Chicago Bears 5 Possible replacements for GM Ryan Pace

Top 5 GM candidates to replace Ryan Pace with the Chicago Bears

1. Omar Khan, Vice President of Football and Business Administration, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most successful franchises in the NFL. One of the key members of their front office is ready to branch out on his own and lead another franchise.

Khan has been with the Steelers since 2001. He had several positions before becoming VP of Football and Business Administration in 2016. That means he has a lot of experience in different positions.

The McCaskeys also have a big decision to make on CEO Ted Phillips. While he doesn’t have the football knowledge required to build the team, he did a great job in terms of the financial side. This is what would make Khan an attractive hire — he has experience both in the operations and financial sides of running a football team. Khan could successfully mesh the two better than how Phillips and Pace failed to do so.

Khan uses his financial ability to handle the salary cap. According to Overthecap.com, despite the reduction in the salary cap this season, the Steelers still have the sixth-highest cap space in the league.

In addition to the 20 years of experience with the Steelers, Khan also worked for the New Orleans Saints from 1997-2001. Gaining experience from two very successful franchises would help Khan to bring an iconic franchise back to prominence.

Hiring Khan would also help the Bears in the draft. The NFL instituted a rule last year that would reward the Bears with two third-round compensatory picks for hiring a minority candidate as general manager. The Steelers, having lost one, would also be rewarded with two picks as well. That means the Bears receive an extra third-round pick in 2022 and another one in 2023.