GM Ryan Pace has made one thing clear during his tenure with the Chicago Bears. When it comes to the quarterback position, his voice will be heard. Come hell or high water. For all the good things he says, Pace has developed an overbearing presence when it comes to the QBs. He doesn’t seem to fully grasp that it is ultimately the job of the head coach to decide whether a certain QB can play in his system or not. It was true of John Fox and apparently is true again with Matt Nagy.
Don’t forget the backstory. In 2017, Pace had his heart set on Mitch Trubisky. Head coach John Fox though liked Deshaun Watson. Pace ignored him and drafted his guy. The Bears went 5-11, the rookie struggled and Fox was fired. Then the GM went out and found a coach with a simple requirement. Will you do what it takes to make Trubisky a success? Nagy accepted that challenge. Two years later, it appears that was a mistake.
Did this lesson teach Pace that maybe it’s better to keep his nose out of depth chart decisions? Nope. The Bears are about to conduct a pivotal quarterback competition between Trubisky and Nick Foles. One would think the final call for that should rest with Nagy. It’s his offense after all. That doesn’t seem to be the case as Pace stated during a Zoom meeting with the media will be a “collaborative” one.
In other words, he’ll have a say in who starts.
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With all due respect, Matt Nagy needs total say in this
Nobody is saying Pace doesn’t know football. He wouldn’t be where he is if he didn’t. That being said, one can easily argue he might not be the best judge of who is the best quarterback for this team. None of his additions to the roster have worked out to this point. Trubisky had one decent year in 2018 aided heavily by a good running game and an elite defense. When asked to do more himself? It rarely works out.
What makes him think he should have as much say in this decision as Nagy? The guy who built the offense, has coached quarterbacks for years and played quarterback himself. People are already starting to wonder if this is a way for Pace to pressure him into giving Trubisky one last shot. Honestly, it’s hard to blame them for that.
Nagy has spoken constantly about the QB competition being “wide open.” Is it? Hearing news like this makes one wonder.