Falcons, Ryan Pace Part Ways

The changes in Atlanta continue this offseason as the Falcons will see another front office staffer depart. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the team has parted ways with vice president of football operations/player personnel Ryan Pace.

Pace first arrived in Atlanta as a senior personnel executive in 2022, rebounding after the end of his seven-year tenure as the general manager of the Bears. He had earned his first general manager opportunity after working his way through the ranks of the Saints’ front office for 14 years. Starting as an operations assistant in 2001, Pace saw promotions to scouting assistant in 2002, professional personnel scout in 2004, director of professional scouting in 2007, and director of player personnel in 2013.

In 2015, he became the NFL’s youngest general manager when he joined the Bears at 37 years old. His first few moves as GM in Chicago ended up looking pretty ugly in hindsight, as wide receiver Kevin White ended his career as one of the league’s more notorious busts. Pace followed that up two years later by drafting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. The Trubisky pick looked decent at first, as the one-time Pro Bowler led the Bears to a 12-4 record in 2018 as second-year fourth-round picks Eddie Jackson and Tarik Cohen were both named to All-Pro teams.

The good times wouldn’t last long in Chicago, though. Overall, when Pace was paired with head coach John Fox for three years, the Bears were 14-34, and when Pace swapped out Fox for Matt Nagy, the Bears went 34-31, following up the 12-4 campaign with two straight 8-8 seasons and a 6-11 finish in 2021. They did make the playoffs in the second 8-8 season, but in both trips to the postseason, Chicago saw first-round exits. After the decline that the team experienced in the first season transitioning from Trubisky to first-round pick Justin Fields in 2021, Pace and Nagy were fired.

The subsequent move to Atlanta reunited Pace with then-general manager Terry Fontenot, with whom he had worked in New Orleans. With Fontenot getting fired a month ago, Pace’s initial connection to the team has disappeared. As new president of football Matt Ryan helps to restructure Atlanta’s leadership across the front office and coaching staff, it appears there was no place for Pace in new general manager Ian Cunningham‘s front office. Cunningham oddly has a habit of following where Pace has been, joining the Bears as assistant general manager in 2022 and landing his first GM opportunity in Atlanta, shortly before Pace’s exit.