The Bears were not planning to fire Matt Nagy after their Thanksgiving game, but it’s for sure to people with eyes that he is very much done in Chicago after this season.
Bears fans were heavily pushing for a coaching change last year, and the team has been tough to watch for the majority of the season, including that ugly win over the Lions on Thanksgiving.
There were internal discussions within the organization dating back to at least a year, and they were aware of the expectations for improvement this season.
Even though they beat the Lions to snap their five-game losing streak, their next three opponents they face are the Cardinals, Packers, and Vikings, who are all a combined 22-10.
General manager Ryan Pace’s job is also in the hot seat too, after repeated QB acquisitions who failed and with Fields’ rookie season on a tough start and with him injured.
Pace hired Nagy to implement his big-play, high-scoring offense he learned under Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and to develop a young QB in Mitch Trubisky. Most importantly, he was hired to get the Bears off of the backbreaking John Fox era.
Nothing went to plan. While Nagy looked like the plan was going to work at first, skyrocketing to coaching stardom in his first year, with the Bears going 12-4, winning the NFC North, having been awarded Coach of the Year, he has since gone 20-23.
The offenses are continuing to struggle—they ranked 29th and 22nd in the NFL in the last two seasons in points and are currently ranking somewhere near the bottom.
The Bears ranked 29th and 26th in the last two seasons in total yards and currently rank somewhere towards the bottom this season. They averaged 4.7 yards per play in 2019, 5.1 last season, and currently are averaging 4.9.
It was so bad that he had to remove himself from being the primary play caller. TWICE.
Under his coaching, the Bears have went on a four-game losing streak in 2019 and a six-game skid last season despite starting 2020 5-1. They just snapped a five-game losing skid by barely beating the Lions 16-14 on Thanksgiving.
Trubisky, who Nagy was tasked with developing, could not develop into a franchise quarterback and is now Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo. Nagy was also hired to win games and to make the offense explosive. He failed in all facets.
He was given a second chance to develop another franchise QB in Justin Fields. In the first 10 games he played in, Nagy gave no indication he is the right coach for Fields.
Now Bears fans are chanting “Fire Nagy!” at Soldier Field, and the chant has even extended to Bulls games, Blackhawks games, a wrestling event, and even his son’s high school football game. It’s THAT bad.
The rise and fall of Nagy has had pivotal moments, and we need to look back at them.
2018
The Beginning: Learning from Failure
Nagy was previously the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator and was brought in just three days after the Chiefs blew a 21-3 halftime lead and lost 22-21 to the Titans in the Wild Card Round in Alex Smith’s last game as a Chief.
Many were blaming Nagy on his conservative play-calling in the 2nd half, but the main worry was on if he can grow from this epic failure. He famously responded, “For me, that was a failure, but I’ll learn from it.”
He was brought in to develop Trubisky when the Bears traded up to draft him 2nd overall in the 2017 Draft. Many were wondering on what he thought of the UNC product considering the Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in that same draft. He would soon find that what he said was not really all that true.
at GB: The First Game
The Nagy era began at Lambeau Field on Sunday Night Football. Everything looked like it was going off to a great start—Khalil Mack made his dominant debut and Aaron Rodgers seemingly was knocked out of the game. Trubisky was calm and confident in the pocket. The Bears held a 20-0 lead.
But then Rodgers made his return and led a comeback on the way to a 24-23 Packers win. It was a heartbreaker, but, at that time, it seemed as if the Bears were headed in the right direction after the miserable John Fox era.
Little did they know this was a precursor of the issues yet to come. The offense struggled to score points in the 2nd half. Trubisky could not get through progressions and missed open receivers. If he saw Trey Burton wide open in the end zone late in the game, the Bears win.
vs. TB: Blowing Out the Bucs
This was the best offensive game in the Matt Nagy era as the Bears pounded the Buccaneers 48-10 at Soldier Field. Those 48 points were the most scored by the Nagy-led Bears, all from the offense or from Cody Parkey’s kicking.
