Report: Bears G.M. didn’t tell his coach about plans to draft Mitch Trubisky

Posted by Darin Gantt on April 28, 2017, 2:07 PM EDT
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If you thought you were surprised by the Bears trading up to take Mitch Trubisky, imagine how coach John Fox felt.

According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN, Bears General Manager Ryan Pace kept the plan to move up to select the North Carolina quarterback to himself until hours before the draft.

While that’s one way to prevent leaks, it might not be the best thing to foster trust between a young G.M. and a veteran coach.

And considering Fox’s previous shenanigans with rookie quarterbacks (he once signed journeyman Brian St. Pierre off the street and started him that week rather than play rookie Tony Pike), not keeping him in the loop on the decision to make a bold move might be the best for everyone.

For the moment, Fox has a veteran in Mike Glennon he can play while Trubisky develops for the future.

And now it’s reasonable to wonder whether Fox will be in that future, if he wasn’t involved in the decision to draft Trubisky at all.

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80 responses to “Report: Bears G.M. didn’t tell his coach about plans to draft Mitch Trubisky”

  3. If I were Fox I would try to distance myself from that debacle of a trade, too.

  6. I have loved Pace so far. Both of his drafts have been excellent, and he made the most out of later round picks. This makes no sense though. Pace is betting the farm on Trubisky, and I think it’ll get him fired.

  8. The head coach wasn’t in the loop until a few hours before the move? As in Trubinski maybe wasn’t even on their board as their top guy?

    This is gonna get good.

  9. Fox has too many connections around the league and can’t be trusted to keep his yap shut. Smart move to keep him out of the loop. I’m not a fan of the pick, but I admire the cojones it took to make it.

  13. Then Foxy must be on a short leash in Chicago and they plan to give him the heave ho after 2017 if the team does not have a better record. Fox is flush with cash. It may be time for him to retire rather than implode with a rookie qb ala Jimmy Clausen.

  14. Sal Palantonio is reporting that the bears are offering the browns 3 mid round picks to make their Trubisky pick the number one pick in last nights draft because they fear someone else still might try to steal him away from them.

  18. If Trubisky is the answer at QB the Bears have been searching for for literally decades, then it’ll be completely irrelevant that they gave up a couple of 3rds and a 4th for him -those are not premium picks, every year the Bears use 3rd and 4th round picks on guys who end up playing special teams or not making the team.

    If they decided that was their guy, and that he was noticeably better than guys like Mahomes or Watson, who have many red flags of their own, then it was worth securing him instead of risking that some other team would jump over them to grab him.

    If their evaluation on Mitch turns out to be flawed, then Pace better start polishing up that resume’.

  19. I bet Ryan Pace really wanted to keep Adam Gase as head coach instead of John Fox, but just felt hesitant to pull the trigger -it also might’ve meant losing Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, who supposedly is really good.

  22. What a disaster for the Bears fans. Why do they keep showing up if the McCaskeys are still this pathetic?

    I would fire Pace right now if my team’s GM did this to my coach.

    Unreal. Absolutely unreal.

    Trubisky will be playing on crap teams with them throwing away so many important draft picks to get him.

  23. Fox wasted 4 years of championship roster in Denver before Elway showed him the door. Not sure why this guy keeps getting hired. He is mediocre at best.

  24. I was listening to Chicago sports radio earlier today, and they were talking about how Fox can’t really be trusted not to tell other people around the NFL what the Bears’ plans are. So, the guy that sounds like Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, when replying to legitimate press questions, can’t be trusted not to sound like a 5 year old kid with trying to get attention, with important team information. Why does he even have a job there?

  26. Dysfunction junction! Bears GM just pushed a button for trade and draft pick. He thought he was playing press your luck! Big money no whammies! Yaaay we got a quarterback!

  28. “If Trubisky is the answer at QB the Bears have been searching for for literally decades, then it’ll be completely irrelevant that they gave up a couple of 3rds and a 4th for him -those are not premium picks, every year the Bears use 3rd and 4th round picks on guys who end up playing special teams or not making the team.

    If they decided that was their guy, and that he was noticeably better than guys like Mahomes or Watson, who have many red flags of their own, then it was worth securing him instead of risking that some other team would jump over them to grab him.

