Timing is everything. That’s the popular saying people know well. It’s always true in professional sports, especially football. When it comes to quarterback success, talent is important. However, circumstances are just as critical. If a QB lands in bad circumstances, the odds of him finding success in the NFL are long. The Chicago Bears have seen this play out too many times.
This led to an interesting question worth asking. Of the many quarterback busts this franchise has stockpiled over the years, is there any that might’ve seen a different career outcome if they’d come along right now? That is to say in this system with Matt Nagy running the show. There are lots of interesting candidates.
Rex Grossman?
Cade McNown?
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Gary Huff?
Bobby Douglass?
All of them had talent but for one reason or another likely wouldn’t have fit what Nagy liked to do. No, the name that actually might make the most sense in this scenario is Peter Tom Willis.
Willis had the skill set to fit what these Chicago Bears do
Most football fans remember Willis from his days as a commentator for the Florida State Seminoles. Before that, he was a highly successful quarterback who led the team to a 10-2 record in 1989 and a crushing Fiesta Bowl victory over Nebraska. A game in which he lobbed five touchdown passes. Willis was known for being competitive and outspoken. Somebody who wasn’t afraid to share his opinion on what worked and what didn’t.
Chicago likely sees him as little more than a blip on the radar screen. A 3rd round pick in 1990 who primarily backed up Jim Harbaugh. When he finally got chances to start, it was for two really bad teams under the outgoing Mike Ditka in 1992 and incoming Dave Wannstedt in 1993. Two coaches not known for having the best reputation when it came to developing quarterbacks.
Willis had talent. He was 6’2 and could deliver the ball with heat and accuracy. His 20 TDs in 1989 doesn’t sound like much today, but it was just two behind eventual #1 overall pick Jeff George. This sort of pass-first offense with the quick throws and shots down the field would’ve fit him perfectly. Not to mention he would’ve had way more QB-friendly coaching in Nagy.
Sadly he never had much of a chance. However, just a few years later he resurfaced in the Arena Football League. There he led his Tampa Bay Storm to a championship game in 1998. A year in which he threw 70 TDs to just 10 interceptions. Another piece of evidence that Nagy, a fellow Arena League alum, would’ve liked him.