Rozner: Bears' Pace sticks neck out for new QB

Bears fans will not soon forget the days of, "Rex is our quarterback."

It came to symbolize the obstinate nature of Lovie Smith during the Rex Grossman era, when Smith insisted only he knew the answers - and also offered to supply the questions.

Those were hardly the glory days of Bears quarterback play. Of course, in the last 98 years, that list doesn't exactly run off the page.

If Bears GM Ryan Pace ever amounts to anything in this job - and as of this moment he has delivered nine victories in two seasons - it will not matter what he said Friday about his new quarterback.

But if he fails, this will be his "Rex is our quarterback" moment.

On Friday before introducing his new quarterback, a man who has thrown 11 passes the last two seasons, Pace said, "Mike Glennon's our starting quarterback and we're fired up about that."

For this he was immediately, repeatedly and ferociously hammered on social media by Bears fans from Anchorage to Key West and virtually everywhere in between, fans who were something less than fired up.

It was an impressive display of anger from a fan base that has seen too many self-appointed geniuses in Lake Forest bring home too many Shea McClellins to believe any longer when the Bears say they know something no one else knows.

The Bears have replaced one of the league's most talented QBs, a guy in Jay Cutler who produced ordinary results, with an ordinary guy who is likely to produce similarly.

Anything more is a bonus.

In the meantime, Pace seems to have finally figured out that his team is terrible and must rebuild, after two years of trying to convince himself that the Bears could compete and telling the fan base the team was "close."

Now, he says there is no "quick fix."

The failure to evaluate and take a realistic approach has cost Pace two years. He did not draft and begin developing a quarterback, and he did not begin developing players at anchor positions that the Bears must have in order to someday compete.

But maybe he gets it now. In reversing his position, it seems as if Pace is ready to do his job.

He let Brian Hoyer walk and that was John Fox's guy. Instead, he found his own guy. Whether you like Glennon or not, at least Pace is starting to manage his team, not Fox's team.

If you're desperate to find a silver lining, that might be it.

Regardless, the Bears must find a quarterback in this draft and get him ready to win games in the NFL.

They must find offensive tackles.

They must find dominant edge rushers.

They must find safeties who can get to the football.

They must find corners who can cover and steal the football.

They must find playmakers and develop NFL talent.

If Pace does his job and the Bears start finding NFL talent in the draft, and assuming this coaching staff is capable of doing its job, the Bears will start to make progress.

Soon enough, there will be talk of competing again and thoughts of making the playoffs for the first time since 2010.

Until then, Pace has effectively created a distraction with the focus instead on Mike Glennon and his $18 million in guaranteed money.

Get fired up.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.