After a home loss to Tyler Huntley, the question is no longer if, but when the Chicago Bears will move on from Matt Nagy. However, while Nagy has become a foregone conclusion, there has not been as much talk concerning the status of Ryan Pace. Whatever your thoughts are on Nagy, if he goes, then so should Ryan Pace.
Ryan Pace lucked into a quarterback, just like Matt Nagy
The biggest argument for keeping Ryan Pace is that he drafted Justin Fields, so he should be able to see out the development of a potential franchise-changing quarterback. However, this underscores the reality that Pace did not make some bold call and go out of his way to draft Fields, rather Fields fell far enough, and enough teams passed on him that he was fortunate to be there.
Remember, Pace was desperate for any and every quarterback. From Russell Wilson to Andy Dalton and on down the list there were fans saying that Pace would draft Kellen Mond or Davis Mills if needed. So, Fields fell and Pace went up, but Pace had to go up. He dangled multiple firsts for Wilson, why not throw one out there?
Pace acted desperately to keep his job. It may work out with Fields, but he has done this countless other times and it has failed. This is not the way to act when you are the leader of a franchise. Pace may have gotten lucky with Fields, but nothing he has done warrants him staying.
Ryan Pace acts too desperate
As noted, every move that Pace has made in the past two seasons has been shortsighted with the intention of keeping his job for one more year. Extending veteran Danny Trevathan at age 30 despite countless injuries is one. Robert Quinn worked out, but Jimmy Graham did. Both were overpaid veterans that Pace threw money in hopes of a quick fix.
Pace trades future assets like he will not be there to see the repercussions, and trade-ups for players such as Anthony Miller have the team without much cap space. Pace dug the team in a huge hole and now they do not have the adequate cap, draft resources, or roster construction to have a quick turnaround. Woo hoo, he drafted Justin Fields. Now, get someone to clean up his mess and make things right for Fields.
Too Many Roster Holes on Chicago Bears
Matt Nagy has shown too many times that he is in over his head, but he is acting out of desperation too. A lot of what Nagy has had to do is the results of what Pace is giving him. The offensive line is a mess. Whether that is on Nagy or not, Pace gets more of the blame.
As noted, Graham getting paid this much to do nothing is on Pace as much as Nagy. The Allen Robinson fiasco and the fact that no receivers beyond Darnell Mooney are respected goes on Pace. The holes throughout the defense, and starting Kindle Vildor, who blew the game against Baltimore is on Pace. This is not absolving Matt Nagy, but rather making fans admit that these two have to be tied at the hip. They are in this together, and all of Nagy’s failures are on Pace as much as him.
Three strikes your out
The best argument for Pace is that he is young, and deserves second chances. Pace got a second chance on a quarterback and found Justin Fields. Still, as noted, Fields was a no-brainer as far as he fell, and beyond that, Pace has missed on more than just quarterback.
Pace did not hire John Fox, but he did not make it work at all. He picked out Mitch Trubisky behind the back of Fox and picked out Matt Nagy himself. Between whiffing on Trubisky, whiffing on Nagy, and putting the roster in the hole that it is from a talent and asset standpoint, this should be a no-brainer.
Ryan Pace has done some great things and has made some great picks. It wasn’t until he doubled down on a few bad decisions and let desperation creep in when things finally fell apart. However, Pace has not shown that he deserves to clean this mess up.