulling swerves this time of year. So Trey Lance of North Dakota State and Mac Jones of Alabama can’t be dismissed as possibilities.
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Ryan Pace will alter or cement his legacy in the next 48 hours
As of right now, the GM is known for one thing. Passing on Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson for Mitch Trubisky. That singular mistake continues to haunt him four years later. It may haunt him for the rest of his career unless he somehow finds a way to change the narrative. The only way he can do that? Right the previous wrong by finding an actual franchise QB.
People don’t understand how fortunate Ryan Pace is. Most GMs who missed that badly on a top 5 quarterback are almost always fired. The fact McCaskey kept him and is giving him an incredibly rare second chance? He should be thanking his lucky stars. Whether he does anything with that chance is another story. Then again it might not matter. He is putting his fate in the hands of Nagy who is rumored to be leading the QB search with Pace acting as support.
Perhaps that could be the critical difference this time.
Nagy is an offensive head coach with a deep background in quarterbacks. He would be the first Bears head coach with such a background to draft one in the 1st round. Ever. That would be an interesting trend-breaker. Maybe enough to finally end their streak of misfortune at the position. Most fans aren’t holding their breath on that. They’ve been jaded by too many years of disappointment.