Chicago Bears News: George McCaskey endorses Ryan Pace and John Fox
Despite his team having won only 9 games over the course of the past two seasons, Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey is not feeling the pressure to win in 2017.
After the Chicago Bears won only 3 games last season, the thought was that Bears’ head coach John Fox was entering the 2017 season on the hot seat.
2017 will mark Fox’s third season with the Bears and it’s hard to tell if there has been any progress made since he took over for Marc Trestman in 2015. The thought is that a third consecutive losing season for Fox could lead to his departure next off-season.
Though, that is not the impression that Bears’ chairman George McCaskey gave while speaking with reporters at the NFL Owners Meetings earlier this week. McCaskey told reporters that the team is operating on no outside timeline.
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"“We’re not on any particular timetable that somebody else is wanting to set for us,” McCaskey said. “We’re wanting to see continued progress toward our goal of sustained success.”"
The Bears don’t have to be on timeline per se but there is a need for progress. The fact remains that the Bears regressed in the second year of Fox as opposed to moving the needle forward. After the free agency period of this off-season, it’s difficult to assess whether the Bears have progressed.
The Bears did add several quality players to their defense such as former Arizona Cardinals’ cornerback Marcus Cooper and Houston Texans’ safety Quintin Demps but they’ve had key departures on offense. The Bears’ lost their 2016 starting quarterback and primary wide receiver in Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery. Mike Glennon is the short-term replacement to Cutler while the long-term replacement will likely be selected in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Bears have yet to identify a primary wide receiver to replace Jeffery.
One thing is clear with the Bears and that is general manager Ryan Pace appears to be safe in his job. McCaskey spoke highly about the job that Pace has done thus far as general manager of the team.
"“I’ve been very impressed with him as a leader, as an evaluator of talent,” he said. “And one of the things I’ve been most impressed by with him is the discipline he’s shown just as recently as this free-agency period. He didn’t want to overpay guys. Too often, I think, you overpay guys who don’t come through for you, and then you have a big hole in your salary cap and you’re behind the 8-ball.”"
Next: Will the Chicago Bears Draft A quarterback?
Pace has had several “hold my beer” moments this offseason with the free agent signings of Glennon and Mark Sanchez being the biggest head scratchers. Having said that, Pace can restore confidence with a strong 2017 NFL Draft.