Nick Foles’ familiarity with Bears coaches, system important to Ryan Pace

When news leaked that the Bears had traded for Nick Foles, it sent shockwaves through the league. Many people supported the move to bring in a former Super Bowl MVP, but many others questioned the decision.

On Friday, Bears GM Ryan Pace appeared on Pro Football Talk’s podcast “PFT PM” to discuss all sorts of things the Bears have been focusing on this offseason, including what went into the decision to trade for Foles.

Part of what helped, Pace said, was the team’s overall familiarity with Foles.

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“We have about four coaches on our staff that have worked with Nick and coached Nick,” Pace said on the podcast. “And at different places, which I think is valuable because they’ve seen him at different stages of his career.

“When you’re evaluating the position, obviously the film and what you see on the field is an important part of the product. But I think the knowledge of Nick behind the scenes, how he deals with adversity, what kind of teammate he is… that was huge for us. That intimate knowledge of the coaches on our staff.”

All of that is great, but when it comes down to brass tacks will that familiarity help Foles play in Nagy’s system? Pace says yes.

“As we went through all the different styles of offenses that he’s played in, what we do here in Chicago is very similar to what he was doing in Philadelphia with coach Pederson. So I think there’s a lot of commonalities there, so I think that style of play you saw in Philly with Nick-- we saw it firsthand in the playoffs-- I think that’s something you can expect to see here in Chicago.”