The Chicago Bears will have a much different look next season, as the team fired GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy on “Black Monday.”
The Nagy firing was expected, as he put together a 34-31 record in four seasons—despite a 12-4 record, NFC North title, and playoff appearance in his first season, which garnered him NFL Coach of the Year honors.
However, the team failed to put together a winning season in his ensuing three years, including consecutive 8-8 campaigns and a five-game losing streak in 2021 for a 6-11 finish. He went 0-2 in the playoffs and famously lost on the “double-doink” field goal attempt against the Eagles after his first season.
The Pace move was slightly less expected but not out of the blue. His teams posted a 48-65 record, qualified for the postseason twice, and failed to record a playoff victory.
And, in addition to the losing record, his tenure will be marred by crucial misses at quarterback; he notoriously traded up from the third slot to the second in the 2017 draft to grab Mitch Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. The Bears let Trubisky head into free agency in 2021, and he signed with Buffalo as a backup. Mahomes and Watson are both stars, though the latter has faced some legal trouble lately.
Many a gaffe has been committed trying to right that wrong: trading for Nick Foles, signing Andy Dalton, and drafting Justin Fields. Though history will judge the Fields move, as he still has potential after completing his rookie campaign.
Pace had myriad first-round fails in addition to Trubisky, and his recent moves created salary-cap issues and a talent- and depth-lacking roster.
Pace’s finest moment was perhaps a trade to acquire linebacker Khalil Mack on Labor Day weekend in 2018, which helped with that season’s division title and earned him Executive of the Year honors by the Sporting News. His pick of linebacker Roquan Smith in 2018 and his ability to find solid midround picks are other feathers in his cap.
He also spearheaded the $100 million project to expand Halas Hall in 2019 with a 162,500-square-foot football ops addition.
“I didn’t know,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said it caught others off guard. “Just hearing the news and seeing his body language change a little bit, I mean, it hurts. He spent a lot of time here. He put a lot into the organization, so having that taken away from you is never easy.
“And then for some of us in the organization, all we know is Coach Nagy, all we know is Pace. It’s going to be a different transition for us versus other guys who have been to different teams and different things like that. Every guy has a different reaction. So just for everybody, I feel like we all just want to move forward and keep continuing to be the best player and best person we can be.”
“They took a chance on me, and I commend and I appreciate them for that,” said Bears running back David Montgomery, who harbored a strong relationship with Nagy and said the morning was “pretty emotional” for him. “As soon as I stepped foot in here, they showed me nothing but love. I appreciate them for that. It’s unfortunate what happened. But at the same time, you understand this is a results-driven league and we want to do what we have to do so we can handle business.”
The status of Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips also is up in the air. He’s been the Bears president for 23 seasons, a period during which the franchise has made only six playoff appearances and won just three postseason games.
This current season was the ninth in Phillips’ tenure during which the Bears lost double-digit games—a stretch that has seen the team cycle through three GMs and five head coaches.
