Following Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy didn’t provide any clarification as to why they decided to switch Cody Whitehair back to center and push James Daniels back to left guard.
But when offensive line coach Harry Hiestand met with the media Monday, he provided as much context as we’re likely to get publicly.
While Nagy nor Hiestand would blame Daniels for the offensive line’s struggles this season, they did point to his inexperience as a reason why they made the switch. Although you have to wonder what took so long to make the decision with the line struggling as long as it has been all season.
Hiestand said having Whitehair at center “balances us out and gives us a steadying factor in there.”
While communication calls seemed to be more effective with Whitehair at center, he wasn’t without his faults. He struggled with snapping the football, something he hadn’t done since the Pro Bowl back in January. Mitchell Trubisky saved some of those poor snaps, but Whitehair vowed that it’ll get better as he gets back into the swing of things.
As for whether Daniels could eventually wind up back at center, it sounds like the Bears are comfortable with him at left guard for now.
“Right now he’s where [he] is best for us,” Hiestand said. “But you never know with that.”
