Jim Trotter has a special connection with players around the NFL. Not a huge surprise given he used to play the game himself. That is why his posts tend to have an interesting viewpoint on them. His most recent for NFL.com was unique. He talked to several star players around the league and asked them a simple question. What are the three most valuable traits to be a head coach? After seeing their answers, it’s clear the Chicago Bears might’ve done well by getting Matt Nagy.
Not every answer was the same, of course. Each player had certain aspects they favored more than others. Travis Kelce valued a coach with great scheme prowess. Richard Sherman listed the ability to organize a quality coaching staff. Yet when overviewing all the answers, it quickly becomes clear that the same buzzwords kept popping up.
“Honesty”
“Leadership”
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“An ability to listen”
Four different players mentioned honesty. Three mentioned leadership. Two including Larry Fitzgerald brought up an ability to listen. People always talk about Nagy in a negative light. Most of this having to do with his frustrating offensive scheme last season. Yet when considering the traits mentioned above? He has elements of all three.
Matt Nagy is a good head coach where it matters to players
Honesty
Nagy: “I think as you go through these situations, it’s very important to listen, it’s very important to be honest, open.”
One of the vital keys that Nagy has stressed from the outset upon arrival in Chicago was not having agendas. If he wanted to gain the trust of his players, he could not sugarcoat things. He had to talk to them straight, even in matters that might be painful. A perfect example was his handling of the tensions following the George Floyd killing. He easily could’ve tried to steer matters away from that. Instead he opened the floor to the team in a Zoom meeting and let everybody speak their mind. Free of consequence. Players were equal parts shocked and touched by his handling of the situation.
Leadership
Ben Braunecker: “He’s a good example of a natural-born leader. I think maybe a fault in coaching is to come up with a catchphrase that you really like and then repeat it over and over again and beat it to death.
With Nagy, he comes up with something usually different every week that’s relevant, and he’ll set the tone at the beginning of the week with it.”
Nagy has his faults from a schematic standpoint. Yet nobody can say the man isn’t a leader. He turned around a team that went 5-11 in 2017 to 12-4 in his first year. He had them believing right away. Then last season he pulled off something that most previous Bears head coaches couldn’t have done. They had lost five of their previous six games, capped by an ugly 17-7 lost in L.A. At 4-6 the team appeared dead in the water. It would’ve been so easy to just coast to the finish. Instead, Nagy circled the wagons and got them to reel off four wins in the final six games. People don’t understand how hard that is to accomplish.
Ability to listen
Bill Lazor: “I’VE BEEN IN GOOD STAFF ROOMS AND I’VE BEEN IN STAFF ROOMS THAT WEREN’T A LOT OF FUN. TO ME, THIS WAS A REALLY GOOD STAFF ROOM THIS SPRING — AS LONG AS WE WERE ABLE TO STAY IN IT BEFORE THE OFFICES GOT SHUT (BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS). WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LEADER THAT’S OPEN TO EVALUATING AND WHO WANTS TO GET BETTER.”
Now we come to the primary issue. Yes, Nagy’s system hasn’t produced as hoped. He has freely admitted that himself. Something has to change. The fact he acknowledges this is something a lot of coaches wouldn’t accept. Yet assistants have said all offseason that the man is wide open to suggestions on how things can be improved. Whatever it takes as long as the necessary results are achieved. It doesn’t matter how the Bears win to Nagy. All that matters is that they win.
