RUMOR: If Ryan Pace Is Out, McCaskey May Not Protect Nagy

One of the prevalent rumors that continue to persist this month is regarding the fate of head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace. Though the Chicago Bears are in the playoffs, nobody would call it a graceful entrance. They finished 8-8 after starting the year 5-1 and got a lot of help from the Rams and 49ers to make it. Combined with the NFL expanding the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams? It's hard to take this team seriously as a legitimate Super Bowl threat. This is why many still believe Nagy and Pace could be in danger of being fired. However, the undercurrent paints a clear enough picture. Multiple Bears insiders have said the belief as of right now is Nagy is relatively safe. He's 28-21 in his first three years with the team. One of the better starts a coach in Chicago has ever had. He also has two years left on his contract. Cutting him loose seems a tad premature.

Pace though? Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune is iffy on his future.

"Pace’s position appears less secure to me, and again, that’s just a feeling. I don’t know if the Bears can evaluate what has happened and feel confident going into 2021 with everything remaining in place. Now, a victory over a 12-4 Saints team could go a long way toward providing everyone with some security. That would be a different story. I would brace for the possibility of at least some change if the Bears lose to the Saints, but no one can say with any certainty how this will shake out after the most unusual of the NFL’s 101 seasons."

There is a genuine feeling that Pace is in trouble. The Mitch Trubisky pick hangs over his head like a sword of Damocles. On top of that, his two key moves of the 2020 offseason, the trade for Nick Foles and the signing of Robert Quinn both blew up in his face. Foles went 2-5 as a starter. Quinn has just two sacks. Both cost the Bears over $50 million combined in guaranteed money. That certainly didn't win him a lot of favor with the McCaskey family. Losing to the Saints in New Orleans a week after getting blown out again by Green Bay, a team Pace is 2-10 against in his career as GM? One would have to think that puts him on thin ice with a strong possibility the Bears go hunting for a replacement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfDyxroLsc8&ab_channel=ESPN

Ryan Pace solo exit would not guarantee Nagy's safety

The belief is if the Bears end up firing Pace, it basically means the plan moving forward is obvious. Chicago will keep Nagy for the 2021 season and the new GM, whoever he is, will use that season to evaluate the coach. This approach is not new to Chicago. They did the same thing with Jerry Angelo and Dick Jauron in 2001 and again in 2012 with Phil Emery and Lovie Smith. Is this the case though? One source indicated not to jump to that conclusion. They stated that Pace being fired would be McCaskey's decision. However, the fate of Nagy would not. That decision would fall to whoever the next GM ends up being. The team chairman likes Nagy but doesn't want to impede the new GM in executing his vision for the organization. If they want to keep Nagy? Fine. If not? So be it.

Interfering with prior GMs hasn't done him much good.

He insisted Emery keep Smith around in 2012, which did little good. Then in 2015, he and Ernie Accorsi put strong pressure on a young Ryan Pace to consider hiring John Fox as head coach. Neither interjection worked out in the team's favor. So this time around he may consider finding somebody to head the football operations with a simple mandate. Make it better. Then step back and let things play out.