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New Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace Proves He’s On the Right Track With John Fox Hire

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The last time the Chicago Bears made an inspiring head coaching hire it was 1982.

In one of his final moves running the franchise, George Halas hired former Bear Mike Ditka to take over the franchise’s head coaching position to return the fire and bring the bite back into the Monsters of the Midway. The Bears only had two winning seasons in the 14 years since Halas retired from the sidelines in 1967, and Ditka didn’t disappoint, leading the Bears to the playoffs in year three and winning a Super Bowl in year four.

Since Ditka’s termination in 1992, the McCaskey ownership has done nothing but hire mild-mannered coordinators who have had little sustained success. Lovie Smith has been by far the most successful coach that ownership has hired since Iron Mike, but even he left plenty to be desired in the eyes of many.

Enter John Fox.

In new general manager Ryan Pace’s first official move with the organization, Pace hired Fox to be the Bears’ new head coach. Fox brings 13 years of experience as a head coach and has the exact type of mindset the Bears need to regroup from a disastrous 2014 season.

If any rumors are true, Fox plans to bring Dennis Allen in as his defensive coordinator and Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator. If he does indeed do so, that would give the Bears their most talented coaching staff since 1985 when Ditka patrolled over Buddy Ryan as defensive coordinator and Ed Hughes as offensive coordinator.

There are still plenty of questions left surrounding Pace, largely how his eye for talent is through the draft and free agency, but make no mistake about it; if Pace’s first move hiring Fox is any indication, the Bears have a very capable general manager running the organization.

A lot was made of the Bears’ refusal to terminate Mel Tucker at the end of the regular season despite firing Aaron Kromer, but Bears fans can relax; there is zero chance that Fox keeps Tucker on the staff. Allen is an outstanding defensive coordinator. He left a lot to be desired as head coach of the Oakland Raiders, but Allen presided over a Denver Broncos defense in 2011 that was dynamite in leading the Broncos to the AFC West crown despite having an inept offense led by Tim Tebow.

Shanahan would also be a tremendous offensive coordinator for Chicago. I’m sure Pace and Fox would rather have Jay Cutler off the roster going into their first season, but all reports are that there is zero trade market for the quarterback; in fact, some reports are that the Bears would have to be willing to throw in a high draft pick with Cutler just to entice a team to consider taking the QB with his current contract.

If Cutler is going to be on the roster in 2015, and even potentially 2016, the Bears need a coordinator who can get the most out of Cutler. That would be someone who is willing to feature the run to set up the pass and let Cutler find open receivers off play-action passes. With Matt Forte and an up-and-coming Ka’Deem Carey running the ball, the Bears have a chance to really stress the run and take pressure off Cutler, hopefully cutting down on the turnovers as well. Shanahan fits this mold perfectly.

Following a dismal 2014 season, the Bears appear to be headed in the right direction. After years of making the cheap, uninspiring move, the Bears’ ownership deserves a lot of credit because they ate a lot of money to start a new regime when it was clear the current one was failing miserably. Pace looks like an intelligent, fresh hire who was smart enough to cover his biggest weakness by hiring an experienced coach who just won 38 games over his last three seasons.

Pace and Fox are the men who are going to lead the Bears into the 2015 season and beyond, and after the early returns, all signs are pointing up at Halas Hall.

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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