Trubisky had his best game as a bear, completing 19 of 26 passes for 354 yards and SIX touchdowns. It looked like the Bears have their franchise QB and as if they finally have their offensive guru.
vs. LAR: Neutralizing the Rams
The Bears’ defense shut down the high-powered Rams offensive attack in a 15-6 win on national television. This was a statement win from the top-ranked defense, but also a sign the offense struggled to score.
Trubisky was back after missing two games with an injury, but struggled badly, completing 16 of 30 passes for 110 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. The Rams’ defense was good in their own right, but they disguised coverages in a way that confused Trubisky.
That was a warning sign that Trubisky could not read defenses and work through progressions. But the Bears ignored this because they won and would win nine of their last 10 regular season games.
vs. GB: Clinching the Division
The Bears won NFC North with a 24-17 win over the Packers at Soldier Field at the end of the season, their first since 2010, and ending a seven-year playoff drought.
vs. PHI: The Double Doink
They even got to host their first playoff game since the Jay Cutler-led Bears lost the 2010 NFC Championship Game to the Packers. This time, with Trubisky under center, they were set to face the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, led by Nick Foles.
The Bears’ defense played well, holding the Eagles to just 16 points, 277 passing yards, and just a tad over 40 yards rushing. But the Bears’ offense struggled to get points going.
Trubisky did not play well in the 1st half. He turned things around in the 2nd half, leading a touchdown drive to put the Bears up 15-10. Foles answered with a touchdown drive of his own to give the Eagles a one-point lead. Trubisky would set the Bears up for the potential game-winning 43-yard field goal.
Parkey struggled with accuracy all season and uprights in general, even hitting the upright four times in one game during the season. His kick was partially blocked, hit the left upright, and bounced off the crossbar for the infamous “double doink.” Nagy’s reaction was priceless.
2019
The Kicker Auditions
The Bears spent the 2019 offseason trying to find a replacement for Parkey. The Bears brought in what seemed like every possible free agent kicker available.
They came into training camp with three kickers competing for the spot, but what was weird was how Nagy handled the competition when he kept asking his kickers to make that same 43-yard field goal Parkey missed.
There is motivation, but then there is obsession. It felt as if Nagy was emotionally wounded from this miss and wanted to ensure no kicker under his watch would miss another 43-yard field goal. It also seemed kicker was the only problem with the Bears.
vs. GB: 100th Season-Opener Against Green Bay
The hope for the Bears was that they would be Super Bowl contenders in the NFL’s 100th season. Trubisky was supposed to take the next step in being a franchise starter the Bears haven’t had since 1950.
The season opened at Soldier Field with the Packers visiting. All the excitement about the Super Bowl faded away after a 10-3 loss. The offense looked putrid and Trubisky was even worse. He struggled mightily with the Packers’ zone defense. All his weaknesses were on display, including his footwork, in front of national television.
The First Big Losing Streak
The Bears went to London to face the Raiders. Trubisky was out with an injury and the Raiders went up 17-0. Chase Daniel tried to rally the Bears with 21 unanswered 3rd quarter points. It felt as if the Bears would escape with the W, but the defense gave up a late Raiders touchdown and took the L going back to the States. All-Pro lineman Kyle Long was essentially exiled from the team.
The next game was yet another L to the Saints. This was not a Saints team led by Drew Brees, but one led by Teddy Bridgewater. They picked apart the Bears’ defense. Two late Bears touchdowns made the outcome 33-25, but make no mistake, the Saints blew out the Bears. Nagy even abandoned the ground game after seven attempts. He claimed he was not an idiot for it, but he called for 24 passes and just five runs in the 2nd half.
