When the Bears released their schedule in April, it didn’t take a runaway imagination to picture Sunday’s game against the Chiefs as a possible preview of Super Bowl LIV. Both teams had gone 12-4 and won their respective divisions the season before.
But the game also figured to be a celebration. For the first time, Bears coach Matt Nagy would be facing his mentor, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, the man who had shaped his professional career more than anyone else. Student vs. Teacher. Coach Son vs. Coach Dad.
Eight months later, the Bears are 7-7 and no longer part of the postseason conversation. What had been circled on the calendar as the feel-good story of two high-flying offenses has turned into a messy, disappointing tale for the team from Chicago. The team from Kansas City is 10-4 and has already won its fourth straight AFC West title.
The Nagy-Reid stories heading into Sunday’s game served not just as a lament for what might have been but as a jagged-edged reminder of what was supposed to be.
How the Bears got to this sorry junction has been well-documented. Where they’re going is the question, and it’s still a stunning one – stunning because, a year ago, their future seemed set. Nagy was the 2018 NFL Coach of the Year. His creative play calling had been one of the reasons the Bears had been so successful in his first season as a head coach. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky had had a nice 2018, and his backers were sure that, with Nagy’s continued guidance, he would take another big step in 2019. And the Bears’ defense was a monster.
Those were the days.
What will the Bears be with Nagy next season? One thing we know for sure is that he can’t be the same coach he was in 2019 if the team wants to get back to the playoffs.
He can’t have a mediocre quarterback throw 53 passes in a game, as he had Trubisky do against the Packers last week.
He can’t make Trubisky, who is blessed with speed and athleticism, sit in the pocket like a pair of reading glasses. It wasn’t until Week 14 against the Cowboys that Trubisky ran the ball in earnest. The result, not coincidentally, was 31 points, tied for the team’s season high.
Nagy can’t abandon the run game, as he often did in 2019.
He can’t abandon the run game and then, for reasons that defy explanation, call a run play for David Montgomery on third-and-4 near midfield, which he did against the Packers last week. Result: a one-yard loss.
He can’t watch his team go through prolonged struggles without making meaningful adjustments. The only thing that pulled the Bears out of a tailspin this season was a schedule that turned soft at the right time. Playing the Giants and the Lions (twice) in 18 days isn’t a fundamental shift in approach; it’s a gift from God.
It would be rash to suggest that Nagy give up the play-calling duties in 2020, but I understand why that has become a popular sentiment. He has been all over the map this season as a play caller. If you know what the Bears’ identity is as an offense, please let me know. While you’re at it, let Nagy know, too.
Some of blame rests with Trubisky, who has gone backward in his development. He regularly fixates on his primary receiver, which is good news for Allen Robinson (1,023 yards) but bad news for the Bears’ offense (28th in the NFL). His accuracy remains an issue. So, yes, Trubisky has been a problem this season. But Nagy was brought here to coach Trubisky to greatness. That’s it. One job, and one job only.
Nagy can’t keep coddling his quarterback. Next season will be Year 4 for Trubisky, and the coach can’t continue to pretend publicly that Mitch’s passes are accurate or that his eyes see the whole field. If Nagy is worried that public criticism will ruin Trubisky’s confidence, the team has a massive problem on its hands.
While we’re on the topic, Nagy can’t continue to sell blue skies to Bears fans when they’re wearing raincoats and holding umbrellas. They’re not dumb. Neither are the players. It’s OK for a coach to say publicly when someone isn’t playing well or when someone has made a mistake. Honesty isn’t the enemy of unity. Or, if it is, then you don’t have much of a team culture.
Nagy can’t tell us that the players are trying really, really hard when things are going poorly for the team. The number of people in Chicago who care about the best efforts of failing, highly paid athletes can fit in a Gatorade dispenser.
Those are just a few things that come to mind about what Nagy needs to do to make 2020 better than 2019. You might have more.
Just know that if he shows up at training camp in July talking about the joys of steady improvement or extolling Trubisky’s virtues, nothing has changed.
Running in place isn’t the way to go.
