Peyton Manning as Chicago Bears’ quarterback coach can fix Trubisky
By Ryan Fedrau
Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning kind of owes us Chicago Bears fans for crushing our hopes and dreams back in 2007.
The Chicago Bears traded up one spot during the 2017 NFL Draft, giving up a lot in the process to take Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky has struggled with his mechanics and keeping the success he had last year. Peyton Manning, early in his career, had some struggles with his mechanics, but his career ended in a lot better fortune. He is now considered one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.
If there’s anyone that can help Trubisky, it’s not a quarterback coach that has never touched an NFL field. It’s a guy that has been through adversity time in and time out and turned it into gold. Trubisky is in his second season with Matt Nagy. He has had a rough start this year, which is hopefully just a sophomore slump.
Peyton Manning turned a 3-13 season with 28 interceptions to a 13-3 season where he cut the interceptions in half and was selected to the pro bowl. Trubisky hasn’t turned the ball over as much as Manning did in any of his first five seasons, but he also hasn’t matched Manning’s 26 touchdowns — which ended up being his lowest those five seasons.
Trubisky is coming off of a season where he was 11-3 as a starter, throwing 24 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, and impressing the NFL and the Bears’ fan base. The problem is, he was the 2nd pick in the draft. Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson were picked after Trubisky, and they’ve both had a better start to their careers.
Why Peyton Manning? Why would he want to come to Chicago and help out a team he has no connections with? That’s a great question. He probably wouldn’t unless the situation was right. Manning could turn around Trubisky. If anyone could help him, it’s Peyton Manning. If Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy were serious about this, they’d have to call up Manning’s agent and give him a deal that he can’t refuse. A blank check with his name on it could do the trick.
It’s also a huge risk. Wayne Gretzky, for example, was the best hockey player in NHL history and regarded as maybe the best athlete in sports history, but he couldn’t coach successfully to save his life. Manning would have one job though. He would strictly be working with Trubisky; teaching him how to watch game film, working on his mechanics, giving him pointers, and working on his accuracy.
Trubisky has been overlooked by the media and pushed into immense pressure that he shouldn’t have. Everyone will be tough on him in Chicago because it’s a nasty, rough media. After Jay Cutler, everyone is looking for a better situation at quarterback. The media killed Cutler. He just was a guy that didn’t care what people thought, just like Manning, Tom Brady and others. Stop me here. Cutler is not even close to those guys’ levels. It’s just an example.
Peyton Manning could help Trubisky ignore the doubters, make him a smarter, more successful quarterback, and really make him “Money Mitch.” This also is a huge step in the head coaching direction if Manning wants to end up as a coach someday in this league.
Trust me, this sounds crazy, and I’m just thinking out loud. But, with this defense being so great, isn’t it worth the risk? I believe this could turn Trubisky around just working with him for simply one season.
Get Manning on board as soon as possible, have them work together during the offseason, watch Manning help Trubisky grow, and watch Nagy and Pace look like geniuses for getting Manning to fix the mental errors Trubisky has.
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Trubisky has one more year left on his rookie contract before the team’s potential option. The Bears will probably let that ride out and figure out a different route if Trubisky keeps regressing. Is this just a sophomore slump? Can someone fix his errors? Get Peyton Manning on the phone, now.