Matt Nagy uses the same phrasing when talking about disasters.
Receiver Javon Wims’ touchdown drop Sunday was a “learning tool.” A false start at the 1-yard line earlier this year was “a good learning moment for us.” Of the blowout loss at Lambeau Field in November, Nagy said: “we’ve got to learn from it, as coaches and as players.”
So it was no surprise Wednesday to hear him use the same wording when describing another crippling disappointment: the Bears’ fall from 12-4 in Nagy’s first year to back-to-back 8-8 seasons.
“We gotta learn from what has happened in that Philadelphia Eagles [playoff] game in 2018 and what has happened in this Saints game in 2020,” he said. “That’s a challenge. And as a competitive person, for me as a head coach and a leader, from the players’ side, that part I’m excited about. Now, that takes us into this upcoming offseason, which is huge. It’s gonna be really, really big.”
If it’s not, it’ll be Nagy’s last one.
One thing chairman George McCaskey made clear Wednesday is that Nagy, who has two years left on his contract, and general manager Ryan Pace, who in 2018 signed a three-year extension, have their futures tied together.
It’s unclear who dragged the other over the finish line during meetings with Bears brass Monday and Tuesday: the coach, who is eight games over .500 in his career but has generally failed at his area of expertise — or the general manager whose draft hits will never overshadow his miss on Mitch Trubisky.
Most franchises, if they considered the two linked, probably would have fired them. Not the Bears. That leaves Nagy with one more chance to prove his offensive acumen.
Nagy was hired to mentor Trubisky. He’s been retained to try again, probably with a different quarterback.
The Bears’ belief he can do so is rooted in merely that: belief. He’s posted, over the past three years, the league’s fourth-fewest yards per play and sixth-fewest yards per rushing attempt. The Bears have the league’s 12th fewest points and 12th-worst passer rating during that span.
The offense got a brief uptick when coordinator Bill Lazor took over calling the plays, and then sputtered. Nagy said Wednesday that Lazor called plays the last two games — which they lost by a combined 31 points — the same way he had since the Vikings game. Nagy wouldn’t say who’d call plays next year, and it’s fair to wonder whether Nagy would claim it for himself.
For lack of concrete achievement, the Bears touted buzzwords Wednesday.
Chairman George McCaskey praised Nagy and Pace for the way they “collaborate” — or play nice with others. President/CEO Ted Phillips claimed that the Bears — who don’t have a playoff win this decade — ”have exactly the right football culture that all teams strive for.”
It’d be better if they had wins. Or developed a quarterback. Or ranked in the top-five in the NFL in stats other than coronavirus safety.
That falls on Nagy. He seems to know it.
“It’s a production-based business,” he said. “The only thing we can do — and you all have heard me say this all year long — is you figure out a solution and you find the answers.”
He needs to be better finding them this offseason than he was on Sundays. If not, he’ll have his own “learning experience” at this time next year.
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