Bears 2019/20; George McCaskey is on the clock

[Dresden]

So Nagy is fired today right? What’s that 6 in a row? At the very least firing Nagy would be the best way to evaluate Pace until the offseason. If we have Pagano take over HC duties and lazor be the guy for offense and the team performs the same way that we can without a doubt blame paces personnel choices for a lot of the bad on this team. If the offense magically becomes above average I think that might help pace

Yesterday the offense was above average- it was the defense that let them down.

[jnrjr79]

They're both probably gone at season's end, but to me, Pace needs to go more than Nagy does. This team has no offensive line and no quarterback. I'm not sure any coach in the NFL could make the Bears into even a league average offense.

I don't know what to make of the defense utterly disappearing these past couple of weeks. It's one thing to crumble against the Packers, but letting Stafford throw for over 400 yards yesterday? Yeesh.

[dougthonus]

Bears will probably only be favored against Jacksonville the rest of the season (possibly the Packers if they have nothing to play for or even end up in a spot where it is better to lose). After starting 5-1, they could pretty easily go 1-9 in their last 10 games.

[GetBuLLish]

Chuck Pagano should count his lucky stars that his abysmal coaching isn't being given the attention it deserves due to the other areas of dysfunction within the organization.

Can anyone explain to me why, after seeking a quarterback consistently sit back in a clean pocket for 5 seconds and then throw to a wide open receiver twenty yards down the field, does Pagano refuse to dial up pressure? I read that he brought 5 rushers yesterday one single time. How in the hell is the possible given what was playing out on the field? It's hard to fathom such incompetence.

[patryk7754]

cleary this defense has quit. the only chance to save the season is to get rid of nagy

[ATRAIN53]

McCaskeys aren't going anywhere. Their entire weath is built on the franchise.
They will continue like Reinsdorf to keep living off the profits and revenue sharing and keep tuning profits.

They don't have to win to make $$$.

They are never selling that team or cashing out as long as Virginia is still alive.
She is the patriarch of the Bears, this is all she has ever known - Bears football.

Every few years or so we'll get lucky and eek into the playoffs.

But until we get lucky and have the magic combo of a legit franchise QB and an owner who has to spend $$$ to recoup his investment in the team-

We're stuck hoping we get lucky with the current regime and ownership.

[Jeffster81]

Bears will probably only be favored against Jacksonville the rest of the season (possibly the Packers if they have nothing to play for or even end up in a spot where it is better to lose). After starting 5-1, they could pretty easily go 1-9 in their last 10 games.

And if the bolded happens, there is no justification in keeping Nagy AND Pace.

[dougthonus]

And if the bolded happens, there is no justification in keeping Nagy AND Pace.

I think Pace absolutely needs to fire Nagy to have any hope of keeping his job. I place more blame on Pace than Nagy in some respects, but I can understand why he did what he did. Pace went all in on Trubisky being a great QB, if it worked, the Bears may have had a shot at the superbowl.

It didn't work, and when it was clear to most people it wouldn't work, he doubled down on it a few years rather than pivoting to a new plan. That's not necessarily awful, it was kind of like betting on post ACL Rose, you were pretty sure it would fail, but you didn't really have a better option other than starting a rebuild earlier.

Pace has the opposite team building approach I would have. My approach would be to always be trading down, always acquiring more assets. Pace has been aggressive about trading out of the draft to get better current players. I haven't really studied the NFL enough to know how well my approach would work historically though. I generally believe that the draft is closer to a "random walk" and that people overvalue their hunches too much.

[Chi town]

Still reminded of two things from yesterday's game...

- Miller getting yards in the 4th with about 5mins left when Bears ahead and going out of bounds... He stays in bounds the Bears run the clock. Instead they miss on 3rd down and punt. Next position fumble.

- Mooney fielding the kickoff near end of 4th and sliding at the 10 yard line... what the heck was that? Mitch fumbles a play later. Lions score and go ahead.

- Allen Robinson catching the pass at the end of the game with an easy three yards to get the first down and he steps out of bound. Bears run it the next play and get stuffed to end the game.

WELL COACHED TEAMS DON'T DO THAT. Nagy should have been livid on the sideline. He just watched. Didn't react in anyway.

