Chicago Bears jobs should be most attractive this offseason
The Chicago Bears could fire general manager Ryan Pace and/or head coach Matt Nagy this offseason. Should that happen, many people feel many candidates would find those jobs very attractive.
With the Chicago Bears mired in another disappointing season, many people expect the McCaskey family to clean house. While the fans have started to express their frustrations with head coach Matt Nagy by chanting “Fire Nagy” anywhere and everywhere they can, they also have some ire left for general manager Ryan Pace.
Pace has been on the job since 2015. Since then, the Bears made the playoffs twice. Yes, that is good, but that doesn’t even come close to telling the full story. During his tenure, the Bears have only one winning season, in 2018. The other playoff berth came last season when they finished with a record of 8-8 and backed into the playoffs. The Bears lost both playoff games they played.
Aside from 2018, the Bears looked hapless. Yes, they made the playoffs last season, but they suffered through a six-game losing streak. In the seasons other than 2018, the Bears, with Pace as the general manager, have a record of 34-57. Those are reasons enough for his seat to be hot.
Nagy’s seat is even hotter. He came in with a reputation of being an offensive guru and quarterback whisperer. Well, in his 3+ seasons in Chicago, the offense consistently ranks at or near the bottom of most categories. Even when you look at 2018 when the offense ranked ninth in scoring, they had the advantage of six defensive touchdowns that got counted in those points. Additionally, the offense ranked 21st in total yards.
Nagy also had two young quarterbacks he could mold and develop yet he struggled with both Mitchell Trubisky and Justin Fields.
This offseason could be one of great change. With Pace and Nagy struggling to right the ship, the McCaskeys could show them both out the door. Also, the roster will be nothing like it is today. There are 31 players on the last season of their contracts, and another couple who can be bought out.
The Chicago Bears openings could be very attractive
Despite all of the struggles, the Chicago Bears still have some good pieces to build upon. They have the most important piece necessary to contend, a quarterback. Fields has struggled, but he has the talent and has shown flashes of how good he can become. Nagy did him no favors by designing game plans that don’t utilize Fields’ tools. With the experience he’ll get the rest of this season and hopefully having coaches who can help him next season, the Bears should be in a good position.
There are also other players who will also be key contributors. They have a good duo at running back with Khalil Herbert and David Montgomery. Wide receiver Darnell Mooney took a big step this season and showed that he could be counted on to help win games.
The Bears hope they have two stud offensive linemen in Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom who could change the makeup of the line.
On defense, the Bears have Trevis Gipson who could become a good pass rusher. They also have Roquan Smith, who is the latest in the line of great Chicago Bears linebackers. In addition, cornerback Jaylon Johnson is one of the top young corners in the league.
These are good pieces to build on. With a rise in the salary cap and all of the potential free agents, the Bears could make a big splash in free agency.
For those reasons, potential general manager and head coaching candidates will look at Chicago as a good destination. Yes, I know there are a few Chicago Bears fans who have seen so much losing from the team that they can’t see how attractive the team will be this offseason. Outside of Chicago, however, the Bears will be popular.
CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones recently wrote about how people around the league view the Chicago Bears’ openings.
"With more than a month left in the regular season, the Bears job — either one of them — seems like it’ll be the best one on the market. That’s the overwhelming response I’ve gotten from sources around the league and coaches and personnel execs gear up for a new hiring/firing cycle.Chicago would offer a clean slate for a new GM and head coach. It has the quarterback of the future already in place on a rookie contract, plus some quality veteran pieces to fill in around."
Of course, being Chicago Bears fans, we feel that the McCaskeys (along with team president Ted Phillips) will figure out a way to mess up a possible good thing coming their way. Remember, this is the same family that announced the hiring of Dave McGinnis before they finalized the pay details and the paperwork. They later had to announce that McGinnis would not be the next Bears coach.
The McCaskey family has a long history of making bad decisions. However, there are rumors that they could sell the team before they move into their new home in Arlington Heights.
If that is the case, having a winning team move into a state-of-the-art stadium certainly makes the team more valuable than it is now. We could look back this upcoming offseason as the beginning of a new era of winning in Chicago.