Matt Nagy has his critics. Many of the issues they have with him are warranted. His offensive aptitude continues to be in question after another game failing to score more than two touchdowns. Is this really the guy the Chicago Bears want overseeing the development of Justin Fields moving forward? That is a question that likely won’t go away until the rookie shows signs of progress.

That said, there is one thing people can’t argue about the Bears head coach. He is a leader. The man knows how to hold the attention of a locker room and how to motivate his guys. That was on full display after a needed victory on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Chicago played a strong game, especially on defense. The energy and effort were high, a nice departure from what happened a week ago in Los Angeles. Cameras caught Nagy in the locker room after the 20-17 victory.

His speech was pretty awesome.

Say this for Matt Nagy. Nobody can ever say the man doesn’t care. His competitive fire is as high as anybody in the game. He wants to win badly. That bleeds into the rest of the locker room. It’s why guys play hard for him and why George McCaskey elected to keep him for another year. He believes Nagy has the character and leadership needed to guide this team to where it wants to go.

The real tests of that leadership are still to come though. Over the next seven weeks, the Bears will play the Browns, Raiders, Packers, Buccaneers, 49ers, and Steelers. All good teams featuring good-to-great quarterbacks. Nagy is can’t trust the defense to do the heavy lifting through a stretch like that. His offense needs to start scoring points. Otherwise, his leadership traits won’t matter to those who feel he’s holding the team back.