Last year when it was evident the offense wasn’t working, head coach Matt Nagy made a difficult personal decision. He gave up calling playing, handing the duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. The Chicago Bears head coach admitted it wasn’t easy. He loves calling plays, but he also knew it was his responsibility to do what was best for the team. After a slow start, the offense seemed to respond to the change with a strong push down the stretch, scoring 25+ points in five straight games.
Going into the 2021 offseason, most understandably assumed Lazor would keep the call sheet. So when Nagy announced he’d be taking it back after it was clear his job was safe? A lot of people weren’t happy. It was obvious that the man assumed the problem was never him but the quarterback situation. With Mitch Trubisky out and Andy Dalton/Justin Fields in? He’d finally prove his offense could work.
Through three weeks, that offense is dead last in the NFL.
Things reached a crisis point against Cleveland. The Bears managed just six points, one net passing yard, and allowed Fields to get sacked nine times. Everything went wrong and people blamed Nagy for the game plan that made it all happen. Frustrations among players appear to be boiling over. Jimmy Graham retweeted something on Twitter mentioning how incredibly bad it was. Sources informed SM that there were some “heated” discussions among the offensive coaching staff after the game. Now according to Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog, the belief is Lazor will resume calling plays again.
“Let’s be honest. If the Bears play offense this Sunday the way they played it last Sunday, they have zero chance to beat any team in the league. Not the Texans. Not the Jags. Not the Jets. No one. So the points being made below are being made under the assumption the coach will actually install a logical, professional game plan and the offensive linemen won’t all play their worst game at the same time. (At the time of posting this, it is believed Bill Lazor is calling plays.)”
While Nagy gave no direct confirmation of this, he didn’t really have to. The first question at his recent press conference was who the play caller would be. The answer was long-winded, but the head coach didn’t give a direct answer. He wanted to “keep that internal.” Don’t forget Nagy openly said he was calling plays a few months back. The fact he didn’t say the same thing this time? That says it all.
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Matt Nagy is in survival mode at this point
He isn’t dumb. The season is getting away from him fast and most believe he was already on the hot seat to begin with. Vegas oddsmakers have him as the heavy favorite to be the first head coach fired this year. The Bears are 1-2 with one of the toughest schedules in the NFL still to play. Their offense is an absolute wreck. If he doesn’t get this thing fixed fast, then he won’t survive to see 2022.
There are even rumors that he could be out depending on what happens in the Detroit Lions game this Sunday, Matt Nagy may not even see next week. The Bears’ division rival is 0-3 and unsurprisingly one of the worst teams in the league. It is a team Chicago should beat, especially at home. If they lose and the offense still looks bad along the way? There would be little justification in letting this farce play out any longer.
Would the McCaskeys do it?
They’ve never fired a head coach midseason since taking over ownership in 1983. Even Marc Trestman didn’t get that honor despite that incredible series of disasters in 2014. So Sunday would have to be pretty bad for Nagy to get shown the door. However, even if he’s not fired immediately it isn’t hard to see him getting axed eventually if the Bears lose. Going 1-3 with the Raiders, Packers, Buccaneers, 49ers, and Steelers looming? Only a miracle would save him at that point.