The reality is that we all know that Matt Nagy will get fired at this point. However, there are still questions about Ryan Pace. The rumors around his status have been quiet and far between, which has had Chicago Bears fans anxious about the next step for the organization.
Recently a Chicago Bears beat reporter Hub Arkush reported that he has sources who believe that Ryan Pace will be back next season. Check out the link below.
.@Hub_Arkush on Ryan Pace's future with #Bears: “What I’ve heard from several good sources is that Ryan is probably going to be remaining with the organization (in some capacity) ... It's better than 50-50 that Ryan Pace sticks around."
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) January 4, 2022
Listen: https://t.co/dozT2brTxP pic.twitter.com/shDts5zhky
There are two things worth noting here. Better than 50/50 is not definitive. Beyond that, he notes that Pace will be in the organization to some capacity. He did not say that he will certainly be retained as the General Manager.
There have already been rumors that Pace may move to a football operations role which would likely mean he is now hiring the next General Manager. He would then work with that General Manager and hire a head coach.
You would assume in this role that Pace would do a lot of scouting, and that they would hire an experienced General Manager who understands the financials.
In some ways, this works, but in others, it spells disaster. You can make arguments for Pace and his drafting, but the contracts he gave, the aggressive nature he displays, and the way he hindered the future to keep his job are all things that show that he is more to blame than Matt Nagy for these issues.
The last point is the hardest and it is that Pace has been acting out of desperation since he passed on Patrick Mahomes for Mitch Trubisky. Jimmy Graham and Danny Trevathan are examples, but the lack of draft assets scream that Pace has used the past two years as a win-now window, and has not won nearly enough.
If he is hiring the GM, it shortens the list to people he knows and trusts. He cannot take a big swing and miss here. The rest would come as actions from a person who once again is fighting to keep his job and not build a roster for the long term.
The Chicago Bears need to hire everyone new and fresh and let them build from scratch. Leaving Pace in and letting people from the last regime dip into the new regime will only make sorting out who is to blame at the end of the day even harder. This is not the smart thing to do.