Everybody knows the Cody Parkey situation by now. He was hailed as the answer to the team’s ongoing struggles at the kicker position. It’s why the Chicago Bears handed him a lucrative contract worth $9 million guaranteed. There was some sense to it at the time. Parkey had gone 21-of-23 on field goals for Miami in 2017. He seemed to have steadied himself after some struggles the previous seasons.
However, no city can test the mettle of a kicker more than Chicago. Parkey found that out the hard way as he had easily the worst season of his career. Including his much-maligned clanger that cost the Bears a win over Philadelphia in the playoffs, he missed 11 total kicks in 2018. That is not only bad, it’s terrible.
If that weren’t bad enough though, Parkey didn’t have the common sense to stay out of the public eye afterward. He doubled down by booking an appearance with the “Today Show” so he could talk about what happened. This just days after the loss occurred. This was basically like kicking Bears fans when they were down.
Things really didn’t take off though until he uttered a quote that perfectly encapsulated why he’s never been able to stick on a team.
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“Looking up, I saw it hit the upright and it hit the crossbar, and I’m like, ‘Surely it will go in. Unfortunately it bounced toward me. I’m disappointed I let the fans, my teammates and the entire organization down, but I’ll continue to keep my head held high because football is what I do. It’s not who I am.”
“I haven’t been on social media or anything like that.” –@ChicagoBears kicker @CParkey36 pic.twitter.com/x8TIgsf1Xo
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 11, 2019
Cody Parkey had lots of nerve to utter those words on this team
What was the first message that head coach Matt Nagy delivered upon his arrival in Chicago? “Be obsessed.” That’s what he wanted out of his players. To consume almost every waking moment during the season to get better and be the absolute best they can be. Parkey was really the only member of that entire roster who never embraced it.
That became obvious when he fully admitted that he couldn’t be bothered to commute down to Chicago during the week to practice at Soldier Field. It’s obvious he is out of touch with this team’s agenda. That much was confirmed when Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune dropped an extra little bomb.
“Let’s make one thing very clear: The Bears did nothing to facilitate this national TV appearance. This was an independent look-at-me move arranged by Parkey and his representatives.”
So basically Parkey was out to repair his own self-image rather than doing what’s best for his team. This after so many others like Akiem Hicks and Mitch Trubisky comforted him despite him costing them not one but two victories this season. This guy has to go.
