Matt Nagy sounds like a man who is struggling for answers right now. His offense was supposed to get a lot better this year going into the second season of the system. Instead the unit has plummeted to the absolute worst in the league, both running and passing. The clinic of futility they put on at Soldier Field against the New Orleans Saints defies description. It was a unit that could hardly move the ball at all until the opponent was up 36-10 and started playing prevent. Chicago ran the ball for 17 yards and Mitch Trubisky managed just 251 yards despite throwing the ball over 50 times.
Nothing is working, and it feels like Nagy is taking more and more of the blame for it. He was supposed to be the guy who would finally get things off the ground. Last season was a good start, but most of 2019 he has looked completely overmatched. This has led many to wonder if it might be better for the team if he were to hand over the play call sheet to somebody else. This would allow him to focus on coaching while whoever took over could focus on calling plays.
Some coaches aren’t adept at doing both. Nagy is an excellent leader and motivator, however he hasn’t actually called plays for very long. He did it for half a season in Kansas City before coming to Chicago. Perhaps he wasn’t as adept at it as many thought. This doesn’t mean he’s a bad coach. Only that he might be wise to hand over that power to somebody with a better feel for it.
The crazy thing is? After the Bears’ 36-25 loss, it seemed like Nagy wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea. Though he’d never admit it openly.
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Matt Nagy has two viable options if he goes this direction
Will he do this? That’s hard to say. If he does, and frankly he may have finally been convinced to try it, then there are likely two options on the table for who he can hand the reins to. The first and most obvious choice is offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. He’s next in line. However, this presents a problem since the man has never actually called plays on offense either. During his major stint in college at Oregon prior to joining the Bears, he was never the offensive play caller despite being their coordinator and then head coach.
So is that truly a solution?
The other possibility is a bit of a wild card in the former of quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone. He too has never called plays officially before, but he did get a minor audition in the preseason back in August. He took over play calling duties during the first half of that game. A stretch in which the Bears scored 12 points and featured a balanced approach. One that saw 23 passes and 18 runs.
That’s the sort of balance the offense has been missed almost all season long. Ragone may not be the answer, but it’s clear enough that he understood the basic necessities of committing to the run. Why not give him a shot? Matt Nagy will have an interesting decision to make in the coming days. He made it clear something will change. That much is certain.
