The Chicago Bears general manager will have a say in who starts at quarterback.
You know we are getting closer to Chicago Bears football when the team hosts its introductory training camp press conference. Well, that is precisely what took place on Wednesday morning, when the brain trust of general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy met the media.
Of course, the topic of the quarterback competition between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles was top of mind for everyone. But as they discussed the process of evaluating those two signal-callers, one comment stood out. Pace indicated he would have a say in the determination. If true, that should concern fans, as he should not have a say in who starts.
Look, I get he’s the general manager and in theory, that person should have some input. However, having a “say” seems to imply he will influence the final decision. Here is why that is a terrible idea.
Chicago Bears GM has trouble evaluating QBs
For starters, he has demonstrated an inability to correctly evaluate the position. For starters, he brought in Mike Glennon, thinking he would be a legitimate starting quarterback to bridge the gap until Trubisky was ready. He was catastrophically wrong.
And while many others missed on the evaluation, he failed to see the transcendent potential of Patrick Mahomes and passed on the most polished quarterback in the draft, Deshaun Watson. In other words, he has trouble recognizing what a good quarterback looks like, so why should he have a say in telling the coach who is performing the best in practice? That evaluation should be Nagy’s and his staff.
Chicago Bears GM will struggle to be objective
In addition, it is hard to imagine Pace being completely objective in his evaluation. He figuratively pushed all of his chips in on Trubisky when he traded up to draft him. His struggle to become an above-average quarterback, and Mahomes’ and Watson’s ascension, has resulted in Pace taking a lot of heat for that move.
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With his wagon being firmly hitched to Trubisky’s star — not to mention his job security as well — it is no secret Pace would prefer Mitch to be the starter. He will do everything he can to make him the guy. That could include exerting influence over Nagy to make Mitch the starter even if he is not the better quarterback in camp.
The bottom line is whoever is the better performing quarterback in camp should be the starter. Whoever gives the Bears the best chance to win games, should line up under center. However, you can envision a scenario where Foles is better, but the gap is close enough that Pace gives the nod to Mitch because of all he has invested in the young quarterback. That would not only be disingenuous but would not be in the best interest of the team.
Hopefully, Pace’s voice in the decision-making process will be the quietest. But as we’ve seen with the Chicago Bulls’ head coaching situation — sometimes it’s good to still have friends in high places.