Bears GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy are expected to be kept on after making the playoffsGetty Images
In Chicago, Jason Lieser notes the Bears' playoff berth "all but assures" GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy of "keeping their jobs despite how disheveled this team looked on paper (Pace) and on the field (Nagy) throughout the season." But the team "shouldn't" keep Pace and Nagy around. The Bears are "on a road to nowhere," and "stumbling into the postseason because of a lucky break in a game 2,000 miles away ... doesn’t magically make this 8-8 more impressive than meandering to 8-8 last season." Going 8-8 "seems to be acceptable for the Bears," as it is the "second-best record they’ve had in Pace’s seven seasons" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/4).
BENGALS STAYING PUT: In Cincinnati, Tyler Dragon reports “as expected, Bengals owner Mike Brown and the front office have decided to keep” head coach Zac Taylor around for a third season. Despite a .203 winning percentage and “lack of head coaching experience, Taylor is well respected by players in the locker room,” several of whom have “publicly backed the 37-year-old coach and dismissed criticism.” Taylor's “ability to coach an undermanned Bengals team to two wins in the final three games certainly improved his case and factored into the team's decision to bring him back” in ’21 (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 1/4).
RUDDERLESS IN HOUSTON: In Houston, Brian Smith writes the Texans "need a vision," because right now, they are a "maddeningly directionless franchise." The Texans "need an architect" and "two saviors at once," in the form of a new GM and head coach. They need "two new names, two new faces, working together to surround [QB Deshaun] Watson with the talent, chemistry and culture that have rarely blended together for the Texans with any consistency." Meanwhile, Texans Chair & CEO Cal McNair "still hasn’t conducted a group media interview or held a news conference, despite its being more than two years" since late Texans Owner Bob McNair, who founded the franchise, passed away (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/4)
