Matt Nagy is determined upon his course. The plan won’t change. He has made that clear for months now. Andy Dalton is the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears. Justin Fields is the backup. Even after watching the 11th overall pick have one of the most explosive passing afternoons a QB in this city has had in a decade. Nagy still doesn’t think sticking with him gives this team the best chance to win games. People can’t understand his line of thinking and Rich Eisen is one of them.
The longtime analyst and host of NFL Network has seen a lot of football over the years. He’s built relationships with players, coaches, executives, and owners everywhere. In his mind, he knows when a coach is making a big mistake. That is the opinion he has reached regarding Nagy and the Dalton stance. It makes no sense, both because of how well Fields is playing and how much danger it puts the head coach in.
His tirade on this during his podcast was loads of fun to watch.
Eisen isn’t the only one with those feelings. Another person who couldn’t quite grasp it was insider Albert Breer of the MMQB. Keep in mind Breer has close ties to Nagy. They’ve spoken a number of times in interviews. Even he can’t understand how the Bears head is handling Fields. Not just with the decision to keep him the #2 guy behind Dalton, but also with how they handled his first start against Cleveland. A game where Nagy expressly chose to go away from an initial plan to keep Fields under center and opting for a shotgun-heavy attack. One the Browns exploited for nine sacks.
Then Nagy makes the sacrifice of giving up play calling to Bill Lazor. The Bears went under center more against Detroit and Fields had a great showing in their 24-14 win. Now right as the offense is starting to build some positive momentum, Nagy plans to pull the plug in favor of Dalton.
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.@AlbertBreer told us how he talked to #DaBears head coach Matt Nagy Sunday night and explained the coach's rationale for saying he'll stick with Andy Dalton at QB when healthy:#NFL pic.twitter.com/qTOqQdTVLb
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 4, 2021
Rich Eisen is right on the money here
Nagy is already walking on thin ice. Angering the Bears fanbase and maybe even his own locker room by going back to Dalton seems ill-advised at best. He is so committed to the Kansas City model that he can recognize it’s already been compromised. Not only did Alex Smith never miss time in 2017 as Dalton has, but he doesn’t have near the credibility Andy Reid did to see the process through. Now that everybody has seen what Fields can do, there seems little point in going back.
Sure Dalton has experience on his side, but Fields has talent and in the NFL talent almost always gives you a better chance to win games. Especially as he gains experience of his own. Rich Eisen and others recognize this. Nagy either doesn’t or does and refuses to believe it. Either way, that is a big problem.
Just imagine what happens if Dalton returns and struggles.
Ryan Pace and ownership may have to put Nagy in a nuclear fallout bunker to keep him safe from rampaging hordes of Bears fans. They will be out for blood. Remember they’re already tired of him and want him gone. The only way forward seems to be winning games with Dalton or making Fields look good. He is doubling down on the former, and it may cost him everything.
