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Bears general manager Ryan Pace spoke with reporters Wednesday, his first public comments since Week 1 of the NFL season.

If fans were expecting him to announce sweeping decisions about coach John Fox, quarterback Jay Cutler, or anything really, they were out of luck.

So while a few issues were cleared up, most will have to wait until the Bears are deeper into the offseason.

We do know: Fox isn’t going anywhere. Pace gave him a vote of confidence Wednesday.

“I get we’re all judged on wins and losses,” Pace said. “… From Day 1 I said I want us to be a tough, smart, disciplined football team. And I definitely think we’re headed in that direction. I think some things happened this season that put major stress on the coaching staff, and I get that. But for us to get better long-term I think of a couple different things. I think it’s developing our talent, and it’s developing our culture, and I think we’re doing both of those things.”

We don’t know: Who all Fox’s assistants will be. Running backs coach Stan Drayton accepted a post with the University of Texas, and according to the Tribune, offensive line coach Dave Magazu and assistant defensive backs coach Sam Garnes both were relieved of duty this week.

We do know: Cutler’s recovery from an injured throwing shoulder is coming along.

“The one thing about Jay is, as far as his rehab from injuries he’s almost a freak in regards to recovering from injuries fast,” Pace said. “So he’s significantly ahead of schedule.”

We don’t know: If Cutler will even be a Bear in 2017. The Bears have seven picks in the upcoming draft, including No. 3 overall, which they could use to select the player they hope will be their next franchise quarterback.

“I met with probably 30 players on Monday, and one of them was Jay,” Pace said. “There’s a lot of real candid conversations that take place and a lot of transparency and honesty, so some of those things I’d like to keep between us. But I think once we make a decision as an organization, whatever it is, he’ll be the first to know. … But, again, those decisions haven’t been completely finalized yet.”

We do know: Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is extremely confident. This week he guaranteed the Bears, who finished 3-13, will be in the Super Bowl next year. Recent history is somewhat encouraging, as the team with the worst record in 2015 to make the playoffs in 2016 is Dallas, which was 4-12 last year and snagged the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season after going 13-3.

We don’t know: If Jeffery will even end up with the Bears. That’s one of many decisions Bears management has yet to reveal. They used the franchise tag on the receiver this year, paying him $14,599,000. Figure the 26-year-old, who was suspended four games for using performance-enhancing drugs, will want a three- or four-year deal worth about $14 million per season.

“I saw how he worked and how he prepared and kind of where his focus has been and his mindset,” Pace said. “So that to me was more the thing [than the PED suspension]. Again, it was unfortunate. He is disappointed in himself, and he’s looking to make up for it.”

We do know: The Bears, who ended the season with 19 players on injured reserve, are not chalking up that reality to bad luck alone.

“We’re going to look at other teams, other sports, everything—from the training room to the strength-and-conditioning room, to what we do on the field, the practice schedules—everything is going to be analyzed,” Pace said.

We don’t know: If they share Jeffery’s confidence. Regarding the receiver’s Super Bowl guarantee, Pace did say, “I like that he said that,” though he stopped short of any such promises.

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“In my meetings with the players this week, the common theme was a genuine honest excitement about where we’re heading,” Pace said. “I get there’s a lot of skepticism—we won three games. But I’m here to tell you we’re going to work hard this offseason. We’re going to get this thing going in the right direction. We have a lot of ammunition to do so.”

baiduhai contributed.

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