Saturday, March 23, 2024

Bears Insider Hints Green Bay Might Be Matt Nagy’s Final Game

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A few weeks ago a former Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist declared Matt Nagy would be fired after the Detroit Lions game on Thanksgiving. That proved not to be the case, either because it was never true or because the plan leaking forced George McCaskey to change his plans. Either way, Nagy remains the head coach of the Chicago Bears. Here is a fair question though. Was that reporter merely off by a couple of weeks?

Such an idea became a talking point when Conor Orr of the MMQB stated that ownership may have planned to ax Nagy but got caught. So they decided to wait a few weeks, let the head coach dig his hole a bit deeper, and then fire him once the heat had died down. Now having lost six of his last seven games, Nagy heads into Lambeau Field with a banged-up roster, zero momentum, and facing a Packers team that he’s beaten once in his entire Bears tenure. Is it any coincidence that Bears insider Adam Hoge of NBC Sports Chicago hinted strongly that it could be his final game as head coach?

“Sunday’s game at Lambeau isn’t just the most important game for Matt Nagy because it’s the next game on the schedule. It might as well be the only game left on the schedule. And it might be.

Maybe the Bears come to play and pull off a dramatic upset on national television. But if it goes the other way — the way it usually goes against the Packers — you have to wonder if a change could be made as soon as next week.”

The timing of this is interesting.

Hoge wouldn’t suggest something like this out of the blue. Not unless he felt he was hearing something worthwhile. It is well-known the McCaskeys don’t like losing, but they especially don’t like losing to Green Bay. After the fiasco a few weeks ago with Aaron Rodgers screaming how he owns the Bears, just imagine how much better it will look when he blows them out on national television.

Everybody has a final straw and that could very well be the one for George McCaskey. He has never fired a head coach during a season before. Yet thanks to Nagy’s downward spiral and a change in NFL rules, he has more incentive than ever to do so now. The Bears would have four games left at that point. A good chance to evaluate the roster, the rest of the coaching staff, and to get a head start on meeting with possible replacements.

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Matt Nagy had every chance to save himself and couldn’t

People can blame the personnel and the injuries all they want. The reality is the head coach has had four seasons in charge now and the team has steadily regressed since he took over. That doesn’t happen with good head coaches. They don’t have offenses that rank among the worst in the NFL every year despite the presence of a top 10 defense. People can argue the quarterback problems but the reality is Nagy has worked with a former #2 pick, a former Super Bowl MVP, and a former three-time Pro Bowler.

All have looked ineffective under Matt Nagy. At some point, it is time to accept that the common denominator of this team’s issues starts at the top. Nagy should’ve been fired after last season. The cracks were already beginning to show. McCaskey didn’t use his head when he elected to keep the man in charge. He used his heart.

Now the Bears are bottoming out.

Proof again that the NFL doesn’t have much room for sentimentality. It is a cutthroat business where only the strong survive. Nagy isn’t strong enough. That doesn’t mean he is a bad guy. Far from it. A great human being. Just not a capable head coach.

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