Getty Are the Chicago Bears looking to replace general manager Ryan Pace?
First, it was former linebacker Lance Briggs. Then, mere hours later, Olin Kreutz piled on.
Both former All-Pro players for the Chicago Bears created a ton of smoke on December 10 when they suggested that their former team is currently looking for a new general manager. Briggs started the ball rolling by tweeting this earlier in the day:
Anybody else hear that the Bears are searching for a new GM? 😉…. Asking for a friend. @alexbrown96 @olin_kreutz @thekapman @LaurenceWHolmes @leilarahimi @BoyleNBCS @PanzUSE
It seemed like it could be a tongue-in-cheek reference or a joke at first, but Aaron Leming of SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron added this little nugget:
Then, in an afternoon appearance on 670 The Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show, Kreutz, who spent 13 seasons playing center for Chicago and now works as an analyst for NBC Sports, doubled down and said he’s hearing the same things Briggs has been hearing: That the Bears are shopping for a new GM.
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This Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Ryan Pace is Out
Current Bears GM Ryan Pace, like head coach Matt Nagy, has seen the subject of his job security become one of the hottest topics in the Windy City over the last year. Now, it’s a national conversation, and some insiders think Nagy’s seat may be a bit hotter than Pace’s.
While Nagy’s exit feels like a foregone conclusion, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano called Pace’s future with the team “a mystery.”
Regardless, Kreutz says he’s hearing the team is in the hunt for a new GM, and he says Briggs has been hearing the same things.
“I’m sure he (Briggs) knows something, and we’ve been hearing stuff. You never know what’s true,” Kreutz said. “The Bears obviously have a lot of things going on in their building they can’t keep in their building. There’s a lot of stuff you’re hearing about: They are looking at certain guys to be their general manager. They are looking around the league for a general manager.”
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Are Bears Replacing Pace or Promoting Him?
That’s the key question. Some have suggested that since the team’s brass thinks so highly of Pace, they may keep him around and promote him to a less hands-on role in the front office before bringing in a new GM to more fully handle football operations.
When he was asked if the Bears might be promoting Pace and that’s why they’re looking for a new GM, Kreutz couldn’t say.
“That I have not heard,” Kreutz said. “I just heard that they are looking for a general manager.”
Kreutz also said these were rumblings he has heard, and he was careful to note that people have gotten rumors like this wrong before — recently, in fact (see: the report that said Nagy would be fired after Thanksgiving).
With just five games remaining in the regular season, the future couldn’t be murkier at Halas Hall.
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