With the NFL still deciding whether teams will be allowed to conduct their NFL Draft operations from their headquarters, the Bears are exploring alternate sites.
General manager Ryan Pace said Friday they have several venues in mind if they can’t work at Halas Hall, and one of the options is to simply continue working from home as they have for the past few weeks.
“The [preference] would be Halas with a limited number of people,” Pace said. “The other would be an offsite location, which we’re establishing several options right now. The third would be operating from our homes, which there would be some challenges with that.”
The NFL has been adamant that the draft will take place as scheduled April 23-25. The Bears have seven selections, beginning with No. 43 overall.
Pace and coach Matt Nagy both spoke highly of how working remotely has gone so far. Pace described it as “seamless.” Halas Hall has been closed for three weeks, and the staff went through most of free agency and offseason planning from their homes.
Pace spoke glowingly of the Bears’ I.T. staff and video technicians, adding that, “the silver lining is that I think it has pushed us farther on technology.” Nagy said the strength program has done well working with players amid the restrictions.
Additionally, Nagy has already been preparing for the likelihood that the NFL will not hold Organized Team Activities or minicamp in May or June.
“It’s gonna certainly be different,” Nagy said. “You’ve gotta be tech-savvy. I have my office here at my house and I have four different computers going. We’ve gotta adapt and figure out solutions. We can’t complain.
“You’re not gonna be standing there in front of 30-60 players speaking your team message for the day. You’re gonna have to rely on them looking at it online. How do we do that? By being as clear as we can and making a deeper effort. We’ve gotta adapt and figure out solutions. I’m looking forward to it.”
