Ryan Pace Must Go

After another primetime national embarrassment it is clear changes are necessary for the Chicago Bears.  The change should start at the top with Ted Philips but since he has managed to hold a spot in the franchise for over 20 years, making a change at general manager is much more likely.

Pace has only one winning season in his six seasons with the franchise and has whiffed on the two biggest decisions a GM makes multiple times, picking a head coach and a quarterback. Pace's inaugural season was headlined by hiring John Fox and drafting Kevin White. After moving on from Fox he replaced him with Matt Nagy, an "offensive genius" who has not managed to raise the offense from the basement of the league.

The biggest problem I have with Pace is that he didn't do anything to improve this offense coming into the season. Anyone with two eyes could tell the Bears offense needed help.  

A quick look at stats in 2019 and where the Bears ranked:

17.5 points per game (29th) 296.8 yards per game (29th) 4.7 yards per play (31st) 5.3 net per attempt (32nd) 3.7 yards per rush (30th)
Pace looked at these numbers and decided to spend three of his top four draft picks on defensive players. Jaylon Johnson has been pretty solid as a rookie cornerback but the other two picks, Trevis Gipson and Kindle Vildor, have been ghosts. The two of them have combined for 14 defensive going into the Packers game tonight.

Shockingly when combined with the other offseason additions of Nick Foles, Ted Ginn Jr, Jimmy Graham and Germain Ifedi, the offense is a joke once again.

Pace is 0 for 2 on head coaches and 0 for 3 on quarterbacks. Those results do not warrant another opportunity to make either decision.  

The Texans, Jaguars and Lions have already moved from their GMs so if the Bears want the best candidate they need to move fast.  

I am open to any ideas as possible replacements, please leave a comment below with your top choices.

Brandon Marshall on the Move... Again

The Bears new regime made their first huge player personnel decision today sending Brandon Marshall to the Jets for a reported fifth round draft pick. 

Ryan Pace is already putting his mark on the team.  He wants a new defense, better and scouts and his own players and Marshall is just the beginning of that. The much maligned receiver was Pace's predecessor's first big splash so it shouldn't come as a shock that he is the first to go.
Marshall was a breath of fresh air for a franchise that had not had a true number one receiver in some time before his arrival but it was time for him to leave. He is 31 years old, has gone through multiple hip surgeries and seems to be more focused on his TV career than his game.

Replacing his production will be difficult, Alshon Jeffery will need to step up while he looks for a new contract and we will see if Marquess Wilson can live up to the potential the previous coaching regime would gush about. It appears the Bears are already looking to the free agent market to help the passing game.

Now, all eyes will be on what Pace and company does with the almost $4 million in cap savings this trade provides. The signing of Jimmy Clausen today likely puts a stop to the rumors of signing Jake Locker or another quarterback.

Make sure to vote in the poll on the right and let me know what you thought about the move in the comments below.

As a bonus you can also listen to my podcast recorded before all this news went down where I preview my thoughts on the free agency market for the Bears and potential first round draft picks.