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I've been vocal about this for a while already, so it's pretty obvious I think the Bears are making a huge mistake here. I really hope I'm wrong.
The most likely outcome here is that Ryan Pace damages the Bears' future for 2022 and beyond in a fruitless effort to win in 2021. https://twitter.com/adamjahns/status/1349153229901352961
The most likely outcome here is that Ryan Pace damages the Bears' future for 2022 and beyond in a fruitless effort to win in 2021. https://twitter.com/adamjahns/status/1349153229901352961
Here are the 2 most likely scenarios for that not happening:
1) Pace is told he can't do this. No reworking contracts to move money to the future. No trading draft picks (current or future). No signing players to deals that extend beyond this year.
1) Pace is told he can't do this. No reworking contracts to move money to the future. No trading draft picks (current or future). No signing players to deals that extend beyond this year.
2) Pace learned from his mistakes last offseason (and honestly the one before too) and takes a big-picture approach this year.
Scenario #1 has basically a 0% chance, because they would have just fired him at that point, so here's hoping scenario #2 proves to be true.
Scenario #1 has basically a 0% chance, because they would have just fired him at that point, so here's hoping scenario #2 proves to be true.
If there's one good thing you can say about Ryan Pace, it's that he drafts pretty well. He certainly has some misses, but overall has done a pretty solid job there with the picks he uses. If he can control his impulses to not maximize value, he can draft their way out of this.
But that's a long-term approach that won't yield significant on-field results in 2021. Even if Pace wants to go that route, does he have the job security to do so?
Did the Bears spend the last 2 days deciding to either fire or extend Pace for another rebuild? Those are the only 2 options that really make sense right now, but I have my doubts that's what happened.
If what they settled on for Pace is instead a "you get one more year, prove it in 2021," then they're actively encouraging him to do what's worst for the franchise. I fear that's the situation we're currently in, but of course can't know for sure, so I'll hope for the best.
In Pace's credit, he did a good job of building them for a 2018-20 window with a really good roster around a young QB. He just got the QB wrong. If he had drafted Watson instead, the Bears likely have a Super Bowl trophy at some point in the last 3 years.
So if they told Pace to build towards that next window (2022-24 or 2023-25, depending on if they draft the next QB this year or in 2022), I'm ok with that. Not thrilled, but ok.
If it was a "win in 2021 or else" mandate, then ownership deserves what's about to happen to them.
If it was a "win in 2021 or else" mandate, then ownership deserves what's about to happen to them.
