Evidence is starting to grow that Matt Nagy has lost control of the Chicago Bears locker room. Something people felt wasn’t possible just a few months ago. Yet as the losing streak reached five games and the offense continued to look dead until garbage time, it appears whatever messages the head coach has tried to send might be falling on deaf ears now.
It’s fair to wonder if his recent words are starting to rub some players the wrong way. Allen Robinson kick-started an interesting week when he was seen liking several tweets of fans pleading for him to sign with their teams should he hit free agency next March. The latest sign that the wide receiver isn’t happy and seems prepared to move on.
#Bears star WR Allen Robinson liked tweets from fans about leaving the #Bears and joining another team after the loss to the #Packers
A reminder that Robinson chose to sign with Chicago as a free-agent over Green Bay. pic.twitter.com/SeVpLyQdbp
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 30, 2020
Apparently, that wasn’t the end of it though.
Just 24 hours later, two of his wide receiver teammates got in on the action. Anthony Miller liked a tweet from a Patriots fan asking him to come to New England. Around the same time, Javon Wims liked a tweet stating Chicago is the place where receivers go to die. A famous statement by former Bears receiver Muhsin Muhammad after he left the team in the late 2000s.
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Looks like more #Bears receivers want out of Chicago.
Anthony Miller and Javon Wims recently joined Allen Robinsin in liking tweets about leaving Chicago. They have since been unliked. pic.twitter.com/T9NbhM3rWW
— Chris Maltby (@ChrisMaltbyBD) December 1, 2020
So it’s clear this isn’t an isolated incident. Guys aren’t happy. Both Miller and Wims have had rough seasons and it certainly looks like the Bears haven’t made a concerted enough effort to get them more involved. No doubt a byproduct of Nagy’s offense which his own coaches admitted doesn’t design plays for specific players. So unless you have a good quarterback (which they don’t) it’s hard for receivers to find any sort of rhythm.
Matt Nagy has five games left to regain control
That isn’t a lot of time and the margin for error is razor-thin. Sitting at 5-6, the odds of the Bears posting a winning record means they’d have to go 4-1. Nevermind the idea of making the plays. Three of those games are against division opponents. Another is against Deshaun Watson who will no doubt be extra motivated for that contest. For obvious reasons.
If the Bears go from a 5-1 start to 8-8, it’s hard to imagine how Nagy can possibly sell ownership giving him a fourth season. His offense has done almost nothing to help this team win the past two years. A great defense has been all but wasted because of that. That vision of the team basically laying down for the Packers on Sunday isn’t likely to fade anytime soon.
Failing to produce a winning record against this remaining schedule?
That would seal his fate. It’s more apparent than ever Matt Nagy is in over his head. He thought he was ready for the big time. Andy Reid had mentored him so well. Things got off to such a great start in 2018. However, the NFL began to adjust, and when that happened, he had no answers. He’s tried holding the team together but motivation isn’t enough. Players expect their head coach to have solutions.
They’ve come to realize that Nagy doesn’t have any.