Report: A Ryan Pace contract extension is coming

The Chicago Bears are expected to fire head coach John Fox as soon as the 2017 season ends on Sunday. Word of his firing may leak out before Black Monday, but by Monday at the latest, general manager Ryan Pace will officially be working the phones and his league contacts, trying to find the next man to serve as head coach of the franchise.

There have been some questions if Pace’s first head coaching hire, John Fox, was a hire that may have been pushed on him by the McCaskey family or by Ernie Accorsi, the consultant hired to aide the franchise in their coach/GM searches three years ago.

Whether you believe Pace’s hands were tied with Fox or not, recent reports have this head coach hire as being all Ryan Pace. There will be no consultant brought in, there will be no meddling by anyone in the McCaskey family or their “inner circle.”

Ryan Pace is going to get his guy to lead the Bears, and coach up his franchise quarterback, Mitchell Trubisky.

The NFL Newtork’s Ian Rapoport was on 670 The Score this morning and he said that he expects the Bears to give Pace a contract extension to match the contract given to the new head coach.

This makes sense from a continuity standpoint, as it shows prospective free agents that the Bears are all in on this next regime. It’s also good stability for a franchise that will be on their fourth head coach in the last seven years. Pace is the third GM in that same time frame, so showing faith in him is the smart move by the McCaskey family.

We’ll have a lot more on Pace’s coaching search — and possible contract extension — in the coming weeks.

What do you guys think about the Bears contractually tying Pace to his head coach?