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Big changes are apparently in store for the Chicago Bears.
Insider Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, who has broken several stories connected to the team, including the hiring offensive line coach Juan Castillo and the signing of LB Robert Quinn, among others, had some interesting things to say about what’s currently going on behind the walls of Halas Hall. The team is
Hughes tweeted the following on December 30: “Really like what I’m hearing out of Bearsland. Good analysis being done. Good people being discussed.”
He then elaborated a bit more in subsequent tweets a day later.
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Hughes: ‘They’re Doing This Right’
Bears Chairman George McCaskey and President Ted Phillips have been encouraged by multiple former well-respected players, including ex-safety Gary Fencik and former All-Pro center Olin Kreutz, to seek out advice from established football minds about how they’ve been running things in recent decades.
“The decision makers at the top need some outside coaching and counseling,” Fencik told Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune on December 15. “They need direction on how to go about making much better football decisions.”
According to Hughes, McCaskey may finally be taking that advice.
“Here’s what I will say about what’s happening at Halas Hall right now: they’re doing this right, and that clearly has not always been the case. They’re letting smart football people dissect every inch of their football operations,” Hughes tweeted on December 31.
Hughes also says current head coach Matt Nagy is “100% out,” and says he believes the coach was already informed of his pending exit after Chicago’s Week 16 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but he can’t confirm the latter part.
So where does this leave current general manager Ryan Pace?
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Ryan Pace Could Be in for New or Reduced Role
Hughes says the team is on the fence about whether to fire Pace as GM and remove him from the equation entirety, or whether to assign a different, less hands on role for him moving forward.
Hughes added in separate tweets that “Pace can still go either way,” and that Phillips was set to retire in a year, so if there’s truth to at least some of what he’s saying, swift changes could be coming.
Hughes also doubled down on everything he had tweeted when fans doubted what he was saying:
Hopefully, the team is taking a long, hard look at true, organizational change — which Fencik says will be crucial if the Bears ever want to be a consistently good and respectable organization again.
“Sure, it’d be valuable to go get the advice of Hall of Famers like Dan Hampton or Mike Singletary,” Fencik said. “But what’s more vital at this point is understanding that you need an honest, transparent review of whether your organizational structure needs to change. And if so, how? And why? … How do you improve in ways that are qualitative? Are there different and better ways of trying to project success and catalyze consistency? Hopefully, there’s a giant awakening awaiting all of us at some point. You just need the right people in here. Right now it just isn’t there.”
Talking to and getting advice from smart football people is one thing. Heeding that advice is another. As Hughes also notes, ultimately, it’s up to McCaskey to install some permanent changes.
“It all comes down to George,” Hughes said.
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