While the clock is running down on John Fox’s time as the Chicago Bears’ head coach, his boss is seemingly in line to get more time to turn around a struggling franchise.
In an appearance on the Mully and Hanley Show on WSCR-AM 670, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said he expects Bears GM Ryan Pace to get an extension on his contract. Pace’s original deal was a five-year pact that expired at the end of the 2020 season. Rapoport would go on to say Pace’s extension would line up to match the deal of whatever head coach he brings in to replace Fox.
So, while there was a hint of change being in the pipeline with Pace possibly getting the ax along with Fox, Rapoport’s scenario seems to make a lot more sense.
Less than a year after drafting Mitch Trubisky to be his quarterback of the future, Pace will get an opportunity to hire the head coach who will mold him into a franchise quarterback. And to do so without a “consultant” like Ernie Accorsi swaying him in a particular direction means the powers that be at Halas Hall above Pace trust their GM to make the right decision.
Whenever Pace hires his new leader, he will be the team’s fourth head coach in a seven-year stretch. But if Pace gets the hire right, it will go a long way toward building the kind of continuity the organization needs to succeed moving forward.