Talk to Chicago Bears fans lately? Most of them share a similar opinion on Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. Failing to make the playoffs after a 5-1 start this season can’t be allowed to go unpunished. It would mark Pace’s fifth season without a playoff appearance in six years. Nagy will have seen another season conclude with an offense ranked in the bottom half of the NFL. Their first year together was great in 2018, but the team seems to have steadily declined since then.
They were supposed to compete for a Super Bowl. Instead, they’re looking more and more like an aging roster trying to make one last desperate push to even have a shot at one. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Yet it’s the way it is. Frustration over seeing this has fans tired of the same old story. A good defense wasted by an underachieving offense. Missed high draft choices. Too often losing the battle of minds.
Meanwhile, the Packers continue to rub it in their faces.
If Nagy and Pace can’t do the job, then it’s time to find somebody who can. That being said, is it fair to ask whether this might be a bit of an overreaction. Chicago will finish their third-straight year without a losing record. Something that last happened between 2011 and 2013. They have a chance to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.
The offense still isn’t great but it’s improved a lot over the past month. Young players they’ve recently drafted have begun to emerge. A fair evaluation says everything Pace and Nagy have done isn’t all bad. They have their bright spots too. Longtime Bears insider Hub Arkush told Dan Bernstein on 670 The Score a lot of people around the NFL think the criticism is a bit unfair.
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“When I talk to people in other cities, most don’t understand why the seats under Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy appear to be so hot in Chicago based on what goes on around the league. At the end of the day, I think we can all agree there’s no teams behind the Bears in the standings that are better teams than they are…So basically there’s five teams in the NFC that are better than the Bears. Yeah, you want to be the best, but that’s a better situation than the other 10.”
Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace aren’t perfect but is anybody?
What Arkush is basically saying is the Bears could have it a lot worse right now. Nagy and Pace have this team in a position to win despite not having the advantages other teams do. Look at Detroit, Houston, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. All of those teams have franchise-caliber quarterbacks. Yet they’re going to be playing for nothing in Week 17. The Bears, despite changing quarterbacks twice this year, are playing meaningful football.
The head coach and GM deserve credit for this. Pace for putting together a talented enough roster with high-character players and Nagy for showing the resilience to battle through adversity and keep coaching them up. It hasn’t been a perfect year but it could’ve been much, much worse. That it wasn’t is a testament to the leadership they have at the top.
Can the Bears be guaranteed to do better if they clean house?
History offers a word of caution. Remember when George McCaskey moved on from Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith? He eventually ended up with Phil Emery and Marc Trestman. Nobody with a shred of sanity would’ve called that an upgrade. Perhaps the best thing for the organization to do is to give Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace more time. They’re still young and learning. Each has shown signs of noteworthy growth. Maybe minds will change if and when they find that elusive quarterback.
