Getty Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy with QB Mitchell Trubisky
It’s no secret ESPN’s Michael Wilbon is a Chicago Bears fan. Wilbon grew up in Chicago, and he has embarked on countless diatribes about the Bears over the years. He continued that tradition on the Rich Eisen Show last week after the Bears declined quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s fifth-year option.
Wilbon accused Bears head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace of essentially mishandling Trubisky in every possible way, going so far as to suggest Nagy doesn’t want to coach Trubisky — he wants another Patrick Mahomes.
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Wilbon on Matt Nagy: ‘He Doesn’t Want to Coach Trubisky’
“I now feel bad for Mitch Trubisky,” Wilbon told Eisen. “He’s got a coach who doesn’t want to coach him. He was coach in Kansas City when Patrick Mahomes was a rookie … he wants to coach Patrick Mahomes. He doesn’t want to coach Trubisky. And now Trubisky’s being taken down by his coach and GM who won’t back him really — not really,” Wilbon said.
“I think this is awful,” he went on. “To me, it was a bad deal to trade up to get Trubisky,” Wilbon said, noting that it may have put additional pressure on the young quarterback. “What’s happening with Trubisky now, it’s just wrong … it’s wrong to treat Trubisky this way, and it’s wrong to do it publicly.” Wilbon suggested that had the Bears coached him a bit harder in previous seasons and he showed he wasn’t up to it, that’s one thing. But the Bears didn’t coach him hard. And now he thinks they’re kicking their franchise QB to the curb.
Wilbon then doubled down on his assertion Nagy wants nothing to do with coaching Trubisky. “This guy doesn’t want to coach him (Trubisky). I know that from players who were in Kansas City at the time. He doesn’t want to coach him. He wants to coach somebody else,” Wilbon said, adding he doesn’t think Trubisky will get a fair chance against Nick Foles in the team’s quarterback competition.
“I can’t stand when people won’t own what they did. And that’s what I feel coming out of Chicago. That’s what I feel coming out of the coach and GM. Own what you did. Don’t blame it all on this kid,” Wilbon concluded, referring to the team’s alleged mishandling of Trubisky. There are a few things Wilbon isn’t considering, however.
Trubisky Succeeding is Best-Case Scenario for Bears
Joe Ostrowski of Chicago radio’s 670 The Score completely disagrees with Wilbon’s take. “He has been coddled here for the last two to three years,” Ostrowski said of Trubisky. Ostrowski thinks if Matt Nagy has issues with his young QB, they likely stem from Trubisky’s inability to read defenses heading into his fourth season.
“Maybe he doesn’t want to coach him now, because the guy can’t play,” Ostrowski said.
“He has these flash points, but what we’ve learned after year three when he was supposed to take all of these strides? Just massive regression,” Ostrowski said of Trubisky, before responding directly to Wilbon’s comments. “Taken down by the coach and GM? In what way? They are constantly protecting Trubisky, and for no reason. They have given him no competition up until now,” Ostrowski pointed out.
“He’s had a fair chance. Do we need to go over this again? Ryan Pace has had six drafts. Six. Biggest need on the Bears throughout Pace’s tenure has been quarterback. They’ve drafted one quarterback in six drafts … I have no idea what Michael Wilbon is saying there.”
Ostrowski has a point. The job has been Trubisky’s to lose since he took over for Mike Glennon Week 5 in 2017. Trubisky is still just 25 years old. If he balls out, beats Foles and earns the job, there’s no way he’s not on the team’s roster again next year. The job has been his for over two years. The only difference now is that he’s been forced to earn it.
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