I like Nagy but he's done. Will probably be a good 2nd time HC and do expect him to be one again. Pace didn't help him much with Mitch.

[Susan]

I think the Bears are decently positioned for a teardown compared to Houston/Detroit/Atlanta.

Stafford/Ryan are old and have a huge cap hit. Houston doesn't have a 1st or 2nd rounder and they're strapped for cash.

There's real talent on the defensive side of the ball here that you could keep or trade away. Quinn has been a disappointment but Mack/Hicks/Fuller are all assets and Smith/Jackson/Johnson are good foundational blocks. Getting a top 7 pick would give us a good deal of assets.

[Jeffster81]

And if the bolded happens, there is no justification in keeping Nagy AND Pace.

I think Pace absolutely needs to fire Nagy to have any hope of keeping his job. I place more blame on Pace than Nagy in some respects, but I can understand why he did what he did. Pace went all in on Trubisky being a great QB, if it worked, the Bears may have had a shot at the superbowl.

It didn't work, and when it was clear to most people it wouldn't work, he doubled down on it a few years rather than pivoting to a new plan. That's not necessarily awful, it was kind of like betting on post ACL Rose, you were pretty sure it would fail, but you didn't really have a better option other than starting a rebuild earlier.

Pace has the opposite team building approach I would have. My approach would be to always be trading down, always acquiring more assets. Pace has been aggressive about trading out of the draft to get better current players. I haven't really studied the NFL enough to know how well my approach would work historically though. I generally believe that the draft is closer to a "random walk" and that people overvalue their hunches too much.

If you firing Nagy, you probably will need to fire Pace. Nagy and Trubisky was such a colossal failure that Pace does not get a third coach to hire. I rather clean house over keeping one of Pace/Nagy.

[fleet]

If we are replacing the quarterback, how the hell is anybody OK with Pace choosing? He has to be gone.

Anyway's, say what you want about Fox. He wanted to take Watson. I think we would have been better than we are today if he was still here guiding Pace.

[Susan]

If we are replacing the quarterback, how the hell is anybody OK with Pace choosing? He has to be gone.

Foles was Nagy's call, Glennon was a low risk signing that they were able to cut with zero cap ramifications the following season. There's zero defending Trubisky.

[BigUps]

I'd toss as much money as I could at Peyton Manning to become the VP or Football Operations and let him take over. Let him hire coaches and figure out our Quarterback position. Its risky, but thats what I'd do. Going to have to pry him away from ESPN so it'll cost a ton.

Oh, you have to fire Ted Phillips first too. He's been here way too long and fired a ten win Lovie then hired this regime. He's had his chances.

[fleet]

Wannstedt’s theory after the Packers game: Nagy is safe

"For all of us, there comes a time where there's a little bit of personal pride," Nagy said Monday. "I'm hoping that really none of us slept last night because of where we're at, what we did and what we didn't do.


"If you really care and you understand what we put out there last night you'll fix it. That's going to be the challenge moving forward here. But there's some personal pride here involved in moving forward."

So what explains the player-friendly Nagy's sudden change of tone? Was the loss just that infuriating or was there something more to it? Former Bears coach and current Fox analyst Dave Wannstedt believes Nagy's comments came after a meeting with ownership and/or management, he said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Tuesday morning.

"I believe Matt came out, was very assertive, he was very confident in what he said, I think he really had a conversation with somebody and he knows or he believes or it was insinuated that you're coming back," Wannstedt said. "'You're our coach and nothing is going to happen.' I think if he really thought the ship was sinking and he was done -- I don't know, because it's not his natural personality. We all know that.


"Did George McCaskey call him in or did Virginia? Virginia wouldn't do the talking, but she would sure as heck sit there. And George says, 'You know what, you better say something. We're losing our fan base. The defense for the first time didn't perform to the level they're capable of. You better say something publicly to let our fan base know that we're trying to right the ship.' It was either that or they said, 'You're going to be our coach for a while,' so he's confident. He's not worried about upsetting a few players or coaches or whatever because he knows he's going to be here.