    If their evaluation on Mitch turns out to be flawed, then Pace better start polishing up that resume’.”
    ___________________________________

    Ah yes, Jordan Howard was awful.

  29. Fox and Pace should both be fired and the McCaskey’s should sell the team to ANYONE with the faintest idea of how to put together a winning team. Is that asking too much?

  31. It’s not a wonder why some of these teams never get better with the way they draft.

  35. Regardless of the accuracy of this story, that trade alone was the most idiotic move since Spielman and Wanstedt did the same one spot trade with the Dolphins (and took Vernon Carey allowing the Patriots to take Vince Wilfork — worked out well).

    I’d like Miami to get up to the top of the secon round, maybe Pace could be tempted by some magic beans for their pick?

  36. He’s the coach. It’s his job to get the most out of the players the GM provides him with. Nothing to see here.

  37. Did the owner know? This move was dumb as rocks. They threw away Cutler(18M), which wasn’t bad…. but then hired Glennon for (3/45 18 guaranteed). Now this? What is going on?

    Its unbearable to watch

  40. So last year the Texans gave up a lot to get Osweiller without O’Brien ever even having the chance to interview or talk to the guy beforehand. And it was clearly done against his wishes.

    Now we see a similar scenario in Chicago and the GM somehow expects it to work out?

    Disconnect and dysfunction between a GM and HC rarely lead to success.

  42. “Fox wasted 4 years of championship roster in Denver before Elway showed him the door. Not sure why this guy keeps getting hired. He is mediocre at best.”

    Because like franchise QBs, there is a major shortage of what you could call franchise head coaches around the league.

  43. I didn’t see this guy play, but what footage I’ve seen so far doesn’t even remotely resemble the potential that Pace obviously see’s. Will be interesting to see what happens here. ————————————————————————————————————————
    And yeah, it’s obvious Fox is on the way out, deserved or not. That roster isn’t near playoff caliber.

  44. I feel bad for Bears fans for this unreal move. Your organization and team are going to suffer for years because of this blunder. Much empathy.

    Dolphins Fan

  46. As a niners fan I feel for Bears fans after giving up soooo much to move up one spot-and what a crap move by the GM to not tell the coach. How do these types of people get the job of GM in the NFL?? He will soon be joining Baalke in the we-have-no-idea-what-we’re-doing-former GM club.

  47. Sounds like Fox and Pace communicate about as well as I do with my wife.
    ————————————–
    LMAO!
    As someone who’s been married 29 years can I just say that the comments section should’ve been locked for this thread right after the above posting? That’s the winner folks. Tell purpleguy what he’s won Johnny….

  49. Mortesen reporting?

    You’re kidding me.

    You mean Mortensrn repeating.

    He’s just repeating some BS that somebody fed him.

    It’s not journalism; it’s just Mortensen helping one guy to stab another in the back.

  50. purpleguy says:
    Apr 28, 2017 2:11 PM
    Sounds like Fox and Pace communicate about as well as I do with my wife.

    No wonder you’re purple…

  51. patsfan4lifesbchamps says:
    Apr 28, 2017 2:35 PM
    Fox wasted 4 years of championship roster in Denver before Elway showed him the door. Not sure why this guy keeps getting hired. He is mediocre at best.
    =====================

    Nice to see your drivel isn’t just limited to the AFCE. Fox was only in Denver 4 years. He took over a 4-12 team that hadn’t had a winning record in 5 years. The SB was ugly but the year was record breaking. The only year he had there that was wasted was arguably the last one.

  52. Wow. That’s not how I would want the Coach and GM for my team to operate. I heard Trubisky said he never interacted with the bears before the draft.

  55. The headline states Pace did not tell coach he was picking Mitch. Article reads Pace told Fox a few hours before the draft they were moving up. Maybe the decision was not made until than. Just saying.

  59. I would have preferred Jamal Adams, but Pace isn’t the type to draft a SS at #3. So be it.

    Who did you guys want? Allen? Hooker? Lattimore? 10 teams decided that those players weren’t worthy of top 10 picks. We could have taken a WR, but 2 of the 3 taken in the top 10 are already injured; been there, done that. 2 of the top 10 picks are running backs. We already have a pro-bowler RB. Solomon Thomas isn’t an OLB and he’s too light to play 5-tech DE. It was a strong safety at #3 or a shot at a QB at #2.

