Matt Nagy is coaching for his job over the final six games of the season. He has looked like a man completely baffled by what’s happening to him. Everything he thought he knew has been turned on its head. After being so self-assured that what he was doing for the Chicago Bears offense was the right thing, his confidence appears shaken. Everything he’s tried this year to fix it hasn’t worked. One person who isn’t surprised though is Kyle Long.
The former Bears guard hasn’t been shy about sharing his opinion on the team since he left this past offseason. He’s made it known that while he technically “retired” it wasn’t exactly a voluntary move. He was essentially fired and stepped away from the game rather than moving on to another team. While he admits his health issues made the decision understandable, how Nagy handled it left a sour taste in his mouth.
To say nothing of what the coach has done since then.
Benching Mitch Trubisky, Long’s friend? Not cool. Ranking 32nd in rushing attempts this season? Also not cool. Long stated over and over again the Bears need to get back to running the football. It’s the only way they can hope to mask their deficiencies at quarterback and in pass protection. Yet Nagy has steadfastly refused.
He’s committed to running his scheme and now it isn’t even his scheme anymore. The head coach grudgingly relinquished play-calling duties to Bill Lazor last week. A decision that did nothing in hindsight with just six points and 149 yards total against a bad Vikings defense. The more things change the more they stay the same. Long seems to have delighted in taking potshots at the coaching staff and that didn’t change on Sunday.
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Is this what they’re discussing at Halas hall during the bye week? #DaBears pic.twitter.com/VxmIxEQOjz
— kyle (@Ky1eLong) November 22, 2020
— kyle (@Ky1eLong) November 22, 2020
Kyle Long is salty and he doesn’t care
A lot of Bears fans are annoyed by Long at this point, saying what’s done is done and he needs to get over it. One such fan tried to do just that in response to the first tweet. The 31-year old kindly responded with a gif of Han Solo speaking his classic cantina phrase, “Over my dead body.” It’s clear he cares nothing for what fans think. Is it petty? Perhaps but then again those people didn’t put their body through hell for that man only to be summarily kicked to the curb.
It’d be one thing if the Bears dumped him and went on to success. That hasn’t been the case. They ushered him off the roster and are playing worse than ever. They can’t score points. Running the ball is impossible. The offense is literally lifeless. That has to be killing him. Nobody was a more fiery competitor than Kyle Long. Injuries or not, he always brought passion to the field.
In his mind, Nagy isn’t the guy.
He passed himself off as an offensive guru and has shown no such traits since he arrived in 2018. His offense has gotten progressively worse. Now that the wins have started to dry up, it’s exposed him as more of a problem than a solution to this team. One Long clearly hopes isn’t around much longer.