Chicago Bears’ problem going forward: Who conducts the interviews?

While many people want the Chicago Bears to fire head coach Matt Nagy immediately, it raises a question — who in the front office will conduct the interviews for a replacement?

With the new rules in place on conducting interviews in the final two weeks of the regular season, many people want the Chicago Bears to fire head coach Matt Nagy and have him out immediately.

Along with Nagy, general manager Ryan Pace is also on the hot seat. Many people expect him to be fired as well. He brought in Nagy and constructed this roster. Under his command since 2015, the Bears have had only one season with a winning record. In the NFC North, his teams finished in last place three times.

Pace should be in the same position as Nagy. He hasn’t been able to build a consistent contending team. He gave away precious draft picks on players he missed on. While he hit on some players, it wasn’t enough to overcome the others he didn’t. By any metric, he hasn’t succeeded in Chicago.

Who is conducting interviews for the potential Chicago Bears openings?

If the Bears got rid of Nagy, then, it raises a question — who conducts the interviews?

We could see a big shakeup in the Bears’ front office this offseason. There are reports that CEO Ted Phillips finally admitted that he doesn’t know much about football operations and is willing to stick to just the financial area of the team.

That means that the Bears would hire someone to run the football operations. Presumably, that person would make the decision on Pace.

I struggled to write this but I’ve changed my stance on Nagy — he should stay for the rest of the season. I’m sure the team already made a decision on his status. At this point, if he returns there will be a revolt by Bears fans. While Pace has his supporters, I feel the majority of the fans will want him gone as well.

I always advocated for Nagy to be fired about a month ago. The team was going nowhere and Nagy’s insistence on using veteran players to the detriment of the younger ones who will still be on the roster next season was my main reason These youngsters need snaps and whoever coaches them next season should have tape on them.

Wins and losses aren’t really a priority anymore. Yes, everyone will do their best to win, but the more important matter is evaluating the players who will be here moving forward. Players like Germain Ifedi, Jason Peters, and Artie Burns, for example, are on the last year of their contracts and won’t re-sign.

So, with that said, who conducts the interviews on a new coach? Does Pace, who might be on his way out, do it? Does Phillips do it? We all know that the Chairman of the Board, George McCaskey, certainly won’t do it.

McCaskey needs to find a consultant to help him with the new power structure and let that person do what is needed. It would be best for all if he and Phillips stay away from interviews and hiring, aside from the person who will be the one in charge of operations and answer only to McCaskey.

This is a huge move for the Chicago Bears. With a structural change pending, the more important matter is that rather than the coach. While I understand that this means we won’t see youngsters Larry Borom or Thomas Graham Jr. play as much as we’d like, we need to see the bigger picture. If there is finally a true football person making the decisions then the team will find the right person to fill the head coach vacancy.

The Bears need to get this right. We’ve seen decades of futility with the current structure. If they get it wrong again, there will be generations of Chicago Bears fans who might never see a winning team. The once-proud franchise could be looked at in the same manner people view the Jacksonville Jaguars. None of us want that to happen.