    Balls out Pace, balls out. Let’s hope it works.

  60. When you are told that (or think that) your job is gone without a splash… these are the kind of things you do. It’s no skin off Pace’s back if this doesn’t pan out and he’s canned in the next two years. Because if he DIDN’T take the risk, in his eyes, he would still be out of a job. So why care about the repercussions of mortgaging the future if the future isn’t yours to control?

    And there’s teams stuck in this perpetual cycle for decades.

  64. The move makes no sense at all. On any level. You aren’t close. You need depth and all the draft picks you can get. Just pick up the phone and call the Rams and ask them how it went with jumping up to get Goff. Or the Redskins for Rg3. Let Glennon play. Build the defense. If you are awful there are 3 better QB’s coming out next year – and you would have had the draft capital to go get one. But now you mortgage the future on a guy who played 13 games. Mostly against second tier competition – good luck with that.

  65. Fox has to be already a lame duck coach. Otherwise, why make move that doesn’t positively impact the team for several years.

  66. Tony Pike, ex Bearcat who played for Brian Kelly at Cincinnati and put up Heisman consideration numbers. I remember that move. Didn’t like it at all and don’t like Fox, the same guy who had Peyton kneel down with over 30 seconds on the clock to go to OT rather than try to win a playoff game right then and there.

  67. Did someone forget this guy only played 13 games in college? That’s like taking your BMW to a jack-legged
    mechanic. Mitch, here’s the clip board.

  68. Fox is a gum-chomping hand-clapping buffoon. Make no mistake, he was a .500 coach with the Panthers, had 1 more career wins than losses, over a lot longer sample size than just 4 seasons. It’s exactly what he is. To refer to a Fox-era Panthers story, maybe Foxy shouldve called the personnel department to find out the plan.

  71. “If I were Fox I would try to distance myself from that debacle of a trade, too.”

    The infamous trade charts show they didn’t grossly overpay as many have suggested.

    While I hated this move originally, I’ve willing to give Pace the benefit of the doubt. With him not playing the first year, that’s how they should develop him, vs throwing him to the wolves and get beat down.

  72. “While that’s one way to prevent leaks, it might not be the best thing to foster trust between a young G.M. and a veteran coach.”
    —————

    This is stupid journalism. Multiple sites have already stated that John Fox was heavily involved in the evaluation of Trubisky. He was there at the private workout and he was in on the interview process. He even help set the draft prospect evaluations. Fox FULLY participated in draft strategies and was “well aware of the options.”

    Pace only informed Fox that was going to execute the trade strategy 90 minutes before the draft, but every site reports that Fox knew it was one of the many options to land Trubisky.

  74. @fullerhouse5 says:
    Ah yes, Jordan Howard was awful.
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    Bears didn’t give up 3 picks to move 1 slot to draft Howard…no comparison.

  75. Some guy above said the Bears just “mortgaged the future” to get Trubisky. A 3rd, a 4th, and a 2018 3rd is not mortgaging the future. You say the team has many holes, and that’s true, but if you wait to take a QB until only after all the holes have been filled, then by the time that QB has a couple of years under his belt to gain the necessary experience, new holes will have sprung up. You might as well take him now if you think he’s the guy, and continue to build the OLine and maybe a WR or two, so that by the time he is a 3-year veteran and he is ready to lead the ship, you already have a better team.

  76. As soon as I heard Trubisky was taken by the Bears, I immediately made the assumption that Fox is out at the end of the year. No way he survives another losing season, and this move guarantees a losing season. I also think it is likely that Josh McDaniels will be in play for the Bears HC position next near, assuming Belicheck doesn’t retire at the end of the year. Having a young QB to work with will be enticing to McDaniels, especially if Garoppolo decides to leave NE next year.

  79. Does the coach clear it with the GM when he’s figuring out what play to call on fourth and one?

  80. This is the kind of draft move the Browns usually make. Glad to see it was the Bears.

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