Mitch Trubisky doesn’t come across as a vindictive kid. Far from it. He was raised in a homely, midwest family. By all accounts, he’s a good person and a leader. Criticizing his head coach openly to the media isn’t something he’d do. At least not consciously. Last year he inadvertently indicated former head coach John Fox was holding the leash on the offense tight. He as a quarterback was doing what Fox “allowed” them to do.
It was such an innocent but loaded phrase. It was clear Trubisky was chaffing over being shackled, unable to cut it loose as he’d been allowed to do at North Carolina. That Fox was doing it to him is no surprise. The old coach has a deep defensive background and conservative mindset. Aggressiveness leads to turnovers. So Trubisky did as his coach asked.
The Bears finished 32nd in passing and went 5-11. Safe to say that plan didn’t work. It’s why Fox was fired and Matt Nagy became his replacements. For the first time this year, Trubisky got a chance to stand at the podium and discuss his new coach and the new offense. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t avoid taking another dig at Fox.
Mitch Trubisky hints coaching he got last year was inadequate
Here’s the thing. Playing quarterback in the NFL is hard. The attention to detail that is required would tax a quantum physicist. In order to play it right, one needs a coaching staff who understands this and puts in the time required to help the QB master it. Trubisky, through complimenting his new staff, seemed to shed a poor light on the previous one.
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“I feel like these last three days, I’ve been coached more than I ever have because I have coach Helfrich, coach Ragone who was here last year with me, coach Nagy and then I come off when it’s not my reps and I talk to Tyler (Bray), I talk to Chase (Daniel). Just having a bunch of brilliant offensive minds around me, I’m just getting a lot of information, I’m trying to be a sponge, and it’s been a lot of fun working with those guys and learning as much as I can these last three days.”
More than anything else his big criticism, intended or not, was how unprepared Fox and his staff were. From the very start, it’s clear Nagy knew what he wanted to do. He surrounded Trubisky with quarterback specialists not just on the coaching staff but in the QB room as well. He wanted as many voices in Trubisky’s ear as possible to accelerate his growth.
Fox? He wanted to sit Trubisky at first in favor of Mike Glennon. Then when he had no choice, he put the rookie in and almost immediately handcuffed him. He was hindering more than helping. Trubisky, while sympathetic to his former coach, could never thrive like that. One can understand his enthusiasm for all the changes.