The Bears struggled yet again against the Chargers. Trubisky led a last-minute drive to put the Bears in field goal range. Instead of pushing for yardage, Nagy elected to have Trubisky take a knee and have Eddy Piñeiro kick a potential game-winning 41-yard field goal. Piñeiro missed the kick, and Nagy made a bizarre explanation for not running one more play for an easier field goal:
I have zero thought of running the ball and taking the chance of fumbling the football. They know you’re running the football, so you lose three, four yards, so that wasn’t even in our process as coaches to think about that. We were in field goal range before the [11-yard Mitch Trubisky] scramble, and then we got the scramble, so that didn’t even cross my mind. Throw the football right then and there, what happens if you take a sack or there’s a fumble?
The Bears went on to lose to the Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field the following week. Thankfully for them, they faced the Lions in the next game to end their four-game losing streak.
vs. KC: Patrick Mahomes’ Revenge
The Chiefs visited Soldier Field and wrecked the Bears 26-3 in a game where Harrison Butker had his own double doink. Patrick Mahomes threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns, even doing a finger count up to 10 after one of the touchdown passes to mark how many picks he waited to get drafted. He outperformed Trubisky, the QB the Bears chose over Mahomes.
With the loss, it ended all hopes of the Bears making the playoffs, as they finished the season with a disappointing 8-8 record.
2020
Rolling with Foles
The Bears decided to haul in Nick Foles to compete with Trubisky for the starting quarterback job. Because the COVID pandemic limited how training camp was done, effectively erasing the preseason, Trubisky essentially won the starting job.
Trubisky led the Bears from down 17 points to win over the Lions in the season opener. He looked pedestrian against the Giants. But it was until Week 3 against the Falcons when he looked really bad. Nagy had enough and benches him for Foles. Foles led a comeback win of his own, this one from down 16, to win.
Six-Game Losing Streak
But then came the six-game losing streak. It started in Los Angeles as the Rams dominated the Bears, 24-10.
The Bears came back to tie the Saints to force overtime but lost 26-23. And for the record, this was the game in which Javon Wims punched CJ Gardner-Johnson, where Wims alleged that Gardner-Johnson spat on him prior to the punches, but Gardner-Johnson denied it.
Next, the Bears tried to make a late rally against the Titans, but lost 24-17.
Kirk Cousins, notoriously known for being winless on Monday Night Football before this point in time and playing bad on Monday Night games, looked bright as the Vikings won 19-13. Even worse for the Bears, Foles was knocked out of the game.
The Bears had their bye week, and even though Nagy gave up the play calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, that didn’t matter since the Packers blew out the Bears 41-25 with Trubisky back in at QB.
The week after, they had their second of two matches against the Lions, but this time, it was the Bears’ turn to blow a lead, this one being a 10-point lead, to where the Bears lost 34-30.
The Bears’ offense scored a total of 11 touchdowns during the losing streak. The O-line was abysmal. It didn’t help that they were injured or Nagy called lots of passing plays.
Another Playoff Loss
The Bears won three of their last four games to drunkenly stumble their way to the newly-expanded playoffs as the 7th seed where they would face the Saints.
Trubisky threw one of the best deep balls of his career to Wims, who let the ball go through his hands, and from that play, the Bears went super conservative on offense. They went on to lose, 21-9, as Brees won his final playoff game of his career.
This game was simulcast on Nickelodeon and was notable for the birth of a legendary meme: ALL HAIL THE NVP MITCH TRUBISKY!
2021
A++ Collaboration
Chairman George McCaskey and team President and CEO Ted Phillips announced that Pace and Nagy would not be fired. McCaskey praised both for “overcoming” a six-game losing streak to make the playoffs.
They are both, like Ted, outstanding leaders. I’ve been most impressed with how well they collaborate. I was impressed with both of them this past season, especially during the six-game losing streak.
Yeah no. That six-game losing streak and their four-game losing streak in 2019, along with Nagy’s conservative play calling, is more than enough evidence that points to the contrary.
