It has been a long time since Matt Nagy made a move that earned universal approval.
He deserves it for this one.
In what was surely the hardest decision of his coaching career, Nagy surrendered play calling to Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Most coaches wouldn’t have the humility to make that decision — they’d rather get fired doing it their own way — but he did exactly what coaches so often hypocritically ask of their players: Prioritize team over self.
“It’s not easy, but it does get easy the more you think about it,” Nagy said. “If our team can be better because of this move, and I don’t know that but if we can, then darn it, that’s what we need to do. And what I need to do.”
Nagy the head coach just fired Nagy the play caller. That’s rare self-awareness and accountability and it’s further proof there are many parts of the job that he handles masterfully.
Lazor will call plays Monday against the Vikings, and Nagy didn’t say whether that’ll be the plan the rest of the season. The fact that he was willing to try it for even one game is a credit to his selflessness. If you aren’t satisfied with that, nothing short of him resigning would appease you.
To his further credit, Nagy went back on his stubborn stance that any change would be clandestine. He volunteered it to the media to open his post-practice press conference Friday, throwing chum to the sharks as he dove in for 16 unrelenting minutes of being bitten with questions about the failures that led to this point.
And this has been a failure. There’s no getting around it. Changing play callers isn’t something that happens when things are going well. In the end, this might be just another mile marker on the road to a disappointing destination and the end of Nagy’s time as head coach.
The Bears are 29th in points and yardage, continuing their offensive decline at a time when scoring has never been higher throughout the NFL. Nagy has been unable to turn Mitch Trubisky or Nick Foles into a viable quarterback. The running game barely exists. And the Bears are second in the NFL in punts.
And Lazor was Nagy’s wingman throughout that wayward mission. He hasn’t been standing there silently knowing the solutions.
But with all that being said, Nagy realized his way wasn’t working. He softened from his initial insistence his play calling wasn’t the problem to stepping away from the most treasured part of his job in the hope that Lazor can squeeze more out of a markedly flawed roster than he did.
“Is it hard to do? Absolutely,” Nagy said. “I’d be lying to every one of you guys if I told you that this is easy. It’s not easy. It’s one of my favorite parts of coaching. I love calling plays. I love it. I love it.
“But guess what? If this is what’s best for the team, then that’s what I’m gonna do. We need to do what’s best for us, not what’s best for Matt Nagy. That’s where I’m at. I’m excited about it, you know, looking forward to it.”
The Bears still have major offensive line problems. They still don’t have a quarterback. They still don’t have a dependable skill player other than wide receiver Allen Robinson. None of that changes by giving the keys to Lazor.
But Nagy is earnestly trying to solve the problem of his play calls making things worse. He has maintained throughout the season that his offensive scheme is a good one, and it probably is with the right players. But he has been either unwilling or incapable of reshaping it to fit reality.
Will a fresh voice as play caller change that? It’s unknown. But Nagy cares enough about the team, instead of himself, to find out.
