Chicago Bears: Kyle Shanahan makes Matt Nagy look worse

The Chicago Bears have unwanted quarterback drama. They signed Andy Dalton in the offseason and then drafted Justin Fields in the first round a few weeks later. Fields has looked way better and more productive during the preseason but Matt Nagy is set in his ways. He refuses to budge from having Andy Dalton as the week one starter despite that clearly being the wrong decision.

It would make it feel a little bit better if Nagy made it feel more like an open competition. He won’t even do that as he has stuck to his guns about making sure that Dalton is under center on Opening Night. It is a disaster to watch and we can only hope that Fields’ development isn’t compromised by Nagy’s stubborn ways.

On Sunday night, the San Francisco 49ers played their second preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers. San Francisco has two quarterbacks that they like as well but they are handling it so much better. Jimmy Garoppolo is a veteran who has been there for a while but has had trouble staying healthy. They, like the Bears, took a quarterback named Trey Lance in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Jimmy Garoppolo went 3 for 6 with his passes for 15 yards and one of his throws was intercepted. Lance, on the other hand, went 8 for 14 with 102 yards and two touchdowns. Lance threw an interception as well. After the game, Kyle Shanahan was pretty clear that he is not naming anyone to be the week one starter just yet.

Matt Nagy doesn’t seem like he wants to make the best decision for the Chicago Bears.

This makes Matt Nagy’s way of handling things look even worse. Shanahan is this great young coach that has had a lot of success so far in his career. In the meantime, Nagy hasn’t done much at all except watch Cody Parkey blow the season for one of the best Bears teams in franchise history. The fact that he can’t adjust his stubbornness is very bad for the Bears.

Of course, the 49ers very well might go to Jimmy Garoppolo for week one of their season. However, it is not predetermined because the coach has to be the smartest guy in the room. Whoever he deems will give his team the best chance to win will be under center. Matt Nagy is starting Andy Dalton even if he throws three interceptions in the first quarter of the final preseason game ahead of a dominant game from Fields.

Regardless of what happens for Chicago, the main hope has to be that Fields gets developed and stays healthy. He is a very important part of the future for Chicago as they finally try and get this stuff right. It would be nice to see Matt Nagy learn a thing or two from some of the better coaches across football.