Have we gotten the quarterback situation completely right? No. Have we won enough games? No. But everything else is there.
That “everything else” is somehow keeping Pace and Nagy even after that six-game losing streak and stumbling their way to the playoffs. If that’s not a sign of the front office pretending that everything is fine when the reality is it’s not, I don’t know what it is.
Andy Dalton is QB1
The Bears decided to let Trubisky walk in free agency. Pace tried everything to trade for Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson only to be turned down every time. There was also some talk of trading for Carson Wentz, but the Colts acquired him via trade.
Not wanting to go for Nick Foles after his 2-5 record as a starter in 2020, the Bears gave a one-year, $10 million contract to Andy Dalton to be the starter.
Omegalul.
On draft day, Justin Fields fell from being a possible top 3 pick to being the 11th pick in the Draft. Pace chose to trade up to draft him.
Nagy doubled down on Dalton being QB1 and Fields would sit and learn much like what Mahomes did when Nagy was tutoring him in 2017.
The problem was that Alex Smith was still a starting-caliber QB in 2017. Dalton struggled in the 2020 season as the backup to Dak Prescott when the star QB suffered a compound fracture and dislocation to his right ankle.
Fields flashed his potential in the preseason, but Nagy refused to have an open competition for the starting job. He wanted Dalton to start and run his offense because Nagy took back the play calling duties. His plan was to bring Fields slowly and have him come into games for a few snaps to take advantage of his playmaking ability.
Fields became the starter, but was not getting enough reps with the starters in training camp, which put his development a bit behind where he should be.
Nagy even wanted to go back to Dalton as the starter when he was fully healed. But McCaskey reportedly ordered Nagy to start Fields for the rest of the season. However, Nagy denied the report.
It looked like there were two different playbooks for when Dalton plays—screens and extra blocking, and others to his strengths—and when Fields plays—not many calls to his strengths. From here, one can say that Nagy was hindering Fields’ development.
Everything Comes Crashing Down
Fields made his first start against the Browns and it was brutal. Nagy asked his QB to throw into tight windows with five-man protection against two of the best edge rushers in the league in Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. No extra blockers, no chipping those two—just five linemen to protect him.
The result was as bad as you expect. Fields was sacked NINE times, with Garrett and Clowney combining for 6.5 of them. Fields completed just SIX of 20 passes for 68 yards in a 26-6 blowout.
There was even concern for Fields’ safety under Nagy’s coaching. It felt as if Nagy was the one giving Fields the “welcome to the NFL” moment and not the Browns defense. After the loss, Nagy handed the play calling back to Lazor and Fields egan playing better. But he made it clear that he had the final say on all play calls.
Everything began to bottom out as they went on a five-game losing streak with the last of the losses being in the most excruciating way possible. They lost at Soldier Field to the Lamar Jackson-less Ravens, 16-13.
It was bad not only because Fields was knocked out of the game with a rib injury. Nagy coached his worst game as the Bears head coach.
He wasted a timeout to make a simple choice on whether to go for two after Dalton found a wide-open Marquise Goodwin for the go-ahead touchdown. He chewed out the person charged with making sure the headsets work after his went out. There even were questionable play calling decisions that looked like his fingerprints were all over them.
It was this loss where the “Fire Nagy!” chants began, even extending to Bulls games, Blackhawks games, and his son’s high school football game.
And there is reason to believe that Nagy should be fired before the end of the season.
Reasons to Fire Matt Nagy
1: For Justin Fields’ Sake
What’s most important for the Bears is the development of Fields, and Nagy is not that guy that can develop him.
Nagy has even been detrimental to Fields’ development, whether it be refusing to give him the best chances to win the starting job or the dangerous game plan against the Browns or his insistence on making Dalton the starter, even after Fields started while Dalton was injured.
At this point, you should not have Nagy anywhere around Fields, where there are still six games for him to develop in his rookie year before a new coaching staff can come in.
