Accomplished coaching agent Trace Armstrong has discussed the possibility of taking a top management position with the Chicago Bears, according to league sources, as ownership mulls sweeping coaching and front office changes.
Armstrong, a former Bears player who is held in very high regard by the McCaskey family and longtime team president Ted Phillips, is very interested in the potential of helping steward his former franchise into better days, and ownership is at least willing to consider the notion of restructuring the hierarchy of the franchise, sources said, as it embarks on getting a new stadium constructed in Arlington. Sources said in this scenario, if the sides agreed to it, Armstrong would oversee football operations with the coach and GM reporting to him; Bears coach Matt Nagy is currently one of Armstrong’s clients, but at this point staving off a coaching change in Chicago is remote at best, with a heavy expectation around the league that Nagy is let go.
Armstrong, who played defensive end for the Bears from 1989-94 and has remained close to the franchise as a prominent alumnus, is a huge proponent of Ohio State coach Ryan Day, league sources said, and Day has been open to considering NFL possibilities in recent years. Armstrong also has strong connections throughout the scouting world and represents numerous current NFL executives. Raiders director or pro personnel Dwayne Joseph, a former teammate of his in Chicago, would also be a top candidate to join a restructured front office with the Bears should ownership opt to go in this direction, sources said.
Armstrong spoke to team officials last month, sources said, as many former players returned to Chicago to honor former longtime strength coach Clyde Emrich, a former Olympic wrestler who spent 50 years in the organization, after his passing. While leaving a successful agent practice would not be easy, numerous league sources said Armstrong’s pull to the Bears is unique and he is serious about the opportunity. Armstrong already has strong support among the media in Chicago — agents have crossed over into management roles in other sports; it’s not uncommon — and there has been an outcry among many in the fanbase about restructuring the organization with Phillips not atop the football operations pyramid.
Day, 42, has had a wildly successful run since taking over Ohio State after Urban Meyer departed, and he has been on the NFL’s radar. Armstrong deeply believes that Day, who spent time with the Eagles and 49ers as a quarterbacks coach from 2015-2016, could be a winning NFL coach. Last year the Bears moved up in the first round to select quarterback Justin Fields, who played for Day at Ohio State and whose development is absolutely paramount for a franchise that has not had an elite player at the position for generations.
Armstrong has several other clients who could be candidates to join a regime there in numerous capacities, and he recently helped navigate Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to USC.
