Chicago Bears: Retaining Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy shows no direction

Rumors are that the Chicago Bears will bring back Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy

As reported by Brad Biggs it seems very likely that head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace will be back with the Chicago Bears for the 2021 season. This decision will likely be met with criticism from fans, as it should be.

There is no denying that the Bears underperformed in 2020, as they did in 2019. The team made the playoffs at 8-8 after what was considered a fraudulent 5-1 start. Unfortunately, this playoff birth meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. A one-and-done playoff birth preceding what was thought to be an offseason of change but alas, that seems to not be the case.

If these rumors turn out to be true it means that the Chicago Bears are going to keep letting the same people make the same decisions that haven’t been working. Pace drafted Mitch Trubisky and Nagy failed to develop him.

People love to place blame on one or the other when it comes to the quarterback position in Chicago but in my opinion, both parties should be taking the blame. Bringing both Nagy and Pace back shows that the Bears are unwilling to move in a new direction.

Matt Nagy was once labeled as a QB guru and an offensive mastermind upon his arrival in Chicago. Through three years Matt Nagy hasn’t produced anything more than a mediocre offense. There is no reason to think this won’t be the same come next season.

My thought process is that bringing these two back means that the Bears will move on from Trubisky but will probably go with Nick Foles, giving him a real offseason to work with coach Nagy who handpicked Foles for 2020.

Can Ryan Pace redeem himself by selecting a franchise quarterback with Matt Nagy’s help?

The Bears are also in dire need of a new quarterback and Ryan Pace drafting another one is something that people may not be too keen on. Ryan Pace seems to have a good eye on scouting talent. Drafting Roquan Smith, David Montgomery, Darnell Mooney, Eddie Jackson, and Jaylon Johnson are great examples of this.

However, he has his fair share of misses as well. Trubisky, Anthony Miller, and Kevin White are some of the more prominent ones. With the Chicago Bears picking at 20th overall, a quarterback in the first round may seem unlikely but the Bears absolutely need to look at someone they can develop in the future.

The Bears bringing back Nagy and Pace just lead to more questions from me. How long will they realistically be with the team? How long is their leash? What happens to their current players in a new regime?

Whether you are a fan of these two or not it was clear that the team desperately needs to look in a new direction. The Bears have an aging defense and an extremely mediocre offense with no real identity. It will be interesting to see what the future hold for this team that still has things to figure out this offseason.