Matt Nagy continues to insist he has a plan for the Chicago Bears offense. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary. His system is now dead last in the NFL. They can hardly move the ball. They can’t score. Now they’re giving up a prodigious amount of sacks as the gorefest in Cleveland showed. People are tired of hearing the head coach talk about solutions, healthy conversations, and of course collaborations.
That last one just about drove fans crazy given how many times Nagy, Ryan Pace, George McCaskey, and Ted Phillips mentioned it back in January. Well, it seems the head coach has decided to take collaboration to a new level. With the Browns loss still fresh and calls for his head deafening, Nagy decided to search for any and all options to get the offense fixed. This apparently included asking the players themselves for their input.
Cole Kmet revealed as much during his weekly interview.
“I think coming back in on Tuesday, just his willingness to listen to the players on certain things and wanting to get our input, we had a good talk with him. Just taking a step back and egos aside, looking at this thing and, ‘What do we gotta do to get back on track?’”
Germain Ifedi confirmed the story as well. He didn’t weigh in himself, believing it isn’t his job to dictate offensive scheme. He is only focused on doing whatever he can to make sure Justin Fields or Andy Dalton are protected. That said, it sounds like several of the older veterans had a lot to say in those meetings. One can probably guess Jason Peters, Jimmy Graham, and Allen Robinson were among the most vocal.
“[Players] had some good ideas and some good thoughts, not to get into it too much in detail. But [there are] so many guys in that room to respect, guys who have played good football, guys who have won Super Bowls, who have played meaningful playoffs in January and February. It’s going to get righted. It’s going to be good.”
Now asking quarterbacks for their offensive preferences is one thing. They have the most control so it’s natural. Asking the entire offensive roster? That offers a clear indication of how lacking in direction and identity this thing truly is. Nagy might be about solutions, but it’s obvious he doesn’t have any. Getting input from the players is one of the few things he hasn’t tried.
Chicago Bears players know this is getting away from them
Sitting at 1-2, their hopes for getting back to the playoffs are in danger of fizzling out before the season has barely begun. If they lose to the Lions on Sunday, they have to stare down a slate of Las Vegas, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay over the following three weeks. There is a realistic chance they could approach Halloween 1-6, their season all but done before the bye week. This is a game they have to have and the offense needs to step up.
Maybe the Chicago Bears players might be able to help the system function better with their input. Yet the clear lack of direction from the coaching staff only feeds further into the narrative many have held for years now. This team has no identity on that side of the ball. They aren’t a unit. They’re a bunch of individuals trying to figure out why things aren’t working every week.
This is because the man at the top lacks the ability to provide answers.
It will be interesting to see what sort of changes are implemented on Sunday against the Lions. No doubt the Bears will do everything possible to help Fields play better. This is a team they know they should beat. If they fail and the offense is once again the reason? Then it’s a safe bet Nagy becomes a serious candidate to be the first-ever Bears head coach to lose his job before the season ends.