NEWSLETTER
Over at CBS Sports, Jonathan Jones put together a thorough breakdown of 30 top general manager candidates available this offseason. Thirty. Three-oh. Treinta. Jones’ list features familiar names and plenty of newcomers. So if you’re curious, I would encourage you to thumb through it and bone up on names we’ll likely hear about this offseason.
In the meantime, we’ll obsess over this nugget Jones drops off before he dives into the field of candidates.
“League scuttlebutt,” Jones writes, “is that Chicago will eventually fire GM Ryan Pace after six years in large part due to his failure to figure out the quarterback position.”
Counts on fingers and toes.
Hey, this is Pace’s sixth year in Chicago! So Jones seems to be suggesting that Pace could be out as soon as this season comes to a conclusion. That’s interesting, to say the least.
Pace’s status has been open to speculation since the Bears came off the bye week. So Jones’ share is just the latest rumor suggesting Pace’s days in Chicago are winding down. But it’s a notable one as it comes from outside of the Chicago bubble and cites “league scuttlebutt.” In other words, folks around the league are talking as if Pace’s time is up. And the reason for Pace’s impending departure provided by Jones isn’t out-of-the-blue.
Because after plowing through with Jay Cutler, Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, Nick Foles, and then Trubisky (again), the Bears are no closer to finding a long-term solution at the most important position in sports now than they were when Pace arrived. Should it matter that Pace led the charge on upgrading Halas Hall? Sure. Is it important to note that Pace rebuilt an organization left broken by the Phil Emery and Marc Trestman regimes? Absolutely. But the NFL is a results-based business. And when franchises don’t get desired results, changes happen. That’s just how it goes.
We won’t dive too deep down this rabbit hole right now. After all, the Bears still have three games to play. And while I’m unsure if there’s anything the players can do to change what might happen down the line, we’re reminded that’s why they play the games. So stay tuned.