"You don't just wake up and change your personality. That does not happen."

https://www.radio.com/670thescore/sports/chicago-bears/dave-wannstedt-believes-matt-nagy-rant-came-after-meeting-mccaskey-ownership

[Dresden]

They ought to form a search committee of 4-6 people who really know the NFL well, and get their input as to who a good person to be the GM would be. Maybe Petyon Manning would serve on that? Or people like Mike Holmgren, or Steve Young. In fact, Steve Young might be somebody to look at- he's smart, he's got a law degree, and he comes from the SF tradition. I bet he'd love to be a GM.

In any case, they have to pick a lot of brains to come up with the right person. There have to be some people in the NFL now, who are acknowledged as being ripe for a promotion to GM.

[Chicago-Bull-E]

I don't understand the logic of keeping Pace. He said it himself after he draft Mitch, his legacy and job will be tied to that QB. And it hasn't worked out.

His drafting has been mediocre. He misses on his high picks, and finds value later in the draft on defense. But certainly nothing worth keeping a guy. I bet finding a good player in the draft one out of every 3-4 picks can sum up most gms.

But worst, no one wants to talk about his complete lack of moves in free agency. He had one of the worst offenses last year, and his response to throw a ton of money at a defensive end, a QB that was no longer wanted in JACKSONVILLE, and a tight end the Packers didn't want. It's unacceptable. The idea that he thought somehow magically the offense was going to get better was insane. He didn't do anything! FREE AGENCY ALONE is the reason he should be fired. He has missed BIGTIME in that area.

[biggestbullsfan]

Remember when we were like 5-1 and he told everyone to relax and we all kept saying the offense is not working?

[fleet]

And if the bolded happens, there is no justification in keeping Nagy AND Pace.

I think Pace absolutely needs to fire Nagy to have any hope of keeping his job. I place more blame on Pace than Nagy in some respects, but I can understand why he did what he did. Pace went all in on Trubisky being a great QB, if it worked, the Bears may have had a shot at the superbowl.

It didn't work, and when it was clear to most people it wouldn't work, he doubled down on it a few years rather than pivoting to a new plan. That's not necessarily awful, it was kind of like betting on post ACL Rose, you were pretty sure it would fail, but you didn't really have a better option other than starting a rebuild earlier.

Pace has the opposite team building approach I would have. My approach would be to always be trading down, always acquiring more assets. Pace has been aggressive about trading out of the draft to get better current players. I haven't really studied the NFL enough to know how well my approach would work historically though. I generally believe that the draft is closer to a "random walk" and that people overvalue their hunches too much.

The team cannot afford to let Pace sacrifice picks to trade up for random dudes anymore, let alone Trubisky. There are too many needs. Not that they ever could afford it. That has to stop.

[Almost Retired]

Bears need QB. Getting one should be priority under all costs. I think this experiment last few years under Pace answers that question. There is no point building your team if you dont have QB. You can change coach, get elite FA, get good group of players cost controlled but if you dont have QB you need reset button immediatly.

They need an OLine. They have no one there.

Back in the ancient 1970s we had Jim Finks as the GM from 1977-1983. He was a "build from the lines" first kind of GM. Drafted guys like Ted Albrecht in 1977, Dan Hampton in 1979, Keith Van Horne in 1981. He loaded up on some linebackers too. Singletary in 81, Otis Wilson in 80, Al Harris in 79. Then came the greatest Draft in Bears history in 1983. Finks's last Year as GM. Jimbo Covert, Willie Gault, Mike Richardson, Dave Duerson, Tom Thayer, Richard Dent and Mark Bortz. I was not always enamored taking linemen every year but he set up the Foundation that eventually created the best Bears team any of us now living will ever see. Having playmakers makes you a great team IF you have the foundation properly laid. But great wide outs do you no good if your QB doesn't have 3 seconds to drop back and throw. And if the O Line can't open a keyhole to develop any consistent running game. Whoever takes over for Pace needs to fix the O-Line and draft some D-Line back-up help. Our defense becomes second rate when we lose Goldman and Hicks to injury, which seems to happen every year now. We probably shouldn't even waste a pick on a QB this year. Just upgrade both lines for the next 2 drafts and live with mediocrity at QB until we have the groundwork laid to be able to put a QB in a position to succeed.