Former Chicago GM Ryan Pace joins the Vikings as a football advisor, setting the stage for a tense Week 2 reunion against the surging division rival Bears.
The Chicago Bears have reached new heights under General Manager Ryan Poles.
Poles carefully crafted a roster with a good mix of young talent and veterans to get the Bears over the hump and into the postseason. He hired Ben Johnson, who hit the ground running in just his first year with the organization.
The Bears went 11-6 in the regular season and took home the No. 2 seed in the NFC. They won the NFC North and reached the Divisional Round of the playoffs after a thrilling comeback win over the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round.
Last season was a result of years of work for Poles. He built this team through the draft and free agency.
However, it wasn't too long ago that the Bears were in a deep rut. Ryan Pace was the GM from 2015-2021.
During his tenure, the Bears went through two head coaches. At the beginning of his tenure, John Fox was the head coach. Fox never won more than six games in a single season as head coach of the Bears.
Fox was fired after three years of being in charge.
Matt Nagy was the next head coach and had a period of success in 2018. Chicago went 12-4 but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card that season.
Mediocrity followed after the 2018 season, as the Bears went 8-8 for the next two years and then finished 6-11 in 2021.
After that disaster, the Bears decided it was time to clean house. Pace was fired, and so was Nagy.
Poles didn't have an easy road in his first couple of seasons as GM. Before Johnson, there was Matt Eberflus, who only lasted 2.5 seasons before being fired.
After a failed experiment with Pace, he is now returning to the place he once called home, the NFC North. According to ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Pace is joining the Minnesota Vikings as a football advisor.
The Vikings have recently had changes at the top of their leadership. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired as the GM, and his replacement was Nolan Teasley. Teasley joined the Vikings after 13 seasons in the front office of the Seattle Seahawks.
The Bears won't have to wait long to face Pace and the Vikings, much like last season. Instead of playing them in the season opener this time, the Bears are taking on the Vikings in Week 2 of the 2026 NFL season.
Pace and the Bears can see each other again on Sept. 20 at noon CT on Fox. Something tells me he won't get a warm welcome at Soldier Field.
