Could Tony Romo solve the Bears’ QB quandary?

Tony Romo was somber and mature and eloquent.

The Cowboys quarterback was also brilliant — issuing, during the course of almost five minutes Tuesday, the best commercial for his next employer.

Were the Bears listening?

GM Ryan Pace, Romo’s Eastern Illinois teammate, should have been.

If he parts with Jay Cutler at the end of the year — Sunday’s dreadful performance killed any momentum otherwise — the Bears will need to find their quarterback of the future.

That’s not Romo, but he could be the quarterback of the present while a rookie develops.

A parallel tracks plan — develop a rookie while Romo plays — would fit John Fox’s strengths better than drafting someone to play immediately or trading for an unproven backup, such as fellow EIU alum Jimmy Garropolo.

Even if the Bears have an appetite to mold a young quarterback, it’s unclear they have the skill to: Fox has never had to develop a young quarterback; his teams have never selected one in the first round.

Jimmy Clausen was the highest quarterback ever drafted by a Fox team. He went 1-9 as a rookie, Fox was fired and the Panthers drafted Cam Newton the next year. Brock Osweiler is the only other second-rounder Fox has picked; playing behind Peyton Manning, Osweiler never started for Fox, throwing 30 pass attempts over three seasons.

The coach inherited second-year quarterback Tim Tebow in Denver, but replaced him with Manning after one season in which he completed less than half his passes. Tebow never threw a regular-season pass again.

Provided he survives the Bears’ circus this season, Fox will be under pressure to win next season. A rookie quarterback won’t accomplish that, but Romo might.

He’s not the perfect answer, but a worthy patch; the 36-year-old hasn’t had a losing season since 2010, and has won 15 of his last 19 games.

The Bears are one of the few teams that can afford him, too. Walking away from Cutler will save them $13 million, even after taking a $2 million salary cap hit. Romo is slated to make $14 million next year.

Other teams — the Jets? Cardinals? — will be after Romo, but the Bears could sell him on nostalgia: Burlington (Wis.) High School is less than an hour’s drive from Halas Hall, while his alma mater is a four-hour road trip away.

The Bears have gotten younger since Pace began rebuilding the roster, but they could sell Romo on the fact their recent free agent signings — guard Josh Sitton and linebackers Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathan — are the actions of a team trying to win now.

They’d trade for him with the knowledge he’d mentor whichever young quarterback they add. Romo’s five-minute speech ensured that.

Seeking to quash whatever shreds of a quarterback controversy remained after Dak Prescott started 8-1 with Romo out because of a fractured back, Romo stated the obvious: that the rookie “earned the right to be our quarterback.”

He also made it clear his competitive fire wasn’t doused quite yet. He called his preseason back injury “soul-crushing,” sending him into “a dark place — probably the darkest it’s ever been.”

And while he seems to have come to terms with his backup status this season, that won’t be the case next year.

“If you think for a second that I don’t want to be out there, then you’ve probably never felt the pure ecstasy of competing and winning,” he said. “That hasn’t left me.

“In fact it may burn more now than ever.”

Presuming Prescott stays healthy — and successful — it won’t burn in Dallas.

Increasingly aware of his career arc, Romo said Tuesday that “seasons are fleeting, games become more precious, chances for success diminish.”

In the Bears, he could find a franchise as desperate to succeed as he is.