Hello, Ryan Pace. You officially have Vic Fangio's heart.

A little over a year after he inherited a linebacker group spearheaded by -- well, nobody -- Pace has turned the position into an area of strength for the Bears. That process of completely revamping the unit seemingly concluded on Saturday, when Pace inked Jerrell Freeman to a three-year contract.

But, to be clear, it's a process that began last winter, which marked the beginning of Pace's tenure as the Bears' general manager. He started by luring Pernell McPhee away from the Ravens last March. It paid off immediately. In 14 games last season, McPhee recorded six sacks and 53 combined tackles. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the league's 10th-best edge defender.

But McPhee couldn't cover for everyone -- namely, the Bears' subpar inside inebackers. According to Pro Football Focus, Christian Jones, Jonathan Anderson and Shea McClellin logged 1,757 snaps last season. They all emerged with negative grades.

If there's one play that encapsulates their performance, it's this:

When Fangio coached the 49ers in previous years, he relied on Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman in the middle of the field. Last year, he primarily relied on McClellin, a converted inside linebacker who was originally drafted to rush the passer, and Jones, an undrafted player who entered the league in 2014.

Now, just days after the new league year began, Pace has supplied his defensive coordinator with two capable inside linebackers. He's turned an area of need into a position of strength by inking Danny Trevathan, a 25-year-old rangy tackler who just helped the Broncos win a Super Bowl, and Freeman. In Freeman, the Bears are gaining an older player (he'll turn 30 in May), sure, but they're also acquiring an effective player.

Here's how effective he was for the Colts last season:

This is what the Bears' linebacker corps looks like now:

Last season, Willie Young recorded 6.5 sacks (which he celebrated with his typical fishing sack dance). Lamarr Houston, who was coming off an ACL tear (due to his own sack dance), piled up eight sacks. Pair together the pass rushers (McPhee, Young, and Houston) with the inside linebackers (Trevathan and Freeman), and suddenly the Bears' linebackers aren't so laughable. It's an actual formidable group.

And that means the Bears don't need to target the position in the draft. Instead, they can continue to strengthen other parts of the roster. They can continue their rebuild. Pace still needs to finish that rebuilding job, and he still needs this year's draft to result in quality additions, but, for now, he deserves credit for his remarkably quick and effective revamping of the Bears' linebackers.

Because a year ago, today's reality seemed like nothing more than a far-fetched dream.

Chicago added two key pieces in free agency, Freeman and Trevathan, to help out McPhee. (USATSI)