Jeff Hughes | May 15th, 2017

The Bears are in a bit of a pickle.

Ryan Pace, their youngest and boldest GM, has stacked his chips on number ten and is waiting for the wheel to spin. The development of Mitch Trubisky will define Pace’s tenure with this organization and determine greatly whether this is a fun team to watch over the next five seasons.

But Pace now must answer a pivotal question and he must answer it in this calendar year.

Are John Fox and his coaching staff

the right guys to get the most out of Trubisky?

The Bears can arguably afford a season under Fox, with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains and quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone focused on Trubisky’s fundamentals: snaps, mechanics, getting the play into the huddle…etc. But as Trubisky makes the transition from the classroom to the field, stability will be of the utmost importance. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are the gold standards at quarterback in the NFL. It’s no coincidence that both have taken every single snap of their NFL careers under one head coach. (By the same token look at what instability has done to the productivity of Flacco, Eli, Rivers…etc.)

Whomever is coaching Trubisky in year two needs to be coaching Trubisky in year five. The structure and style this kid takes to the field needs to be consistent. Constant change doesn’t work. An unsettled, coaching-for-their-jobs staff doesn’t work. The quarterback needs to trust his coach and more importantly trust that his coach isn’t going anywhere.

For Fox, he has some tactical decisions to make. Getting Trubisky on the field in his rookie season and finding success should guarantee him a return trip to the sidelines. But if Trubisky actually sits for the entirety of next season, is Fox really comfortable relying on Mike Glennon to further his coaching career? (I would not be.)

It’s complicated. But Pace showed guts in getting his quarterback. Making the right decision at coach will require the same.