Matt Nagy resisted giving up play-calling for a long time. People started thinking it might be a good idea as far back as 2019. It was clear the Chicago Bears offense was struggling. A lot of that came from how unprepared and disjointed they looked at times. How they always seemed to lack an identity. How they failed to make proper adjustments both in-game and game-to-game.
Not until things hit rock bottom in November did the head coach finally relent, turning over the call sheet to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Lo and behold after a difficult start against Minnesota, the offense finally started to get traction. They seemed to have a plan each week, played with more urgency, and displayed an identity. Then they started scoring points. First 25 in Green Bay, then 30 against Detroit, and finally 36 against Houston.
All of it seemed to come as a mild surprise to Nagy.
He’s thrilled at how the offense has started to turn things around and can’t really complain. During his latest press conference, he spoke about some of the things that have changed since he surrendered the call sheet. It was here Nagy made a revelation that may cause a bit of a double-take. Something that offers yet another reminder the head coach might’ve been able to avoid the nightmare of the past two months if he’d not been so stubborn.
Matt Nagy spoke positively of how the move to Bill Lazor as the play-caller has boosted the Bears' offense. One key dynamic he feels has improved is the ability to make in-game adjustments "from drive to drive instead of quarter to quarter or half to half."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) December 17, 2020
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Matt Nagy: "I’ll always love calling plays. But I think just when you win and you score points offensively, which is what we’ve been doing lately, it definitely is fun. That part’s fun. It allows me to be able to step back and really just kind of see a lot of different things."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) December 17, 2020
So let’s get this straight. Matt Nagy realized at some point that he was struggling to make adjustments on offense during games from drive to drive and quarter to quarter. Yet he doggedly persisted with his desire to call plays. This despite knowing he might be operating with a handicap. This on top of his stubborn refusal to make adjustments to what his players like Mitch Trubisky did best.
Matt Nagy may have reached his self-realizations too late
Imagine if he’d understood this reality at the beginning of the 2020 season. If he’d given Lazor control of the offense from the start. It’s fair to wonder if the Bears would’ve been able to avoid the freefall they went into after that 5-1 start. Instead, here they are, sitting at 6-7 and fighting for their playoff lives. All with a very real possibility that Nagy gets fired if they fail.
It’s unfortunate more than anything. The man is a good leader. He knows how to hold a locker room. Such traits aren’t as easy to find as one might think. Yet he also came in with the expectation he’d turn the offense around and elevate Trubisky to success. After what happened in 2018 with the decent year they had, it’s fair to wonder if Matt Nagy started believing his own hype.
Enough to where not even the reality check in 2019 could snap him out of it.
Self-confidence isn’t a bad thing. All head coaches need to thrive in the NFL. At the same time, there’s a fine line between confidence and stubbornness. Nagy failed to understand that his desire to call plays was hurting the offense more than helping until it was too late. Now he needs to win his final three games to avoid paying for those mistakes.
