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Magitek Knight
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Pace & Nagy drove to meet Khalil Mack at the airport blaring "Return of the Mack"
When Ryan Pace returned home on the final night of August, he was drained. The Bears general manager was in the middle of a taxing weekend of roster cuts and felt the pressure of another regular season closing in. Now though, as he walked into his house late on a Friday night, he had news to share.
Pace's wife, Stephanie, lobbed the obligatory "How was your day?" query.
"It was OK," Pace deadpanned. "Nothing major. We just traded for Khalil Mack."
Wait ... WHAT?!?!
A day earlier, as the Bears prepared for their preseason finale against the Bills, Pace's talks with the Oakland Raiders had grown serious. Suddenly, the pipe dream of making Mack a Bear felt realistic. Then, at 9:22 p.m. on that Friday, the Raiders agreed to Pace's trade offer, simultaneously offering permission for the Bears to contact Mack's agent, Joel Segal, about a contract extension.
Pace offered four draft picks to the Raiders -- a 2019 first-rounder, a 2020 first-rounder, a third-rounder in 2020 and a sixth in 2019. In return, the Bears received Mack, a 2020 second-round pick, a conditional 2020 fifth-rounder and the blowtorch that lit the wick for a surprising playoff run.
Those who, at the time, questioned the practicality of such a trade -- and the six-year, $141 million extension the Bears gave their new star -- have since seen the payoff. Mack's arrival and consistent production have helped push the Bears back onto the postseason stage and, yes, back into the Super Bowl conversation.
Over four magical months, Mack has become the face of this surprising resurgence.
On Khalil Mack's first day as a Bear, he flew from New York's LaGuardia Airport to O'Hare and, in a typical welcome-to-Chicago moment, sat on the runway for close to 90 minutes. The Bears had car service arranged to get Mack from the airport to the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest. But with the runway delay, coach Matt Nagy knew he had to take extra measures to keep his new star comfortable. So Nagy sent Mack a text encouraging him to expedite his dinner order.
Mack responded with a request for a double chicken breast, grilled, with a side of rice and vegetables. And Nagy had yet another epiphany on what already had been an enchanted Saturday. That, the new head coach thought to himself, was similar to the order linebacker Roquan Smith had placed during his April pre-draft dinner with the Bears at Maevery in Lake Bluff.
Solid, healthy choice. This had to be another small meant-to-be sign.
Then came the fun part, with Nagy assembling the greeting party for Mack. First, he found his boys -- 14-year-old Brayden; Tate, 12; and 10-year-old twins Jaxon and Jett.
"What do you guys think about going to meet one of our new players?" Nagy asked.
The boys needed more specifics. Who exactly?
"I told them," Nagy said. "And they just lost their minds."
Nagy was aware he was about to oversee one of the coolest "Take your kids to work" excursions imaginable. All four boys packed into dad's 2018 BMW 750 Series and set off for their first stop, scooping up the man who had pulled off the most eye-popping NFL trade of the year.
When Pace jumped into shotgun in the black Beamer, the Nagy boys plugged an iPhone into the sound system and cranked up the Mark Morrison.
Retuuurn of the Mack. Yes it is.
Retuuurn of the Mack. Come on.
Retuuurn of the Mack. Oh my God.
On a 10-minute drive from Pace's Lake Bluff house to Mack's temporary residence, the giddiness of the boys in the back seat was surpassed by the two NFL bigwigs up front. For 10 minutes, the general manager and head coach of one of the league's charter franchises were little kids themselves, astonished at what they had pulled off.
Just like that, the Bears had filled one of their biggest needs with one of the game's most feared pass rushers. Pace and Nagy couldn't wait to unwrap their new toy.
The initial after-dark introductions in the hotel lobby were to the point. Mack had had a long day. And a long week was ahead. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio also had come to say hello and was struck by Mack's relaxed demeanor.
With direction finally set for his 2018 season, Mack was excited, relieved and eager to get started. Thus, in addition to that chicken dinner, he asked for and received his Bears playbook with Fangio struck by the star edge rusher's purpose.
"I just sensed that he was happy to be here," Fangio said. "I don't know why. I could just sense that he was."
Within four weeks, Mack had a major impact on enlivening the Bears season. In the first half of his first game, he delivered a cartoonish strip-sack of Packers quarterback DeShone Kizer then followed on the next possession with an interception and a 27-yard return for a touchdown.
