The Bears on Thursday hired Saints Dir of Player Personnel Ryan Pace to be their GM, and in "making the 37-year-old the youngest GM in the NFL, they eschewed any connection to their recent checkered history," according to Campbell & Wiederer of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Pace was chosen over three other execs "who interviewed this week" -- Chiefs Dir of Player Personnel Chris Ballard, Titans VP/Player Personnel Lake Dawson and Texans Dir of Pro Personnel Brian Gaine. Sources as recently as Wednesday had said that Ballard was the "front-runner," as he served in the Bears front office from '01-12. But Pace "won the job after his interview Wednesday" with Chair George McCaskey, President Ted Phillips and consultant Ernie Accorsi. Pace joined the Saints in '01 and "ascended the ranks of their personnel department through the pro scouting side, but he also evaluated college prospects, especially during the last two seasons in his most recent role" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/9). In New Orleans, Larry Holder notes the Dolphins last offseason "asked permission to interview Pace" for their GM opening, but the Saints were in the playoffs and Exec VP & GM Mickey Loomis "decided to block the interview." However, Loomis and coach Sean Payton knew it was "only a matter of time before Pace bolted to become a GM" (NOLA.com, 1/9). Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noted Pace has been with the Saints “for a long time and a key part of their success." Florio: "They didn’t want to see him go. He’s had opportunities to leave. He was waiting for the right chance … (and) saw this as a great opportunity” ("PFT," NBCSN, 1/8). Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer said Pace is "one of the very few people who have moved up the food chain who actually hasn’t tried to move up the food chain” (“Fox Sports Live,” FS1, 1/9).
NO REUNION: Former Bears College Scouting Dir Greg Gabriel on Thursday said that Ballard "may have been perceived as being too close to the franchise." Gabriel on WSCR-AM's "The Boers and Bernstein Show" yesterday said, "There was a lot of talk about let's go in a different direction as far as people who have been affiliated with the organization. I'm hearing that may have played into it" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/9). Gabriel, who worked with Ballard, added that Ballard knows "where the skeletons are buried." In Chicago, Adam Johns cites a source as saying, "It's a stunning hire. Ballard's familiarity worked against him in this one." Another source said, "There were changes in structure that (Ballard) wanted. Those changes and being very forthright with those ideas very well could have turned people off" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/9).
CHANGE OF PACE: In Chicago, David Haugh in a front-page piece writes teams "don't hire a 37-year-old general manager expecting to win next season." Teams hire an exec "that young and bright with the hope of building for the next decade." Pace represents a "stark but welcome departure from the same-old, same-old way of thinking in the Bears organization." This "wasn't a choice wrapped in tradition," but a "referendum on the way the Bears typically do business; out with the old, in with the thirtysomething GM." Until people "find out more about Pace, this still qualifies as an experiment" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/9). Also in Chicago, Barry Rozner writes if Pace is "as smart as NFL people claim, he will not speak about the Bears' way." He will instead "speak about a winning way, and give fans his road map to consistent playoff appearances." Regardless of what Pace says in his first media session, he will be "universally applauded because he's not [former Bears GM] Phil Emery, just as Emery was universally applauded because he wasn't" his predecessor, Jerry Angelo (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 1/9).
THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS: In Chicago, Rick Telander writes young guys can be "hip, smart and full of enthusiasm and grand, innovative ideas." Or they can be "naïve, overaggressive and uncertain, with little grasp of the difficulties involved in building something complex that involves many people and will be scrutinized like nothing the executive has done before." Fans can "only hope Pace is the former" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/9). Also in Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom wrote the Bears so far "look like they’re doing things the right way." The team "had an opening at general manager and coach, and they are filling those spots in that order." Something else the Bears "got right: They didn’t hire one of their own." Rosenbloom: "The Bears went against their DNA. Good for them. They didn’t do Phil Emery again" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 1/8). The DAILY HERALD's Mike Imrem writes, "I don't know why for sure but I like that the Bears hired Ryan Pace to be their general manager. ... This positivity overcomes the initial inclination to believe that the Bears got this one wrong" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 1/9).
