Imrem: Maybe Bears got it right this time

Let's get this out of the way at the start: I like it.

I don't know why for sure but I like that the Bears hired Ryan Pace to be their general manager Thursday.

Maybe it's just because he isn't Phil Emery.

This positivity overcomes the initial inclination to believe that the Bears got this one wrong, too.

The Bears have a way of getting everything wrong, don't they? If they hire somebody, he must be wrong, right?

There isn't much to go on right now. Most people, including me, never heard Pace's name before last week.

Then the Bears hired him to be their GM and suddenly everybody had an opinion of him and the move.

The joke could be that Pace's buses are always late. Or that the last Pace with the Bears, Orlando, was a washed-up bust of an offensive tackle.

What we do know is that the Bears went away from presumed favorite for the job Chris Ballard, a former longtime scout for the team.

“Let's hire Ballard.”

“There's already backlash against him.”

“OK, let's hire Pace instead.”

A large segment of the fan base didn't want a GM who previously had anything to with the Bears.

Apparently the people running the franchise agreed. Pace, thank goodness, is a clean break from the Bears' prevailing institutional incompetence.

If Pace turns out to be incompetent too, hey, we'll deal with that later.

When a pro sports team has become laughable, no joke is off limits even if it isn't funny.

Seriously, though, there are a few reasons to like this hire and a few reasons to wonder whether George McCaskey and Ted Phillips messed up again.

On the plus side, the Bears made the decision relatively quickly, giving the impression they uncharacteristically knew what they were doing.

Also, Pace is 37 years old, which means he'll be only 50 or so by the time he gets the Bears turned around.

Also, Pace comes from New Orleans, where he helped the organization win a Super Bowl and rank among the NFL elite before fading this season.

Also, a former defensive end at Eastern Illinois maybe Pace knows about the lost art at Halas Hall called defense.

Those are the upsides and the downsides are still to be determined.

Like, if McPhillips picked Pace over whomever might have been consultant Ernie Accorsi's recommendation.

Or, like, if the only reason a young guy was hired is that he came cheap or could be controlled. Or, like, if a federal probe reveals that Pace dropped down from Phil Emery's GM tree.

The real potential negative would come this morning at Pace's introductory news conference if this is the first exchange.

Interrogator: “Young man, what do you think of Jay Cutler?”

Interrogated: “Jay is a really talented … he's elite.”

No, we really don't know what to think of Ryan Pace at this point. But we do know what we think of Jay Cutler.

If the new GM likes the old QB, well, that essentially would be a deal-breaker. If Pace thinks Cutler can be fixed, sorry, this isn't going to work.

Give Pace the benefit of doubt on this subject for now. He comes from a place where head coach Sean Payton knows offense and quarterback Drew Brees has been one of the NFL's best quarterbacks.

Anyway, the Bears' next adventure began Thursday.

All anyone can hope is that it won't be another customary Halas Hall misadventure.

mimrem@dailyherald.com