WHICH OPTION WILL HE CHOOSE?
Here are four scenarios Bears chairman McCaskey may decide to ponder
It’s all about the quarterback in the NFL, especially when the quarterback is a talented rookie capable of one day putting a struggling offense on his shoulders and lifting a wayward franchise out of the muck.
But as the Bears’ 2021 season has veered off-course in Justin Fields’ first season, coach Matt Nagy’s fourth and general manager Ryan Pace’s seventh, not even the quarterback will command the entire spotlight the rest of the way.
It’s all about the owner now. Chairman George McCaskey spoke with the Bears the day before their 16-14 victory against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field.
‘‘I’m not gonna get into what he said,’’ tight end Cole Kmet said after the game. ‘‘That’s between us and him and the organization in general. But I think it put the players in a good mindset.’’
It’s good to know McCaskey is talking with someone because he has been silent publicly since the end-of-season news conference in January in which he and president Ted Phillips almost sheepishly acknowledged their decision to bring back Pace and Nagy was an unpopular one.
McCaskey usually talks with the media at least once each offseason and usually after training camp has started. But not this year, with the possibility of the Bears leaving Soldier Field and the futures of Pace and Nagy obvious hot topics.
So he wasn’t asked the most obvious question heading into the 2021 season: How does he define ‘‘progress’’ after stating that as the barometer of success when he decided to bring back Pace and Nagy?
The question looms larger than ever with the 4-7 Bears unlikely to make the playoffs, but Fields starting eight games — and possibly getting as many as six more starts when he recovers from the cracked ribs he suffered against the Ravens on Nov. 21.
The firing of Nagy is considered by many to be a fait accompli, with ‘‘Fire Nagy’’ chants breaking out at various Chicago-area venues. But the fates of Nagy and Pace are unclear after the chaotic episode last week in which it erroneously was reported that the Thanksgiving Day game would be Nagy’s last as the Bears’ coach. That’s in part because it’s hard to know what McCaskey is thinking.
We’ll find out soon enough. Until then, however, speculation about Nagy, Pace and McCaskey and Phillips themselves will
continue to fester as the season concludes. All we know now is what might happen. So here are four scenarios to consider when the Bears’ 2021 season ends — or possibly sooner:
George McCaskey and Ted Phillips step aside
The McCaskeys aren’t going to sell the Bears, at least not while Virginia McCaskey is the owner. But with the Bears’ abysmal record in the post-Ditka era — seven playoff appearances and four playoff victories in 27 seasons — George McCaskey at some point has to consider that family leadership is at least part of the problem.
(Only three NFL teams that have been in the league throughout that span have fewer playoff victories. Only three have fewer playoff appearances.)
The McCaskeys still could retain ownership but restructure the franchise so that a president of football operations — presumably someone with a proven history of football, management and publicrelations expertise — is making all football decisions, including the hiring of the GM.
That’s no assurance of success. But better leadership alone would be an improvement, especially in a scenario such as the one last week, when a weak crisis-management plan created another embarrassing episode for the organization.
McCaskey cleans house, firing GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy
This is what many frustrated Bears fans are expecting after Pace and Nagy appeared to be a singular entity, with their valued collaborative working relationship a major reason for hope that 2021 would be an improvement after back-to-back 8-8 seasons.
The Bears are 46-61 (.430) with one winning season and two playoff berths in Pace’s seven seasons as GM. That’s a little misleading because his first three seasons were a virtual teardown of the roster before the rebuild. But two of Pace’s misevaluations — trading up to draft quarterback Mitch Trubisky in 2017 and hiring Nagy in 2018 — have kept the Bears on the skids.
Trading up to draft Fields in 2021 might end up being a masterstroke. But poor management of the offensive line and other personnel errors have prevented the offense from showing enough improvement to support Pace’s case.
Pace has had hits and misses, but the overall ledger is in the negative. Other than Roquan Smith, even Pace’s biggest hits (Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Jackson, Allen Robinson, Eddie Goldman and Tarik Cohen among them) have struggled to sustain success or stay on the field. But his misses (Trubisky, Kevin White, Mike Glennon, Adam Shaheen, Cody Parkey, Nick Foles, etc.) are forever.
Pace fires Nagy, stays as GM
Reading tea leaves at Halas Hall is like trying to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, but this is looking like the most likely scenario.
It would give McCaskey the change that would prevent Bears fans from storming Halas Hall or talking about a boycott. And it would spare McCaskey and Phillips the chore of finding another GM — after firing Jerry Angelo following the 2011 season and Phil Emery in 2014 — which isn’t their strength.
The best argument for Pace is based almost entirely on potential: He addressed two of his biggest offensive issues in the 2021 draft with Fields and offensive tackles Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom. But he hired Nagy, drafted Trubisky, has a defense that is aging quickly, has injury issues and salary-cap issues and doesn’t have a firstround draft pick in 2022.
Pace is a capable GM who could win big in optimal conditions — the Buccaneers’ Jason Licht had a worse history as a GM before striking gold with coach Bruce Arians and quarterback Tom Brady — but Pace’s luck really has to change in a hurry.
Pace and Nagy both stick around
For Bears fans, this is the doomsday scenario. It’s unlikely that McCaskey instructed Nagy to start Fields, as has been reported, but it wouldn’t be that far-fetched to think that McCaskey told Nagy he values having a young quarterback in place more than a playoff berth with Andy Dalton.
And if that was the impetus for Nagy’s decision to go with Fields, it’s possible that if Fields continues to make the improvement he showed against the 49ers and Steelers when he returns from his injury, that might fit McCaskey’s definition of progress.
It’s not likely, but it’s possible. At Halas Hall, anything is possible.