Ryan Pace May Have New Name Atop His John Fox Replacement List

  John Fox has been fired. The moment Chicago Bears fans were waiting for, many since last January has finally arrived. A new head coach will be running the show in 2018. In a rare twist it will be GM Ryan Pace leading the search. This marks the first time since Jim Finks in the 1970s that a Bears general manager was allowed to hire a second coach. It's clear indication that ownership trusts him to do the job right this time. In fairness there's reason for that. After three years the roster is in much better shape than it was back in 2015. It's younger, faster and more athletic. Best of all they have a quarterback in Mitch Trubisky that is worth being excited about. It's a matter of the next coach being somebody who can take his development to the next level.

Fangio of course would be most welcome to stay on as defensive coordinator. He's done a great job in that regard. Unfortunately the odds of him becoming head coach are remote. Not unless he can guarantee putting together a strong offensive staff. It's not impossible but is unlikely. However there does seem to be one name that has quietly topped Pace's list.

Ryan Pace looking to reel in the big fish of Josh McDaniels

One thing that has stood out about Pace during his three-year run is he's not afraid to be aggressive in getting what he wants. In each of the past two drafts he traded up from his original position to get a player he coveted. He went from #11 to #9 for Leonard Floyd and from #3 to #2 for Trubisky. So it's not hard to imagine he'd aim high on the head coaching front either. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports believes he has one name in mind.

Josh McDaniels has consistently been one of the best offensive minds in football for years. He was the mastermind behind Tom Brady's 50-TD season in 2007. In 12 years of running an offense as a coordinator or head coach, he's only finished lower ranked than 15th once. He's finished top 10 ranked seven times and #1 overall three times. The most amazing part is he has done all that and will only be 42-years old in 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxQcHrCMzPM He is one of the best play callers in the league. Given what he's done with Brady, it's easy to understand why Pace would target him. Of course people will be quick to point out what a disaster McDaniels was in Denver as head coach. He went 11-17 in less than two seasons, alienated Jay Cutler (who was a Pro Bowler at the time) and got the team embroiled in an illegal video taping scandal. It wasn't good.

McDaniels has had time to mature

Knowing that, it's easy to understand the reservations. At the same time it was almost a decade ago. McDaniels was 34 at the time. He's had a chance to mature quite a bit since then. Several sources close to him have said so. Coaches do tend to give their best results on their second head coaching opportunities. Ask his mentor Bill Belichick. In the end the idea of pairing him with Trubisky doesn't stop being exciting.

His offense is a great fit for what the young QB does best. The two could end up doing a lot of damage together. The big question will be whether McDaniels can keep the defense going strong, something he couldn't quite do in Denver.