Wider NFL Reportedly Sense Bears Will Keep Ryan Pace As GM

Beating the Seattle Seahawks on a late comeback Sunday was a nice moment for the Chicago Bears players. They've endured a lot of pain over the past two months. From injuries to a COVID outbreak to some brutal losses that probably should've been wins. Don't be fooled though. This win did nothing to change the status of head coach Matt Nagy. All signs still point to him getting fired by next month. The bigger issue sits with the man who hired him in Ryan Pace. Nobody seems able to get a straight answer on the status of the Bears GM. Over the past two weeks, multiple people close to the organization hinted they were researching possible replacements. A sign that a clean sweep was coming at Halas Hall. Now the pendulum appears to have swung in the other direction. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, there are whispers across the NFL that Pace may survive.

"If it’s Ryan Pace — and there are some in league circles who believe he will survive to hire a third head coach — then the Bears could be submitting requests to interview potential candidates at 8 a.m. Tuesday. If the Bears are going to do this, George McCaskey needs to make himself available for the first time in nearly 12 months and explain in precise detail why he believes that is the best direction."

McCaskey would certainly anger a large section of Bears fans by doing this.

Pace shares responsibility for putting this team in their current predicament. He built the second-oldest roster in the league. He saddled the organization with several expensive contracts that are difficult to escape. One can't forget just one winning season since he was hired in 2015. Last but not least he spearheaded the hiring of Nagy. There just isn't a lot of justification for keeping him in the minds of fans. McCaskey might feel differently though. Pace did a tremendous job rebuilding the organization from the disaster of 2014. He spearheaded the renovation of Halas Hall and has operated with the utmost class. Then there is the roster itself. Despite a disappointing 2021 season, there have been several standout youngsters from his two most recent draft classes. Jaylon Johnson, Darnell Mooney, Larry Borom, and Khalil Herbert are chief among them. Not to mention Justin Fields. A young QB many in the building feel has superstar potential. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Justin-Fields-hits-2-HUGE-passes-to-take-the-lead-vs.-Steelers-1.mp4"][/video]

Ryan Pace is in the process of making his case

Based on where things sit, it seems as if McCaskey is still in the process of deliberating. It isn't a secret he and the rest of the owners like the young GM. They feel he's done a lot of good things for the franchise. Perhaps they feel he is turning a corner in terms of the draft. He found a quarterback they like. If he did indeed get it right with Fields, maybe that means he can do the same on the head coach front. Remember reports back in 2015 suggested John Fox wasn't really the choice for Ryan Pace. He signed off on it, but the veteran coach was more of an Ernie Accorsi hire. Nagy was Pace's first true choice. So perhaps the Bears figure this would be his actual second. Or maybe they've looked at other GMs like Tom Telesco (Chargers) and Jason Licht (Buccaneers) getting to hire third head coaches and finding success.

Maybe Pace can do the same.

This might explain why the organization is already active in researching head coach candidates. They likely wouldn't be doing that unless there was a strong indication Pace is staying put. There is little point in researching coaches until it is clear the GM is in place. Either that or they have package deals in might with head coach/GM combos. Details, either way, will surface on January 10th.