A major shakeup is underway for the Chicago Bears, as the organization fired both general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy Monday morning following the team’s finale of the 2021 NFL season.
NBC Sports Chicago's Adam Hoge, citing sources, reported both firings. The Bears confirmed the news later in the morning.
And more changes could be coming, with all eyes now on team president Ted Phillips.
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While Nagy’s firing has been expected over the last month, Pace’s fate was less certain. His seven years in Chicago were defined by inconsistency, as Pace had his fair share of big mistakes and savvy roster additions.
Both Nagy and Pace were put on notice going into the 2021 season. After 48 hours of silence following their January playoff exit, Bears chairman George McCaskey and team president Ted Phillips announced Nagy and Pace would return in 2021, but needed to show progress. Despite trading up in the NFL Draft for prized rookie quarterback Justin Fields, that progress never occurred.
Nagy was heavily criticized for announcing free agent quarterback Andy Dalton as the team’s unquestioned starter and for not giving Fields a chance to compete for the job. Fields was forced into action by Week 2 when Dalton suffered a knee injury, but his lack of reps with the first-team in the preseason didn’t help as he went through his predictable rookie struggles.
Optimism about Fields is still sky high inside the walls of Halas Hall, so it seemed plausible that Pace’s big move to draft Fields in April might give him redemption for his failed pick of Mitchell Trubisky in 2017. But in the end, Pace’s pairing of Nagy and Trubisky together was too much to overcome.
