Matt Nagy’s Former All-Pro Player Obliterates Him on Twitter

Mitchell Schwartz Matt Nagy

Getty Head coach Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears recently received some major criticism from a former player.

Mitchell Schwartz spent two seasons with Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy when they were both with the Kansas City Chiefs. The All-Pro offensive lineman spent five years in Kansas City, from 2016-20, and Nagy served as the team’s offensive coordinator during the 2016-17 seasons.

Currently a free agent, Schwartz was released this year by the Chiefs in a cap-saving move. He injured his back last season, and he had surgery to repair it, but he has yet to land with another NFL team. Some have pegged him as a potentially good fit for the Bears, who have seen their offensive line riddled with injuries this preseason, but based on his recent Twitter activity, he and Nagy may not mesh well together.

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Nagy Won’t Change His Original Plan at QB

After Chicago’s most recent preseason loss, a 41-15 drubbing courtesy of Mitch Trubisky and the Buffalo Bills, Nagy spoke to the media and doubled down on veteran Andy Dalton as the team’s starter despite rookie quarterback Justin Fields looking like a more capable leader of the offense based on what we’ve seen so far. Cries for Fields to start — or at the very least, get an opportunity to play with the first team in both practice and in games — have been deafening, but Nagy has tuned them out. Here’s a small sample:

Nagy announced Dalton would be the team’s starter in March immediately after signing him to a one-year, $10 million deal, before the idea of Fields falling to them in the draft became a reality. Thus, there has been no competition, just Dalton getting the vast majority of reps with the first team in practice.

When Nagy spoke to the media after the team’s most recent preseason loss, he was asked about whether Dalton would still start Week 1, when the Bears kick their season off in prime time against the Los Angeles Rams. Here’s what Nagy said about his current QB situation:

The stock for us in Andy is going to see what he does for us during the season. We have to see what can Andy do during the season with this team and with these guys. That has been our plan this whole entire time. At the same point in time we also need to evaluate and see where Justin is at and what he can do, and again he’s doing everything that we are asking him to do. He’s doing great. So I think it’s a good situation for us, and I understand, I truly understand the — I don’t know what the word — for people to want to see more of Justin, I get that. But we also understand where we’re at and what the true plan is.

Schwartz took Nagy to task regarding that bit about needing to evaluate Dalton in the regular season.

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Schwartz Blasts Nagy’s Handling of Bears’ QB Situation

“If you’re not able to evaluate them after a month of camp, 3 preseason games, and another few weeks of practice then I don’t know what to tell you. This tells his team that any camp ‘competition’ was useless and their preconceived depth chart is what they’ll stick to, not merit,” Schwartz tweeted on August 21.

When one Twitter user suggested that considering the recent injuries to Chicago’s o-line, Nagy may be trying to protect Fields from Aaron Donald and the rest of the formidable Rams defense, Schwartz saw that as a valid concern — but he took umbrage with the message Nagy may be sending his players.

“That’s ok if that’s the goal. But the way he goes about it needs fixing. It’s a direct quote: ‘we need to see him in the regular season.’ Just don’t say stuff like that. The implication is that you can’t scout him properly through an entire training camp, which is ridiculous.”

Schwartz wasn’t done. While the Bears coach had Dalton playing two entire quarters in the loss to the Bills, Schwartz wondered what good playing with mostly backups was doing for Dalton’s chemistry with his teammates, as well:

That’s eye-opening criticism from a well-respected former player of Nagy’s. Whether he hears anything Schwartz is saying remains to be seen, but based on everything we’ve seen, don’t expect to see Justin Fields starting Week 1.

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