George McCaskey made the unpopular decision back in January to retain head coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace after a disappointing end to the 2020 season. Lots of fans felt the two men should’ve been fired. This team needed a fresh start. Others though felt it came close to being slightly different. One where McCaskey returned to a measure he used back in 2012, firing the GM and retaining the head coach.
The widespread belief was that Nagy wasn’t nearly as to blame for the Bears’ struggles as Pace was. Though the GM built an excellent defense, his failures on the offensive side were plain as day. It started at quarterback with the ill-fated Mitch Trubisky pick. Others like Kevin White, Hroniss Grasu, Adam Shaheen, and Anthony Miller have proven to be major disappointments as well.
Nagy can only do so much with the pieces he’s given.
One person who agrees with the sentiment that Pace is the bigger problem in Chicago is Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated. He produced a ranking of the best head coaches in the NFL. Nagy didn’t exactly get top billing, losing out to the likes of Joe Judge and Matt Rhule. However, he made it pretty apparent much of that blame isn’t on Nagy himself.
“I think Matt Nagy is a gifted painter trying to Bob Ross it in Chicago with a wooden club instead of some brushes. Perhaps Andy Dalton is the answer but, understandably, there isn’t a great deal of enthusiasm going into the season. If I were ownership, I would take solace in the fact that he could get some pretty bare offensive teams to the playoffs. Will ownership actually think that way?”
There really isn’t getting around that. Orr doesn’t see Nagy as the problem. Getting this team to the playoffs twice despite lackluster offensive talent and an inadequate quarterback should be celebrated more. Why hasn’t it? Largely because people don’t agree on if the talent is actually the problem or if it’s Nagy himself. While his play designs have been inventive since arriving in 2018, his play calling and personnel management haven’t exactly stood out in a good way.
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Matt Nagy needs to deliver in 2021 and knows it
While one can blame the personnel to a significant degree, the reality is Nagy still must be held accountable. His offense has yet to rank in the top 20 during his coaching tenure in Chicago. He was hired to win football games first and foremost. This he has done to a certain extent. However, he was also hired to score points and fix what’s been broken with this franchise for way too long.
That is why all signs point to the Bears focusing on building the offense this offseason. Signing Andy Dalton was the first step. He’s not a star but should be an improvement over Trubisky and Nick Foles. They pushed hard to sign the likes of Kenny Golladay and Trent Williams. So it’s apparent they want to give this offense every opportunity to succeed. Matt Nagy deserves to have the best tools possible.
Can Pace get them though?
Thus far his efforts haven’t yielded much fruit. It feels like the NFL draft will be his best opportunity to do so. Given his track record, that isn’t promising. Maybe the recent additions of Cole Kmet and Darnell Mooney offer some hope. This draft class is rich in offensive talent. Maybe the Bears pull something off. Nagy better hope so. He certainly has a lot riding on it.
