Bears head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace are facing uncertain futures in Chicago, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (video link). The Bears are mired in a six-game losing streak after starting the season 5-1, and it appears a major shakeup could be on the way.
Nagy’s seat has been getting hotter as the losing streak has continued, and a report surfaced last week that the Bears are more likely than not to fire their third-year HC at season’s end. If that happens, the club is said to be very interested in Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald, though it’s unclear if Fitzgerald would want to make the jump from the college ranks to the pros.
Nagy, who served as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator for two seasons before getting the Bears’ HC gig, was named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2018, his first year at the helm. Under his watch, the Bears won the NFC North and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2010, and while the team was ousted in the wild card round — thanks to the notorious double-doink missed field goal — the arrow seemed to be pointing up.
That was especially true since Mitch Trubisky took a major step forward with Nagy, earning a Pro Bowl nod at the end of that 2018 season and posting a 95.4 QB rating. Since then, however, it’s been all downhill for both men. The Bears slipped to an 8-8 record last year, Trubisky saw his fifth-year option declined in May, and he lost his starting job to Nick Foles earlier this season. The Bears have been near the bottom of the league in total offense in each of the past two years, not a good look for an offensive-minded coach like Nagy.
Pace, meanwhile, became the Bears’ GM in 2015 and presided over three consecutive fourth-place finishes in the NFC North before the Nagy hire appeared to right the ship. Although plenty of GMs and pundits were high on Trubisky in advance of the 2017 draft, Pace’s decision to trade four draft picks to move up from the No. 3 overall selection to the No. 2 overall pick to acquire him was widely panned at the time, and the deal has not aged well. While Trubisky has failed to live up to his draft status, 2017 draftmates Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes have become premier signal-callers.
Pace has certainly had his good moments, but one playoff appearance in six seasons generally does not make a club keen to maintain the status quo. The Bears could be in the market for a new GM, a new HC, and a first-round quarterback when the calendar flips to 2021.
We all make fun of the Lions, but the Bears are just as poorly run as Detroit is.
That’s a fair statement although I could never imagine the Bears signing Adrian Peterson so he could take a crack at Walter Payton’s rushing record.
JJB0811
You hit the nail on the head. There really isn’t much difference to be honest except we lucked into a few runs over the years and the Lions haven’t
The bears ownership places no value on offensive line and thinks they can continue to fill seats with good linebackers and the occasional good receiver every few years, until the team is sold they are nothing more than 8-8
Man, I don’t really know if it’s fair to blame Nagy for Chicago’s woes. They don’t have a starting caliber QB on the roster. The offense as a whole is a little thin on talent really.
More than fair to fire Pace, and I guess with that it makes sense to let the new GM choose his own coach. Just seems like kinda a raw deal for Nagy.
Agreed. But Nagy will be back in KC. Small fall for him.
See, I disagree. I think Nagy is 100% to blame. If you look at how they used Trubisky in his first full year as QB, he was successful. He wasn’t the greatest QB and still had question marks, but they utilized his strengths and I felt tailored the offense around him. However, they did have a better offensive line that year as well. They used a lot of RPOs to keep the defense on their heels, not knowing if he was going to keep and run or hit a pass over the middle or to the outside.
The next two seasons, it’s almost as if Nagy has tried to make Trubisky something he’s not, a pocket passer. He rarely runs any RPOs or play actions and I haven’t seen many designed runs for Mitch. The O Line has been atrocious for pass blocking this year and that hasn’t given Mitch time to survey to find those open running lanes or make plays happen when it breaks down. As soon as that balls snapped, he’s on his heels.
That’s where my knock against Pace comes in. He’s built this very good defense, but continues to try and tailor to it. Start drafting and signing free agents to fix your holes on offense. We went out and signed Robert Quinn this off-season to help get the doubles off Khalil Mack and he has done absolutely nothing. Huge waste of money so far. That money could have been spent upgrading the offense. They have dealt with a ton of injuries to the OLine, which is never expected, but you need to have some depth in case that happens. Football is a brutal sport; of course there are going to be injuries.
So in short, I think Nagy is a great person, great motivator, but I think his playcalling is garbage and isn’t using Trubisky to his strengths and it feels like he’s trying to fit Mitch into his system.
I think Nagy should go and possibly Pace too, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Nagy is gone and Pace stays.
Nagy was brought in to do one thing, develop Trubisky. He’s failed miserably.
I’m no fan of Nagy’s, but as my old man gruffly used to say, you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken s–t.
Oh I agree but when you’re brought in as the guru and with the sole expectation of getting the most of a guy and you’ve intentionally played against his strengths you can’t expect to keep your job.
Nagy wanted Trubisky. And then wanted Foles. At some point, you gotta say no more.
Actually, Nagy wasn’t even with the team when Pace drafted Trurisky. Pace owns that boneheaded choice all by himself.
Trubisky is goin to New England this offseason, he will have a coach who coaches to his strengths and he will have a 5 year run of a 10-15 quarterback in the league, Nagy is an absolute moron who thinks “staying positive” changes outcome, that’s for dweebs, hope for the best plan for the worst meanwhile Matt Nagy is somewhere humming “be you” in his head all day
Ryan Pace has got to go and go now. He has screwed up every 1st round pick. Kevin White Leonard Floyd Trubustsky and Roquan Smith is solid but you expect more from a top ten pick. His trades are disastrous the guy is clueless. Whack him now and Nagy isn’t much better
Smith is one of the top linebackers, it’s been a great pick
It starts with team president, Ted Phillips, an accountant with no football background whatsoever. He has overseen three different GM/coaching tandems that have ultimately failed. Get a football guy! And Pace has bombed on 3 first round picks, the worst being missing his shot at Watson or Mahomes, did little to bolster an O-line that was lame last season and signed among others, Mike Glennon and Jimmy Graham to way over market FA contracts when no one was bidding against him. Who knows about Nagy? True, he hasn’t had a serious QB, but won his Coach of the Year award based in large part to Vic Fangio’s killer defense that year. He and Trubisky’s “good” year came on the back of the defense giving them great field position from leading the league in turnovers. They’re back at square one again.
They also need a new Team President
As a Lions fam I know two things….. 1) the Lions are a cursed franchise and I’ll be shocked if the make the playoffs over the next 20 years. 2) I don’t hope for many things with the intensity I hope the Bears keep Nagy.
You should hope for Rodgers to retire sooner rather than later more than anything else.
Pace should be fired for the trubisky pick alone
Yes, hire a new GM. Tell him you can only draft offensive and defensive linemen from Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Note Dame in his first three years. That’s where it starts
Two schools of thought…1) Nagy never got the chance to draft his guy. 2) Nagy took the job knowing that and obviously telling Pace Trubisky was good enough. I think you have to clean house and I don’t want to see a coach that comes from a team that had a GOAT like Brady was in NE and all those coaches that got head coaching jobs failed-much like anyone coming from KC right now. you take Mahomes away and their .500
I mean, KC was in the playoffs with Alex Smith before Mahomes was starting. They almost beat New England for what would have been the second time that year. I get your point, but the coaching staff and front office deserves credit for what they did. It’s not all just Mahomes being freakishly athletic.