There’s a saying that losing is the ultimate motivator of change, but somehow it’s 2020 and almost 2021, and the Chicago Bears are still jumping through the same hoops that they were in 2018. In 2018 we saw a Super Bowl level defense mixed with a replacement level offense that would then lose a heartbreaker to the defending champs. With Bears fans hearts at all time low, they still knew this wouldn’t be the end of it, with an offense only destined to improve under 3rd year QB Mitchell Trubisky. This team was hungry to say the least. That step we all waited for never was taken as we know all too well, in fact the offense only got worse by the year.
True dynasties roll with the punches and adapt to change, the best example of this is Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide. We saw him transform his team from a ground and pound team that would let their defense control the game, to a team with the most dynamic receiver talent in college football history. Year after year we see Alabama produce talent at the wide receiver position, which is amazing because not too long ago they were a team that would run the ball 30 times a game. Rolling with the punches is something necessary to create legacies, something we haven’t seen Bears GM Ryan Pace do in years. Year after year he tries to run it back with the same problems; he’s been trying to cover bullet holes with bandaids and Chicago is sick of it.
What went wrong?
Ryan Pace has refused to make the team better, even when getting a taste of what the team could’ve been in 2018. The offense has been starving for another star whether its an anchor for the offensive line, or a stud tight end, receiver or running back. It’s almost as if he doesn’t watch the games, as it doesn’t take a genius to see that the offense needed help to take the step to finally cement themselves as a real powerhouse.
Instead, he chose to extend Cody Whitehair, Charles Leno, and Bobbie Massie as opposed to spending some capital to bring in talent to help the offense take the next step. Keep in mind, all three of these players have declined significantly since receiving their payday. Long story short, there has been no effort to make the offense better since 2018.
At one point in 2020 the Bears were miraculously 5-1, with glaring holes and yet again Pace once again chose to stand back and let it burn. The Bears were going into the deadline with seven lineman out, and Pace decided to not make a single move at the deadline and play the next two games without a right tackle and the next game without a center. The Bears would then lose these two games and decline to 5-5.
My Solution?
Fire Pace, fire coach Matt Nagy, maybe even defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. This organization is desperate for an organizational reset, and it’s clear that Pace doesn’t know what he needs to do. As for Nagy, it’s just collateral damage and I don’t blame him for the offensive woes because when you look at his pieces, you cant really expect him to make due with bottom five QB play and subpar offensive line play.
Head coach options that intrigue me the most are Brian Daboll and Brian Schottenheimer, who have been advocates of the new passing attack that has been taking the NFL by storm. The most familiar term to this new found attack would be “Let Russ Cook” which means that they let their QB throw on early downs. This new philosophy is fueled by analytics and advanced statistics, two things I also believe in heavily.
An organizational reset is necessary to bring new energy to this team and to give Chicago hope for the future. Now is the perfect time for the reset, because there are great coaches looking for jobs and our draft spot. All Bears fans can hope is that they land a great coach and let him choose his franchise QB, preferably Zach Wilson out of BYU. Most importantly though, there needs to be some sort of reset and the first order of business is firing Ryan Pace.
Photo credit: Chicago Sports News
