Getty No one knows what the Bears have planned for general manager Ryan Pace of the Chicago Bears.
The future of current Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace is the primary question mark surrounding the team’s future. No one seems to know what current team chairman George McCaskey has planned.
While everyone tends to agree that head coach Matt Nagy will be a goner at season’s end, what happens beyond that is anyone’s guess. One report from Adam Hoge of NBC Sports says current team President and CEO Ted Phillips may either retire or take on a lesser role within the organization. That’s a definite possibility.
Multiple reports this week from longtime Bears insiders have made the future of Pace within the organization as clear as mud, however. Two reporters covering the team say Pace will likely stay on in some capacity. Another Bears insider reported on January 6 that Pace, like Nagy, will get his walking papers.
Let’s sort through the muck.
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Brad Biggs & Hub Arkush Say Odds Favor Pace Staying
Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune, who is one of the most respected and accurate insiders covering the team, reported this on January 5:
I can tell you in talking to people around the league, there definitely is a portion of folks who believe he has a good chance of remaining with the Bears either in his current role as general manager or in some other capacity on the football side of things. Others believe the Bears will make more sweeping changes than just replacing coach Matt Nagy. I can tell you once source I spoke to earlier this week said a little more than a month ago, he would have put the chance of Pace staying at slightly higher than 50%. Now his belief is Pace’s chances of remaining with the Bears is greater than that. We know Chairman George McCaskey has held Pace in high regard for some time. He’s not going to let him be a guiding voice in a more than $100 million upgrade at Halas Hall without having total trust in him. It’s possible McCaskey wants to allow Pace to see through the development of quarterback Justin Fields and maybe McCaskey likes some of the younger players on the roster.
Biggs isn’t alone in this line of thinking. Hub Arkush of Shaw Media also says his sources are saying good things about Pace staying:
“What I’ve heard from several good sources is that Ryan Pace is probably going to be remaining with the organization, whether that is as the general manager, whether that is even with more authority as a top football guy or whether it is in a reorganized front office. Nobody seems to know. But people close to the situation continue to report that the McCaskey family is happy with him as a football executive, not just as a person … the indication I get is that it’s better than 50-50 that Ryan Pace sticks around.”
Another longtime Bears insider, Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, says he has heard otherwise.
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Hughes: Pace & Nagy Are Both Gone
Hughes has broken news surrounding the Bears before on multiple occasions, including the hiring of offensive line coach Juan Castillo. In an appearance on The Irish Bears Show on January 6, Hughes said he has heard both Nagy and Pace are set to be fired.
“They’re both gonna be fired,” Hughes said about Pace and Nagy. “I think George McCaskey ultimately weighed — he loves Ryan Pace, absolutely loves the guy — but I think he weighed the onslaught of media he would get, and was the risk-reward there? Honestly, every GM has the successes that Ryan Pace has had,” Hughes added, referring to the success Pace has had drafting in the later rounds.
“This process is going to go fast,” Hughes said about Chicago hiring a new head coach and general manager. “I would not be surprised if they’re interviewing candidates in the middle of next week.”
Huge Thanks to our guy @dabearsblog for Joining Us on the Show Today.
Jeff Broke a Little Bit of News on the Show 👀 with Regards To Ryan Pace’s Future with the Bears.
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While both Biggs and Arkush say they’re hearing Pace is staying, they each also noted no one really knows for certain, as McCaskey is keeping his decision close to the vest.
Buckle up, Bears fans. It’s going to be a wild ride for the next few weeks.
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