New Orleans Saints After not gaining any opportunities as a player, Pace was hired by the
New Orleans Saints in 2001 as a coaching intern. Six years later, Pace became the director of pro personnel, and in 2013, became the director of player personnel. Pace was an executive in New Orleans during the team's most successful stretch in franchise history which included five playoff appearances, two NFC Championship appearances and winning
Super Bowl XLIV.
Chicago Bears In 2015, Pace was offered an interview for the general manager position by the
New York Jets, but declined. He was later interviewed by the
Chicago Bears for the general manager position on January 7, At 37 years of age at the time of his hiring, Pace was the youngest general manager in the NFL. To replace the fired
Marc Trestman, Pace hired
John Fox as the Bears' head coach. Pace's
first draft as Bears general manager saw him select
Kevin White in the
first round. After a 3–13 season in 2016 that gave the Bears the third-overall pick in the
2017 NFL draft, Pace moved up a spot in a trade with the
San Francisco 49ers to draft quarterback
Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky was the franchise's highest draft pick since 1951 and the highest it had taken a quarterback at that point. In Pace's first three years and the stretch of Fox's tenure, the Bears went 14–34, leading to Fox's firing after the 2017 season. After Fox's firing, Pace hired
Matt Nagy as Chicago's next head coach in 2018. Before the season, the Bears traded their 2019 and 2020 first round draft picks for star
Oakland Raiders outside linebacker
Khalil Mack and made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. That year, the Bears went 12–4 to win the
NFC North for the first time since 2010, while
Eddie Jackson and
Tarik Cohen, two fourth-round picks Pace made in 2017, were named
All-Pro. Trubisky was named to the
Pro Bowl as well. Pace was eventually named Executive of the Year by the
Sporting News, becoming the third Bears general manager to win the award after
George Halas in 1956 and
Michael McCaskey in 1985. The Bears had the 20th overall pick in the
2021 NFL draft. Pace moved up nine spots in the first round in a trade with the
New York Giants to select quarterback
Justin Fields. After a 6–11
2021 campaign, Pace and Nagy were fired on January 10, 2022. In seven seasons under Pace, Chicago went 48–65 with two playoff appearances (0–2 in playoff games). Following his exit, he released a statement of gratitude that described the news as "the tough part" of his occupation but he was "proud to have poured absolutely everything into making the Chicago Bears a better football team every single day".
Atlanta Falcons On February 23, 2022, Pace was hired by the
Atlanta Falcons as a senior personnel executive. The move reunited him with Falcons general manager
Terry Fontenot, with whom he worked in New Orleans. On June 26, 2023, he was promoted to director of player personnel for the Falcons. He was elevated to vice president of football operations and player personnel ahead of the 2024 season. On February 7, 2026, it was announced that the Falcons and Pace had parted ways as part of a broader restructuring. ==Personal life==