The men who run sports front offices are inextricably tied to the coaches they hire. Well, they’re tied to them until things go south in the standings. Then team presidents or general managers pull out tree loppers and cut their coaches. It’s quite an existence on both sides.

For now, you can’t mention Bears GM Ryan Pace in this town without mentioning Bears coach Matt Nagy. You can’t mention either without mumbling something unkind under your breath.

Fortunes change. Last year, Pace and Nagy always had someone patting them on the back. The Bears went 12-4 and won their division. That was due in large part to Pace’s acquisition of linebacker Khalil Mack. Nagy was the host of a party that didn’t seem to want to end, until it did with a double-doink.

And now? People want to smack the two men upside the head. The 6-6 Bears are a major downer. In press conferences, Nagy has been reduced to making victories over weak opponents sound like heroic military campaigns. Pace? He talks as often as Jimmy Hoffa does. So even if you wanted to ask him what he saw in Mitch Trubisky, you can’t.

Up, say hello to down.

The Cubs used to be riding high, too. It wasn’t long ago that team president Theo Epstein and manager Joe Maddon could do little wrong in Chicago. Now Epstein is under fire for not making the playoffs last season, and Maddon is gone. Tough business.

Whose stock is rising and whose is falling? Here are my 2019 GM-coach rankings for the city’s five major pro teams, from worst to best:

5. Pace-Nagy, Bears -- The Bears were very open about their expectations before the season began. They walked and talked like people who were wondering what to wear during Super Bowl week. Then Trubisky regressed from average last season to below average this season. People couldn’t help but remember that Pace traded a bunch of draft picks to move up one spot to take the quarterback second overall in 2017. Trubisky’s descent has been the story of the season, and it will end up on Pace’s headstone. Nagy, meanwhile, has made so many head-scratching in-game decisions this season that the people who called him a genius last year are too embarrassed to leave their homes. A massive disappointment all the way around.

4. John Paxson-Jim Boylen, Bulls – It was a tough call between these two and the Bears’ dynamic duo for worst in show. Paxson, the Bulls vice president in perpetuity, and Boylen, the head coach, are presiding over a once-promising rebuild that has devolved into a mess. Lauri Markkanen, the centerpiece of the franchise’s plans, has disappeared this season. Zach LaVine is what he’s ever been, a one-on-one player who’s always going to get his. Kris Dunn is now a bench player. In the middle of it all is Boylen, who alternates between being a cartoon-like taskmaster and a parent who wants to be his teenager’s best friend. Overseeing the operation is Paxson, who hasn’t gotten the Bulls to the NBA Finals since he started running the show in 2003. Gar Forman is the general manager, but nobody believes he’s in charge.

3. Stan Bowman-Jeremy Colliton, Blackhawks – The Hawks are far removed from their Stanley Cup teams. With superstars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane still on the roster after the last of those three titles in 2015, Bowman, the team’s vice president, should have produced more. He didn’t. So here the Blackhawks are, a .500 team in danger of not making the playoffs for the third straight year. What do you do? You shrug. That’s where the franchise is under Bowman, who canned Joel Quenneville and hired Colliton. If it feels like things aren’t the same anymore, it’s because they aren’t. But the Hawks look like they have a winner in rookie Kirby Dach.

2. Epstein-David Ross, Cubs – It has been a rough couple of years for Epstein, who built the 2016 World Series championship team. Many of his free-agent signings haven’t turned out well. The player he was most criticized for signing, pitcher Yu Darvish, ended up having a nice 2019. So Epstein has that going for him. Against him is the Cubs’ downward trajectory since the title. They lost in a wild-card game in 2018, then failed to make the postseason in 2019. That led to Maddon’s departure. No one knows what to expect from new manager David Ross, other than he figures to do what he’s told. Winning more than 84 games would seem to be Executive Order No. 1. There’s still a lot of talent here. Ross might want to wait awhile before asking Theo where he’s hiding all the young pitchers.

1. Rick Hahn-Rick Renteria, White Sox – This is a little disorienting. The Sox, numero uno at anything? Yep, it’s true. Vice president Rick Hahn has spent the past three years assembling a boatload of young talent. We’re about to find out if all that purposeful losing was worth it. Among Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Nick Madrigal and Luis Robert, there figures to be at least one future star. Hahn recently added All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal and re-signed Jose Abreu. More nice signings are on the way. Renteria, the manager, is probably praying for more pitching. When his name comes up on talk radio, it’s usually from a caller who thinks he can manage better than Renteria. That’s going to be his cross to bear, right into the postseason someday soon.