The Chicago Bears ownership continues to be fooled by Ryan Pace.
There are times as a Chicago Bears fan when I want to show up at Halas Hall “Say Anything” style and hoist a boombox over my head like Lloyd Dobler. Though instead of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” it would be blasting out The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” as a warning to the McCaskey family.
You see, the McCaskeys appear to be on the verge of doing what they do best — getting bamboozled by someone within their own organization. For years it was (and to a large extent continues to be) Ted Phillips. However, a new contender has entered the ring standing ready to wrestle the title of organization’s top saboteur away from the incumbent.
Of course, I am talking about general manager Ryan Pace, who according to a recent report from NFL insider Michael Lombardi, appears to have the full support of ownership.
Speaking on 670 The Score on Friday, Lombardi said “the word around the league is that he’s endeared himself to the family. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he would be back.”
If true, it would be as disappointing as it would be surprising. While Pace has done some terrific work on the defensive side of the ball, as well as modernizing a lot of the facilities around Halas Hall, his performance with the offense — and specifically the quarterback position — has been atrocious.
Remember there was a time when Pace legitimately thought Mike Glennon was not only a viable NFL quarterback but one worth a 3 year/$45 million contract ($18.5 million guaranteed). Then, he inexplicably trade up to No. 2 to select Mitch Trubisky in 2017, in a move that should have been a referendum on his tenure in Chicago.
Looking back, it is clear that Glennon had no business on a football field, much less as a starting quarterback, and Trubisky has been an utter failure whose fledgling career will always be judged against the two quarterbacks Pace passed on — Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
As if those two catastrophic blunders weren’t enough to seal Pace’s fate, he is also the one responsible for giving up a fourth-round pick for Nick Foles and ignoring the quarterback position in the NFL Draft, despite insisting on drafting a quarterback every year upon his arrival to Chicago. However, those words, like much of his performance as general manager, was a farce.
Now, inexplicably, the McCaskeys have looked past all that and throw their support behind the man who has set their franchise back years with his inability to evaluate the most important position in sports? It’s mind-boggling.
