YEAR 3, DAY 1 & THE BIG 2: FOX, TRUBISKY
Coach’s future, rookie QB’s timeline will be the key issues during the 2017 season for GM Pace’s Bears
BOURBONNAIS — General manager Ryan Pace would rather talk about Day 1 than what might happen one day.
He repeated the phrase “Day 1” Wednesday when asked three questions about coach John Fox’s future — a not- so- subtle reminder that there’s a lot of football to be played between move- in day at Olivet Nazarene University and the end of the season.
Asked how he would gauge Fox’s progress, besides wins and losses, Pace pointed out the Bears are in “Day 1 in a long process right now — it’s exciting.”
In an answer about what lies at the center of his evaluation of Fox, Pace said it was “Day 1 of a long season.”
Finally, he was asked if a losing season would bring pressure from the team’s owners, the McCaskey family.
“Those are hypotheticals right now,” he said. “We’re Day 1 into this. We’re fired up about the competition, the roster we’ve assembled. There’s a lot of positive energy right now.”
Two questions could dog this team throughout the season — Fox’s future, entering the third year of a four- year contract, and the timeline of rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Neither question can be answered anytime soon, though an 0- 4 start — the Bears figure to be under- dogs in every regular- season game for a month — could ramp up the pressure.
“I hear there’s pressure on this — there’s pressure on all of us,” Pace said. “There’s a lot of pressure on me, and we all know what we signed up for. The focus now is winning games.”
Drafting Trubisky, though, might have separated Pace’s timeline from that of Fox. Pace said he’ll look for steady improvement when evaluating his team.
Fox wouldn’t say whether Pace has given him a playoff- caliber roster, preferring not to make predictions, but expressed
‘‘ I hear there’s pressure on this — there’s pressure on all of us. There’s a lot of pressure on me, and we all know what we signed up for.’’ — Bears general manager Ryan Pace
confidence in Pace’s acquisitions.
“This is the first training camp that I’ve been to [ with the Bears] where I wasn’t looking at hypotheticals as far as who was going to be on the roster at certain positions,” he said. “Where that takes us, time will tell, and that’s why we’re here. . . .
“Our roster’s at the point now where I think it’s competitive.”
Only 10 players on the Bears’ 90- man roster remain from the Phil Emery era. Pace feels ownership in the players he handpicked, particularly, quarterbacks Mike Glennon and Trubisky.
The new blood, he said, has hastened a culture change. He said the Bears have team- first players, a trait that has been important in other ascendant teams.
“I think we’ve assembled the right kind of guys, I know that,” Pace said. “The culture and the vibe of the locker room is really good. When we talk about playing with toughness and intelligence and passion and all those traits we strive for, I feel like we got a team that embodies those traits. It’s gonna be exciting to see that team come together, which is what this time is for.
Fox, he said, has been integral in creating the right locker- room attitude. Fox praised his players’ attitude during last year’s 3- 13, injury- filled season.
“If there’s one thing I can stress with John, and things I appreciate every day is — look, it’s very difficult to change a culture,” Pace said. “And John is doing that and he has done that while also getting younger as a team. And doing that together has been difficult, and I appreciate that with him.
“So I just think, ‘ Hey, there’s pressure on all of us. It’s all about winning games.’ ”
Asked about Year 3, Fox pointed to his coaching career.
“It’s really like Year 28 for me,” he said. “I’m beyond the feeling- the- pressure part of it. As a coach, you put pressure on yourself.
“I think there’s a lot of people in [ Halas Hall], in those stands on Sundays, they want to see a winner bad. Every year, whether it’s this year or the last two years, that’s been the main focus and main objective, I know for myself.”
And for Fox’s bosses, the McCaskeys.
“[ The McCaskeys] want to see continued improvement,” Pace said. “They know there’s no quick fix. We talked about that. It’s about building this team the right way, with the right kind of guys.
“And we’ve just got to show progress. And I think we will. As we go forward, our fans are going to see a tough, blue- collar, grind-it-out team that’s on the ascension, and it’s something they can be part of.”