Chicago Bears fans can pretty much predict what’s about to happen. They’ve seen this setup before. A team listless and lacking any sort of momentum comes off a bye week and immediately goes into Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers. This feels so much like what happened in 2014. Everybody remembers what happened next. A 55-14 boat racing that became the catalyst for Marc Trestman being fired. It seems eerily fitting that Matt Nagy is set to face the same exact scenario.
It’s amazing to think things have gotten to this point. Just two years ago he was polishing off the best first year a Bears head coach has ever had. A 12-4 record and an NFC North title. He even squeezed a Pro Bowl alternate performance out of Mitch Trubisky. People felt the franchise had finally found the guy who would lead them into the future. Now here he is, seemingly out of answers and fighting for his job.
Facing a team he’s 1-3 against.
Chicago is on a four-game losing streak. Their offense is 31st in the NFL. Probably the most unwatchable it’s been in well over a decade. Everything Nagy has tried to fix it, including a surrender of play-calling duties, has done nothing. His offensive line is a mess and he still hasn’t found any definitive solution at quarterback despite that competition held months ago.
People try to defend him. He’s still a good leader. He just hasn’t had enough talent to work with on offense. Yet this goes beyond that. Good coaches find a way to get the most from what they have. Nagy hasn’t shown an ability to do that. Most of his success can be attributed to the presence of a great defense. People are struggling to see what value he brings to the team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFjndob5fKI&ab_channel=Bearlissimo
Matt Nagy is all but out the door barring a miracle
So what does fate have in store for him? One source informed me that expectations are Nagy will be fired after the season concludes in January. It’s not 100% a given but all signs point to that being the case. Odds are it will be further set in stone if he fails to take down the Packers on Sunday night this weekend, pushing his record against them to 1-4. The McCaskey family tries to be patient but losing to Green Bay carries a lot of consequences.
While the search hasn’t kicked into high gear yet, the Bears brass is at least beginning to put together a list of possible head coach options if Nagy indeed can’t turn the team around down the stretch. A surefire sign they’ve lost a lot of confidence in his since the season began. Of course, this leads to the other question.
What about GM Ryan Pace?
His status is a bit murkier. While his role in this team’s failures can’t be discounted, especially the inability to find a quarterback, his relationship with the McCaskey family is strong. They like him a lot and have believed in his vision and direction for the team. His seat is definitely hot as well but there is less certainty if he will get the boot as well.
Considering he’s the one who hired Matt Nagy and built this offense? It’s hard to imagine him surviving.