Matt Nagy can never be accused of lacking leadership. His decision to give up play-calling to Bill Lazor this week is a testament to his unselfishness. He is doing what he feels is best for the Chicago Bears. A lot of coaches wouldn’t be willing to make such a tough sacrifice. Nobody can ever say the man wouldn’t do what’s necessary to win.
The problem is it may be too little, too late. Nagy didn’t end up in this position out of the blue. This was something he was on the road towards as far back as January. Rather than accept the reality that he didn’t have the right personnel to run his system and pushing GM Ryan Pace to find more help, he decided his coaching staff was the problem. He gutted most of it and brought in familiar faces like Juan Castillo, John DeFilippo, and Lazor.
The roster was left largely as it was.
Sure they overhauled tight end with a 33-year old Jimmy Graham and 2nd round pick Cole Kmet. Yet the wide receivers and the offensive line? Pace stuck to the bargain bin in those areas. Germain Ifedi for a minimum deal. Two 7th round blockers. Darnell Mooney turned into a great find in the 5th round but the unwillingness to push harder to find difference-makers on offense is rearing its ugly head.
If that weren’t bad enough, it feels like Nagy’s ability to sway the locker room has slackened. Guys aren’t playing with the same discipline and attention to detail. The energy seems lower. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report was on the Dan Bernstein show for 670 The Score. He has seen this movie before, and quite recently too.
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“On paper? I like this roster. Especially the defense so, so much. It just makes you wonder. Where’s the disconnect? I think that’s where it goes on the coaching staff. Even if you love Chuck Pagano. Even if you love Matt Nagy. It’s like you’re not producing. And we saw this in Atlanta.
Dan Quinn’s a hell of a guy. Thomas Dimitroff’s a hell of a guy. But at some point, your message isn’t getting through. There’s a disconnect and your players that look good on paper aren’t producing on the field.”
Matt Nagy comparison to Quinn feels all too real
Quinn’s saga in Atlanta lasted six seasons. So why would he be compared to Nagy who is on a lifeline in the middle of his third? It’s all about trajectory. Quinn’s tenure started out great. In just his second year, the Falcons dominated most of 2016 and rolled into the Super Bowl. There they lost to the Patriots in heartbreaking fashion, coughing up a 28-3 lead and falling in overtime.
After another playoff appearance the next season, things began to slowly unravel. Each year it felt like Quinn’s grip on the team loosened a little more. Nothing exemplified this more than the defense. That was his personal responsibility as a defensive specialist. The unit finished 9th in the NFL in 2017. From there it went to 28th and 20th the next two seasons. A massive drop.
Things finally came to a head early this year.
The Falcons went 0-5 in their first five games, giving up 30 points or more in four of them. It was clear Quinn had lost the team. They weren’t executing anymore. So ownership made the tough decision to part ways, promoting Raheem Morris in his place. Atlanta is 3-1 since that move was made. Validation that maybe the man’s message had grown stale.
This is often something that can plague guys who carry the moniker of “player’s coach.” Their motivational skills work wonders for the first couple of years. However, soon the discipline starts to slip and they lack the ability to fix what’s wrong. This feels like what is happening to Matt Nagy. He is too much of a “buddy” coach. He lives by the power of positivity. That’s great and all but sometimes a locker room needs less of the carrot and more of the stick.
Marc Trestman ran into the same problems. Nagy is a better coach than him but the similarities are hard to escape. It’s hard not to feel like he just isn’t equipped to pull the team out of this tailspin.