The Chicago Bears General Manager does not receive the credit he deserves
When it comes to the Chicago Bears and football in general, many fans tend to have recency bias. As someone who has been playing fantasy football for over a decade, recency bias is something many people tend to do when it comes to sports. It seems that fans forget where this team was when Ryan Pace took over in 2015.
Well, I am here to remind you. When Ryan Pace took over, he took over a team that needed to see a youth movement immediately — especially on the defensive side of the ball. The 2014 defense consisted of players like Ryan Mundy (29), Jared Allen (32), Tim Jennings (31), Willie Young (29) and Lance Briggs (34).
All of these players were on the very downside of their careers. Now enter the John Fox and Ryan Pace era. There are two scenarios when it comes to Pace and Fox. Either Pace brought Fox in on purpose to help change the culture of the team — something Fox was known for throughout his career. Or Pace was forced to bring in Fox by George McCaskey and Ted Phillips. These two need to stay out of the way, and personally, I am in the belief that Fox was forced upon Pace by them.
This is one reason why fans should not be saying, it has been six years and the team has only been to the playoffs once. Although this is factually correct, just like any rebuild, the first couple of years are throwaway seasons when it comes to a record perspective. How should a General Manager be critiqued during this time period then? Simple. We need to look at where the team came from and where the team is now based on drafts and free agency.