2: A Head Start on a New Coaching Staff
The Bears have never fired a head coach midseason before, and usually there is no added benefit of doing this given that coaching searches can’t begin until after the season.
But a new NFL rule has been in place as teams can now begin interviewing head coaching candidates during the last two weeks of the regular season, assuming that the head coach that started the season is no longer employed by the team.
While the Bears haven’t fired a coach during the season, and that included Marc Trestman, there is added incentive to changing that.
3: Fans (and Players) Have Seen Enough from Nagy
We saw all that we needed to see from him, whether it be his ability, or lack thereof, as a head coach or as an offensive pay caller.
There’s nothing he can do here that will save his job for the 2022 season. While ownership held on to how the Bears “bounced back” from the six-game losing streak to make the playoffs, this five-game losing streak this year is equally as brutal.
They even demanded progress from the previous season, and there has not been any this year. It, in fact, has gotten worse, and that is even with the upgrade at QB.
4: Things Have Gotten Ugly
It was ugly all around at Halas Hall for the Bears, having lost five straight despite winning their Thanksgiving Day match against the Lions, which practically solves nothing.
They were the talk of football all because of this reason alone: Nagy’s immediate future.
Rumors of players wanting Nagy gone and that Nagy would be fired after the Thanksgiving Day match were a distraction, but they managed a last-second victory over a Cairo Santos field goal.
But things have gotten ugly on the side of the fanbase.
“Fire Nagy” chants were heard everywhere from Soldier Field to United Center to even Nagy’s son’s high school football game. Fans are making their feelings clear, and it’s not going to stop until Nagy is gone.
Players Wanting Nagy Gone
During the postgame press conference when the Bears lost to the Ravens, Nagy looked lost. Again. It’s like a never-ending cycle.
And now he is losing the locker room. Insider Jordan Schultz said that one source reported that Nagy “lost some of the locker room last season, but now it’s gone.”
This report is not shocking. It looked like he lost the locker room long ago. Several times, players looked disinterested and looked as if they gave up on Nagy.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson sounded off on Nagy in the press conference, and that is an indication on how he feels about his coach.
How many games have we lost in a row? There’s nothing to talk about. We aren’t going to beat a dead horse. We are all men. Coming in here and saying ‘we have to figure out a way,’ to me is BS.
We have to find ways to win, we just have to get it done. Whatever it is. Like I said, whatever it is but there’s nothing to keep coming in here and talking about, and having all these rah-rah speeches. We’ve had five weeks of rah-rah speeches. I don’t think that talking is anything we need to be doing.
It’s an indication that players are tired of the same old bulljive every week. Nagy has no idea what he is doing, nor does he know how to rally his troops.
Who Will Replace Nagy?
The talk on replacing Nagy has been around. CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora suggested that the Bears go after some high-profile offensive coaches to replace Nagy. Among those names are Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
That’s not surprising considering Leftwich, McDaniels, and Daboll are high-profile coaching candidates heading into the offseason.
The Bears might not look like a prime destination considering ownership and the team’s struggles, Fields is a big reason why a candidate would consider coaching in Chicago.
Another question about the head coaching situation is also about the status of Pace, whose future is more up-in-the-air than Nagy. Should Pace go too, the Bears are likely going to hire a new GM before their head coach.
Should they make a move, they should consider hiring either one of Leftwich, McDaniels, or Daboll, among others.
It is also well-known throughout the industry how they were tied to Northwestern University head coach Pat Fitzgerald, whom numerous teams have pursued in recent years. However, Fitzgerald, who recently signed an extension to stay at Northwestern, would not be interested in a jump to the Bears.
But as of now, expect the “Fire Nagy!” chants to continue on. If the Bears were to make intelligent football decisions, they would let both him and Pace go and hire multiple people to fix the organization.
Keep an eye on this situation, because with the new NFL rules, they could begin interviewing coaches as soon as Week 17.
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