Chicago Bears ownership doesn’t have the luxury of patience. Virginia McCaskey is nearing her 100th birthday. Nobody knows how much time she has left. That is why there is a sense of urgency throughout the organization to win a Super Bowl for her. At the same time, George McCaskey understands that constant change when things don’t go right for one season is a recipe for constant losing. This is why he continues to put his full support behind Ryan Pace.
The Bears GM has plenty of critics. It isn’t hard to understand why. He’s had one winning season in five years to this point. He also can’t escape the egregious mistake of drafting Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in 2017. That being said, evaluations must be fair.
Pace didn’t exactly inherit a ready-made roster.
It was the oldest in the NFL and fractured beyond belief. He had no choice but to rebuild it completely from the ground up. In a span of four offseasons, he transformed the Bears into one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. One that claimed a division title in 2018 after a 12-4 run. So yes he’s had his ugly moments, but he’s also done good work too.
Does he feel he’s on the hot seat this year? His answer to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune was pretty eye-opening.
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“Honestly? I look at every season like that,” he said. “Every year has to be like that. I don’t take this for granted. I know the pressure and the scrutiny that we’re under and I don’t dodge that. I don’t. I recognize it.
“If you’re in this, you better embrace that and just have confidence in what you do and remain confident in the people you’ve surrounded yourself with. And I do.”
Ryan Pace is nothing if not a realist
Give credit where it’s due. Pace may deceive people from time to time when it comes to football-related decisions. However, nobody can ever accuse him of not being forthright. He’ll tell it like it is. The man isn’t naive. He knows he’s in a results-based business. To this point, the Bears haven’t achieved the results he’s aimed for since he took over in 2015.
Pace could either circle the wagons and deny how tenuous things are or he could embrace the challenge and fix the situation. Based on the moves made this offseason, he chose the latter. Prior mistakes like Leonard Floyd, Trey Burton, and Adam Shaheen are gone. Trubisky has Nick Foles in town as competition. The tight end room was completely overhauled.
The man did everything in his power to give his team a chance to win this year. If nothing else, that should be part of his legacy.
