Getty Head coach Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears shouts from the side line during the fourth quarter of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field on December 5.
Matt Nagy and his coaching staff have been on the hot seat for much of the 2021 NFL season, and they’re not doing themselves any favors when tasked with speaking to the media.
A day after the team’s Week 13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the head coach for the Chicago Bears and his assistants talked about their most recent defeat, along with their plans for the remaining five games — and both Nagy and offensive line coach Juan Castillo managed to come under fire for comments deemed hypocritical, illogical and downright baffling.
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Bears Taking it Slow With Rookie OL Teven Jenkins
Bears rookie offensive lineman Teven Jenkins was active for his first NFL game in the team’s loss to Arizona, playing just two snaps on special teams. Chicago moved up in the second round of the draft this year to select Jenkins with the hope he’ll become the starting left tackle for years to come. The rookie OL had back surgery in August, and the team explained it’s going to bring him along slowly, which is understandable.
“Right now, we’re trying to work him and get him ready,” Castillo said about Jenkins, per Chris Emma of 670 The Score. “In an emergency thing, if something happened to Jason (Peters), right now he would be the one to come in. We’re trying to catch him up. I mean, he hasn’t done a lot of football. We’re working hard, trying to get him ready in case something like that happens. We’re just working him slowly. He’s still recovering, all those things. We’re just working him slowly.”
Fair enough. It’s never wise to rush a player back onto the field before he is ready. But it was something else Castillo said about Jenkins that elicited tons of clown emoji on Twitter.
Castillo Blasted for Teven Jenkins Take
When speaking about Jenkins’ contributions to the team, the Bears OL coach drew ire on social media when he began boasting about the Christmas tree the rookie helped decorate:
“The rookies put up the tree in the meeting room,” Castillo said. “You should see what that tree looks like. It’s a beautiful tree. It’s decorated right. Well, you say it doesn’t matter. Everything matters, man. That tells you what’s kind of individual he is, where everything is on point, everything is detailed. That’s the kind of student he is, listening, paying attention and then watching Jason too. So I think it’s a good learning experience for him.”
Naturally, Twitter had something to say about Castillo’s tree-decorating comments:
@JasonLieser Awesome. I’m sure leadership is proud. 👍
Some fans called for the entire offensive coaching staff to get canned:
@JasonLieser This entire offensive coaching staff needs to be fired.
While others had fun at the team’s expense:
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Nagy Criticized for Not Prioritizing Player Development
Nagy has also come under fire for his recent comments about Jenkins. Luis Medina of Bleacher Nation accused Nagy of “flat-out hypocrisy” after the Bears coach suggested the team wasn’t going to play Jenkins because there was still technically a possibility Chicago could make the playoffs.
As Medina notes, this goes directly against what Nagy told analyst Peter King in August about developing the team’s young players.
Nagy stressed he would think about what was best for his players over what was best for himself, and with his job on the line and a sliver of a chance remaining at a playoff spot, some are questioning his decision not to let Jenkins play a full game or even an entire quarter. “It sure looks like Nagy is trying to save his job,” Medina wrote on December 6, adding it was dubious to not give “game reps to a player like Jenkins, who was drafted with the intent he grows into a franchise left tackle.”
It sure isn’t a good look for the Bears head coach if this is the case — which it certainly appears to be.
Here’s the full quote, for complete context.
Buckle up, Bears fans. It’s going to be a wild and bumpy ride over the next five games.
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