Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy passes a huge test as head coach
Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears are 2-1 and in first place. A lot of that has to do with the leadership of first year head coach Matt Nagy.
If you didn’t already know, Matt Nagy is the anti-John Fox. Allow me to run through the scenarios. Last year, the Chicago Bears came off their bye week as favorites over the Green Bay Packers. There was hope that the team was beginning to turn a corner. However, the team came out flat and the game got away from them quickly. The Bears were never able to recover and it was the nail in Fox’s coffin.
How about some praise for this guy? Scripting plays to start the 2nd half (unheard of) to help Trubisky, keeping guys focused after a 14-0 deficit, running the ball with 24 and 29, and motivating everyone. Leader of men! That’s our coach pic.twitter.com/vq5dG6taGY
— Dustin Regan-Padilla (@dustinregpad) September 24, 2018
Let’s fast forward to Sunday’s game in Glendale, Arizona. The Bears were 6.5 point favorites on the road. Quickly, the Cardinals jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. I saw so many fans on social media naturally freak out with their overreactions and hot takes. Guess what? The Bears are now coached by Nagy, who aced his huge first huge test as a head coach.
Matt Nagy continues to stress that the offense is going to take time and admits: "It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that we’re winning games because of our defense."
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 24, 2018
Last year, if the Bears were down 14-0, they’d mail it in and the route would be on. However, Nagy and the Bears weren’t phased by doing what they needed to do to win 16-14. Nagy immediately went into action. Mitch Trubisky wasn’t playing well, so what did Nagy do?
He scripted the first eight plays of the second half to help his young signal caller. Scripting plays for a second half is absolutely unheard of, but Nagy has shown he’s willing to do what many will call unorthodox. He also showed a strong willingness to call run plays for Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard and help Trubisky with a more balanced attack. A lot of coaches would have went very pass-happy being down 14, but Nagy stayed disciplined.
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Nagy also showed a strong feel for when to go for it on 4th down and kick a field goal. Now, I will say the one at the end scared me a little, but Nagy finally decided to call a timeout and go for the field goal to give the Bears the lead.
Matt Nagy was honest about game management: "I'm growing right now with decision making. ... These are all situations for me [where] I'm learning as I go. And it's going to make me better."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) September 24, 2018
I can tell Nagy has control over this locker room, which is truly special for someone as young as he is. The moment wasn’t too big for him to lead his group of men. I can imagine he told his guys at halftime that they were winning that game. When it was time to be a cheerleader, he did that too. He was cheering on that defense just as much as we were in the fourth quarter.
Next. Chicago Bears: Fans need history lesson on Mitch Trubisky. dark
For Nagy to admit that the offense isn’t where he wants it is huge. I know he will help get Trubisky to relax and play better, because we have seen the type of man and coach that Nagy is. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bears are in first place in the NFC north and haven’t come close to playing their best football. Let’s all be excited about this team and the coach leading it.