Chicago Bears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
When he looks back on his tenure as Chicago Bears general manager, Ryan Pace will regret being so stubborn.
Another NFL Draft for the Chicago Bears has passed without selecting a quarterback or picking one up as an undrafted free agent. In general manager Ryan Pace’s six-year tenure, he has done that exactly once — in 2017 — when he traded up for Mitchell Trubisky.
Despite his stated belief that it is a good idea to try to draft a quarterback every year — which he famously said when hired — has not subscribed to his own philosophy. Or, alternatively, perhaps he never believed it in the first place and instead was simply paying lip service to a quarterback-starved franchise.
While obviously this is not based on any inside information, it’s hard to draw a different conclusion for his reluctance, or even downright stubbornness, in not selecting a quarterback in 2016, 2018, 2019, or 2020.
Understanding many Bears fans are not fans of Pro Football Focus, there is a terrific article from Kevin Cole outlining the myriad benefits of continuing to address the quarterback position, even when, as a team, you think you’ve got it covered. The piece, using the Philadelphia Eagles recent selection of Jalen HUrts as the backdrop, analyzes the opportunity cost of essentially “doubling-down” on the quarterback position.
Did the Eagles need a quarterback? No. They have Carson Wentz. Did the Green Bay Packers need one? Of course not. They have an all-time great under center. So what made them trade up into the first round for one? It was their recognition of an unavoidable truth that Pace has failed to grasp despite publicly espousing and that is that a team should look to address the quarterback position every year.
Failure to do so leaves you in the position Pace finds himself in today, and that is with mediocre options at the position and no viable backup plan. That’s a dangerous combination because it could very well result in Pace reaching in next year’s draft to address a need that he has refused to up till now.
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Think of this analogy: if you had an old vehicle, and it was indispensable to your livelihood, assuming you had the means, it would be better to purchase a replacement vehicle now rather than wait until your car broke down. If you chose to wait, then you’ve put yourself in a position where you must have a replacement and may have to overpay for an inferior vehicle out of necessity rather than upgrading when the market conditions were in your favor.
But if you were stubborn and thought, “nah, I can squeeze another three months out of this jalopy” then you end up overpaying for a 1997 Toyota Camry. And that’s the kind of stubbornness that will cause you to lose your job.
The moral of the story is you should never wait until it’s too late and allow terms to be dictated to you. Rather, you must remain proactive to ensure you hold the leverage. In this regard, if Pace had brought in developmental quarterbacks over the years, perhaps his backup plan would already be on the roster. But he didn’t so it’s not, and that might end up being Pace’s downfall.
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