Chicago Bears: Is Matt Nagy the biggest issue right now?

Is Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy the biggest issue for the team right now?

The Chicago Bears have a lot of questions right now, many of which they need to answer. In a week four loss against the Indianapolis Colts, the Bears offense looked lifeless and flat, never once having an offensive possession that lasted more than five minutes.

Lost in all this was the talk about how bad the Bears played was how badly quarterback Nick Foles played. In his first start with the Bears, Foles would have 249 passing yards, one touchdown, one interception, and post a quarterback rating of 76.4.

Furthermore, many are willing to give Foles a pass because it’s “just one game” that he and the rest of the offense struggled. Many are also unwilling to blame head coach Matt Nagy, who willingly decided to switch to Foles in week three, hoping the change at the quarterback position would yield instant results.

Right now, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of Nagy or not. In just three years with the Bears, he’s sitting at 23 wins and 13 losses. Compared to what the Bears achieved under the two previous head coaches (Marc Trestman and John Fox), that’s a good record. However, it’s also inflated since 12 of those 23 wins came in 2018.

The Bears hired Nagy three years for two main reasons. First, it was to develop quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and second, to turn the Bears into an offensive powerhouse. After spending time in Kansas City under Andy Reid, Nagy knows what it’s like to build an offensive powerhouse.

Three years into his tenure with the Bears, Nagy has failed at both. He took this job knowing that he’d have to work with Trubisky. While Trubisky’s lack of development isn’t all on Nagy, bad coaching can sometimes hinder a younger player more than most think. The offense in week 4 looked like the same offense that the Bears had in 2019. Bad offensive line play, no running game, and the offense being unable to capitalize on opportunities given to them by the defense.

Compound all of the above and it’s clear that maybe Nagy doesn’t deserve the extra slack that so many are willing to cut him. Even Nagy’s playcalling has been questionable with many plays being blown up before they even have had a chance to develop.

The point is that Nagy isn’t as good as some make him out to be. Many of the issues come down to coaching and Nagy hasn’t been perfect. Something needs to change. Now should the Bears fire Nagy? Nope. However, maybe Nagy needs to step back a bit and let his assistants make decisions, while he can continue to be head coach. It could be in his best interest to do so too.