Could this former Chicago Bears player save the franchise?

This news broke about a week ago now, but I think it’s still worth discussing. Recently, the Chicago Bears were rumored to be considering a hierarchy change that would include removing some of Ted Phillips’ power and instilling a position that would oversee football operations. Although the rumors were denied, the name being floated as the top option was former defensive lineman, Trace Armstrong.

I’m sure that many of you have already heard these rumors. Or the rumors that if a major shift were to take place in the organization, that the team is also considering the Raiders Director of Pro Personnel, Dwayne Joseph to be included.

Chicago drafted Trace Armstrong in the first round of the 1989 NFL Draft. Armstrong played defensive end for the Chicago Bears from 1989 to 1994. He went on to play for another 10 years. Armstrong finished his career with the Bears with 42 sacks in six years. He ended his career with 106 sacks and is now a coaches’ agent.

In fact, he is Matt Nagy’s agent. This is quite honestly one reason why denials of a conversation took place. Armstrong needs to tread lightly here. If he was not offered the job with the Bears, he could find himself losing more than Nagy as a client. Other coaches would not be happy that their agent is making deals that would directly lead to their exit.

Dwayne Joseph on the other hand only played one season in the NFL. He was an undrafted free agent of the Chicago Bears in 1994 and was with the Bears for three years. He only cracked the 53-man roster in 1995 — a year after he and Trace Armstrong were teammates before Armstrong went onto play with the Miami Dolphins.

Although their careers within the NFL and even after the NFL are very different, the key here is that it is great to finally hear that the Chicago Bears are looking into putting someone in place of football operations who actually has football experience and understanding. Not just a glorified bean counter like Ted Phillips.

The Chicago Bears are saying all the right things behind the scenes

What bothers me though is that the Chicago Bears have yet to make confirmed moves regarding Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace. With the new rule in place that teams will be able to start interviewing potential head coaching replacements over the last two weeks of the season, it seems like a horrible decision to not take advantage of that opportunity. That is if the team is truly moving on from Matt Nagy — which all backdoor channels seem to be pointing.

The Bears cannot bring Nagy back at this point and honestly, there’s no reason to bring Ryan Pace back either. It took too long, but rumors are that the Bears are finally doing their due diligence in replacing Pace too. We will take a look at some of those potential replacements soon, but right now, I am just excited to finally hear that the team is looking to make the moves needed to hopefully find their way into consistent success.

The only problem is, there is still no guarantee that these changes do enough to guarantee success. There are plenty of other teams that employ a similar hierarchy and it does not always equal a positive outcome.