Retain Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy; Fire Chuck Pagano
As Ozzie Newsome is now in charge, he will allow both Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy to stay in 2021. There are quite a few reasons as to why this is a good idea even though their jobs are on the line.
For starters, now Newsome can help Pace this offseason with getting the right players and paying them the right money. This is essentially Pace’s offseason to prove his worth to Newsome. If Newsome doesn’t like the way he is doing things, he can part ways with him after the 2021 season. For now, he can stay to prove his value as a great late-round drafter.
The same goes for Nagy. Now, Nagy will know how it feels to be on a tight leash as he puts virtually everyone around him on a tight leash. He must let Bill Lazor retain his play-calling duties and Newsome would have Nagy essentially do what he had John Harbaugh do in Baltimore —oversee, but don’t call plays. He additionally needs to show how valuable his culture is to this team and if it is a good enough culture to win a Super Bowl.
Unfortunately for Chuck Pagano, he doesn’t get a tryout. He should be outright fired for the horrendous job he has done wasting the talent on this defense. A defensive front of Khalil Mack, Bilal Nichols, Akiem Hicks, and Robert Quinn should easily lead the NFL in sacks this season. Instead, they are just around average. Additionally, nearly every player has taken a major step back since Vic Fangio was the defensive coordinator.
Regardless, he needs to be gone. If Fangio is fired this offseason, he should easily be brought back. Since he likely will not be fired, they should go after an assistant to Fangio or an assistant to Robert Saleh of the San Francisco 49ers. They can additionally bring in Rex Ryan who is currently out of a job.