The combination of Ryan Day and Justin Fields blossomed in college. The pair drew 20-2, losing their only two games in the College Football Playoffs to Clemson in the 2019 semi-finals and Alabama in the 2020 national championship.
Will the two be able to reunite in the experts? According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Confora, the Bears are interested in Day and his agent, Trace Armstrong, in a package deal where Day will be the next head coach and Armstrong takes over the back office role.
La Confora said that Armstrong was in discussions with the organization coming up at “top management.” Armstrong declined to be interested in the position on Twitter.
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“I have the utmost respect for the Chicago Bears organization, the McCaskey family and Ted Phillips. However, any claim that I have entered into conversations with them about joining the club in any way. any status is simply not correct,” Armstrong wrote in a tweet.
I have the utmost respect for the Chicago Bears, the McCaskey family, and Ted Phillips. However, any claim that I have entered into conversations with them about joining the club in any capacity is simply not true.
– T Armstrong (@ TArmstrong93) December 12, 2021
Armstrong is a former Pro Bowl defense, spending six seasons with the Bears from 1989 to 1994 before playing for Miami and Oakland. While in the NFL, he served as president of the NFL Players Association. Since then, he has continued to work as an agent, representing many of the top names in football, including former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, who left USC this year. He also represents current Bears head coach Matt Nagy.
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Nagy has been on the hot seat all season as the Bears labor in the 2021 campaign. He’s in the middle of his fourth season with the Bears. His first year, the Bears won 12-4 to win the NFC North, but they have lost 8-8 in consecutive seasons since, reaching the knockout stages as a wild card team. in 2020, but lost in the first round.
Day has been the head of the Ohio State football program since the start of the 2019 season. Under his coaching, the Buckeyes won 33-4, made it to the College Soccer Playoffs, and won the tournament. Big Ten in both of his first two seasons. The 2021 campaign is the first time his team has lost in the regular season, falling to both Oregon and Michigan for the year.
Day played a key role in recruiting Fields’ transfer from Georgia to the Buckeyes, and together, the pair enjoyed tremendous success. During Fields’ Ohio State career, he completed 68.4% of his passes in 5,373 yards, 63 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He also dashed 218 times for 867 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.
If Day comes to Chicago, he’ll be familiar with Fields’ game and could help build offensive behavior around Chicago’s 11th overall pick in 2021.
However, in order to get close to the day of leaving Ohio State, the Bears may have to offer an exorbitantly high salary. According to Columbus Business FirstDay will earn $7.6 million in 2022, and starting in 2023, his compensation package will be set by the athletic director and the Board of Directors.
