On Friday, Bears general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy spoke to the media with the 2021 NFL Draft just weeks away. During the call, they announced that newly signed free agent quarterback Andy Dalton is the starting quarterback for the team, with the more significant news being that Nagy will return to calling plays in 2021. The move is questionable given the coach’s struggles deploying his playbook and finding consistent success for his offense.

#Bears HC Matt Nagy says he'll take back play-calling duties after OC Bill Lazor had it to end last season.

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) April 2, 2021

Nagy Has Already Shown That He Was the Issue with Calling Plays On Offense

The return to calling plays for the Bears offense has many concerned for Nagy as the offensive results seen during the past two seasons are his responsibility. In 2019, the Bears finished with the fourth worse offense in the NFL and were one of the most inefficient running teams in the league. Nagy was highly criticized for his unbalanced play-calling as the team ranked 27th in rushing attempts for the 2019 season. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky regressed as he struggled to process opposing defense and faltered with his mechanics.

Bears offense 2019/2020
YPP 20th/30th
1st downs per 16th/28th
rush att 8th/22nd
rush 1st downs 12th/28th
comp % 10th/14th
Y per pass att 14th/30th
pass 1st down 24th/23rd
pass yards per 20th/25th
rush yards per 14th/29th
PPG 10th/26th

— Chris Bleck (@chrisbleck) December 16, 2019

Following a disappointing 8-8 finish in 2019, Nagy and Pace replaced a good portion of the offensive coaching staff as they hired several coaches familiar with the team’s run-pass option style offense, including Bill Lazor and John Defilippo. The team also traded for veteran quarterback Nick Foles who had played under the Bears head coach during their time with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016. Foles had spent a significant amount of his career playing in an RPO-style offense having his best season in 2013 when he threw for 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions.

2020 Is Evidence On Why Nagy is Making A Mistake Returning as Play-Caller

With coaches and a quarterback in place that had familiarity with the offensive system, many expected the Bears to be successful on offense, but that wasn’t the case. Following two games in which Trubisky played well, and the team rushed for over 100 yards, Nagy benched his young quarterback for poor performance in week three against the Atlanta Falcons. Foles came on in the second half to pass for three touchdowns in a 30-26 comeback victory in which the team trailed by 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

Nagy benched Trubisky, citing his inability to run the play-book efficiently and for his deep-ball inaccuracy. Many believed that with Foles as the starter, the Bears head coach would finally see the success that led to him getting hired in 2018. From week 4 to week 10, the veteran quarterback struggled as he passed for seven touchdowns to seven interceptions as he would go 2-5 as the Bears starter. The Bears’ offense struggled as they would only score six touchdowns in those five-game while the running game only rushed for more than 70 yards once during that span. Foles appears lost as the offensive line failed to protect him and his receivers were unable to gain separation due to play designs.

I can't remember a more boring, conservative offense than the 2020 Chicago Bears. No energy. No fire. No risks. Just…blah

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 10, 2021

Following the week 10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings that saw the team fail to score a touchdown and Foles was hurt, Trubisky returned as the starting quarterback as Nagy turned play-calling duties over to Lazor. Despite losing their next two games, the Bears’ offense came to life as they averaged over 33 points per game under Trubisky and the new play-caller. Lazor simplified the offense for his quarterback and built the game plan to utilize his strengths, including more designed boot-leg passes. Chicago’s running game came to life also as running back David Montgomery rushed for six touchdowns and recorded three 100 yard rushing games from week 12 to 16.

Let's give credit where credit is due. Mitchell Trubisky looks WAY better with Bill Lazor calling plays than he did with Matt Nagy.

Lazor is able to play to Mitch's strengths, and Mitch has looked a lot more confident under center because of it. Kudos to the two of them.

— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) December 20, 2020

Although Lazor was still officially the play-calling during the team’s Week 17 game and the playoff game against the Saints, it was clear that Nagy was incorporating some of his plays back into the game plan. Trubisky struggled in his final two games with the Bears as the offense called fewer boot-leg passes and more RPO style reads. Chicago would only score two touchdowns in their last two games and only rushed for 48 yards on 18 rushing attempts. During the offseason, Nagy has continued to blame the offensive’s struggles on Trubisky instead of himself.

 The Glaring Issue Heading Into 2021

Dalton as the starting quarterback for the team heading into 2021, it makes no sense to take play-calling duties away from Lazor. The coordinator and quarterback worked together and had success during their brief time in Cincinnati from 2016 to 2018. Dalton was named to the Pro Bowl in 2016 while Lazor served as the Bengals’ quarterbacks coach, and the two oversaw an efficient Bengals offense in both 2017 and 2018. It is questionable why Nagy would want to reclaim play-calling duties after the success seen at the latter part of the 2020 season and the previous success between coordinator and quarterback in Cincinnati.

Andy Dalton has now played 16 games – a full season – under OC Bill Lazor. His numbers: 3,434 passing yards, 31 TD, 9 INT. Efficient and effective.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 17, 2018

During his coaching tenure with the Bears, Nagy has been given all the resources to run his offensive scheme to the fullest extent but hasn’t generated any consistent success. Two of the three quarterbacks that have started for the Bears from 2018 to 2020 played under the coach previously and had more bad games than good games starting for the Bears. Chase Daniel and Foles were acquired because they had worked with Nagy when he was the quarterback coach with the Chiefs. Despite firing coaches and Trubisky moving on, Nagy is now the sole person to blame if the Bears offense struggles again in 2021, something that will result in his firing at season’s end.