Read the rest of this article on: https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-khalil-mack-magical-season-htmlstory.html
When Ryan Pace returned home on the final night of August, he was drained. The Bears general manager was in the middle of a taxing weekend of roster cuts and felt the pressure of another regular season closing in. Now though, as he walked into his house late on a Friday night, he had news to share.
Pace's wife, Stephanie, lobbed the obligatory "How was your day?" query.
"It was OK," Pace deadpanned. "Nothing major. We just traded for Khalil Mack."
Wait ... WHAT?!?!
A day earlier, as the Bears prepared for their preseason finale against the Bills, Pace's talks with the Oakland Raiders had grown serious. Suddenly, the pipe dream of making Mack a Bear felt realistic. Then, at 9:22 p.m. on that Friday, the Raiders agreed to Pace's trade offer, simultaneously offering permission for the Bears to contact Mack's agent, Joel Segal, about a contract extension.
Pace offered four draft picks to the Raiders -- a 2019 first-rounder, a 2020 first-rounder, a third-rounder in 2020 and a sixth in 2019. In return, the Bears received Mack, a 2020 second-round pick, a conditional 2020 fifth-rounder and the blowtorch that lit the wick for a surprising playoff run.
Those who, at the time, questioned the practicality of such a trade -- and the six-year, $141 million extension the Bears gave their new star -- have since seen the payoff. Mack's arrival and consistent production have helped push the Bears back onto the postseason stage and, yes, back into the Super Bowl conversation.
Over four magical months, Mack has become the face of this surprising resurgence.
On Khalil Mack's first day as a Bear, he flew from New York's LaGuardia Airport to O'Hare and, in a typical welcome-to-Chicago moment, sat on the runway for close to 90 minutes. The Bears had car service arranged to get Mack from the airport to the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest. But with the runway delay, coach Matt Nagy knew he had to take extra measures to keep his new star comfortable. So Nagy sent Mack a text encouraging him to expedite his dinner order.
Mack responded with a request for a double chicken breast, grilled, with a side of rice and vegetables. And Nagy had yet another epiphany on what already had been an enchanted Saturday. That, the new head coach thought to himself, was similar to the order linebacker Roquan Smith had placed during his April pre-draft dinner with the Bears at Maevery in Lake Bluff.
Solid, healthy choice. This had to be another small meant-to-be sign.
Then came the fun part, with Nagy assembling the greeting party for Mack. First, he found his boys -- 14-year-old Brayden; Tate, 12; and 10-year-old twins Jaxon and Jett.
"What do you guys think about going to meet one of our new players?" Nagy asked.
The boys needed more specifics. Who exactly?
"I told them," Nagy said. "And they just lost their minds."
Nagy was aware he was about to oversee one of the coolest "Take your kids to work" excursions imaginable. All four boys packed into dad's 2018 BMW 750 Series and set off for their first stop, scooping up the man who had pulled off the most eye-popping NFL trade of the year.
When Pace jumped into shotgun in the black Beamer, the Nagy boys plugged an iPhone into the sound system and cranked up the Mark Morrison.
Retuuurn of the Mack. Yes it is.
Retuuurn of the Mack. Come on.
Retuuurn of the Mack. Oh my God.
On a 10-minute drive from Pace's Lake Bluff house to Mack's temporary residence, the giddiness of the boys in the back seat was surpassed by the two NFL bigwigs up front. For 10 minutes, the general manager and head coach of one of the league's charter franchises were little kids themselves, astonished at what they had pulled off.
Just like that, the Bears had filled one of their biggest needs with one of the game's most feared pass rushers. Pace and Nagy couldn't wait to unwrap their new toy.
The initial after-dark introductions in the hotel lobby were to the point. Mack had had a long day. And a long week was ahead. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio also had come to say hello and was struck by Mack's relaxed demeanor.
With direction finally set for his 2018 season, Mack was excited, relieved and eager to get started. Thus, in addition to that chicken dinner, he asked for and received his Bears playbook with Fangio struck by the star edge rusher's purpose.
"I just sensed that he was happy to be here," Fangio said. "I don't know why. I could just sense that he was."
Within four weeks, Mack had a major impact on enlivening the Bears season. In the first half of his first game, he delivered a cartoonish strip-sack of Packers quarterback DeShone Kizer then followed on the next possession with an interception and a 27-yard return for a touchdown.
Read the rest of this article on: https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-khalil-mack-magical-season-htmlstory.html
