Getty The Bears are bringing a familiar face in to help with their offensive line issues.
A fter getting thoroughly out-coached by Sean McVay in an ugly 24-10 loss to the Rams Monday night, many fans and analysts seem to be asking the same question: Will Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy give up play-calling duties? Nagy spoke to the media Tuesday, and he didn’t seem opposed to it — although relax, Bears fans, because it ain’t happening just yet.
When 670 The Score’s Chris Emma asked Nagy if he would relinquish play-calling to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor or someone else on staff, the Bears’ head coach’s comment was both encouraging and discouraging at the same time.
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Matt Nagy on Handing Over Play-Calling: ‘That’s Not Where We Think It’s At’
Nagy was brought to Chicago to give the Bears’ offense a boost, and another of his primary objectives was to help turn Mitch Trubisky into a decent NFL starter. He has done neither of those things. Nagy has coached 40 games for the Bears, and the offense has failed to score 21+ points in 24 of those matchups. He benched Trubisky Week 3, only to see Nick Foles struggle even more in subsequent weeks. But will he give up play-calling?
“Yeah, you know, like I said, I look at all that — that’s the very first thing that I look at is that. And so I talk to our coaches and we talk through that whole process, and I’m really honestly not opposed — there’s no opposition from me if we feel that’s what the issue is,” Nagy said, adding: “Right now, where we’re at, that’s not where we think it’s at. But at the same point in time, I’ll always continue each week to look at it.”
That’s sort of encouraging, I guess. But then, he went on to suggest a change could be coming for this Bears offense.
“I’ll say this, too,” Nagy added: “When you’re in a little bit of a rut like we are — a lot of a rut like we are — you have to look at everything. And sometimes — even if it’s just a little bit of a change somewhere, too. You have to be able to do that. No one here, coach or player, has too big of an ego to think that it’s not them.”
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Nagy Could Come Full Circle By Giving Up Play-Calling
Nagy was hired by Bears’ GM Ryan Pace in 2018 after he was the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator for the 2016-17 seasons. The story about Nagy becoming the play-caller there is an interesting one. After he wasn’t getting anywhere calling plays on offense, Chiefs coach Andy Reid turned the play-calling over to Nagy in 2017, and Nagy had success — it’s largely what helped him land his gig in Chicago. But he also called plays for just six games, including the Chiefs’ epic playoff collapse in the playoffs, where they failed to score at all in the second half.
Nagy has struggled as a play-caller since the end of the 2018 season, his first as head coach. He’s now midway through his third year, and the questions about his scheme, decision making and yes, play-calling, feel louder than ever. He can hear them, but whether he’ll listen is another story. If Nagy harkens back to how his mentor handled this same problem when he was in Kansas City, and he can manage to make the same decision Reid made, it’ll be the biggest display of growth from the Bears’ head coach yet. It’s a big ‘if’, but at least he seems open to it.
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