Matt Nagy has been quite steadfast in his approach at quarterback this year. Much to the confusion of both fans and media. While starting Andy Dalton made some sense when the Chicago Bears entered training camp, to not at least make it a competition between him and Justin Fields was baffling. Feelings that only grew stronger after the rookie looked so sharp in the preseason. What is compelling the head coach to stick to his guns like this?
Most presume it’s his firm belief in this approach is the best both for the team and the quarterback. He saw it work to perfection in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes. Fields has that same level of capability. Given enough time to absorb the offense and learn the speed of the NFL from the sidelines? He could experience a similar ascent. However, some have another theory as to why Nagy is so hesitant.
Fear.
The fear that he will no longer be protected. That is to say, people won’t be so willing to blame the quarterback for the problems on offense anymore. Ever since 2019, there has been an undercurrent of fans who think Nagy himself represented a key issue with this team offensively. His questionable play calling, poor personnel usage, bad starts, and overall inefficiency seemed to manifest with alarming regularity.
The head coach though was able to escape mass ridicule, for the most part. This due to quarterbacks like Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles looking so erratic the past two years. Nagy defenders stated all he needed was the right triggerman to make everything work. Well, the head coach got his wish. His team moved up to get Fields. Yet he is suddenly hesitant to play him. Could it perhaps be he now realizes how under the microscope he’ll be moving forward?
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He doesn’t want to be known as one of those guys hailed as some sort of offensive mastermind only to be exposed as a fraud. Call this the Adam Gase Syndrome.
Matt Nagy is drifting dangerously close to Gase territory
Back in 2015, Gase was revered as one of the best offensive minds in the game. This after helping resurrect the career of Peyton Manning in the early 2010s with the Denver Broncos. It included a 2013 season where the QB rewrote every single-season passing record. That soon led to him getting a head coach opportunity with the Miami Dolphins. Everybody felt he was the perfect guy to unlock the full potential of former 1st round pick Ryan Tannehill. It didn’t work out. If anything, evidence surfaced that Gase didn’t make him much better at all.
- Ryan Tannehill with Gase: 93.2 passer rating
- Ryan Tannehill post-Gase: 108.4 passer rating
It gets even worse.
Gase got a similar opportunity with the New York Jets in 2019. Ownership felt he was the guy they needed to make former 1st round pick Sam Darnold a success. Gase seemed rather confident he could do just that. Then, as with Tannehill, time is proving the opposite might’ve been true.
- Sam Darnold with Gase: 79.1 passer rating
- Sam Darnold post-Gase: 99.0 passer rating
I’m starting to suspect that the big problem with Darnold was Adam Gase 😏
— David Steele (@David_C_Steele) September 24, 2021
These revelations have led Gase to become reviled in NFL circles as somebody who got way more hype than they deserved in regards to their offensive prowess. Somebody who stood on the shoulders of others to get where they were. With him, it was having the good fortune to coach Manning. For Matt Nagy? It may have been holding the title of offensive coordinator under Andy Reid, one of the best offensive minds in NFL history.
His offense has failed to finish in the top 20 for three years now. So far in 2021? They rank 30th. Nagy is losing runway fast. If Fields fails to exhibit signs of progress as a starter moving forward, people aren’t going to blame the quarterback for that. They’re going to blame Nagy, and it’s likely he knows it.