Here’s an undeniable reality. If you don’t win in the NFL, things are unlikely to stay the same. The Chicago Bears will finish either 7-9 or 8-8 following their season finale clash with the Vikings in Minnesota on Sunday. While hardly the worst outcome a season could bring, almost everybody agrees it’s been a major disappointment. This team came into 2019 with Super Bowl aspirations. To not even make the playoffs is a massive setback. In the search for scapegoats, most people don’t have to look further than Mark Helfrich.
The Bears offense currently ranks 30th in score and 29th in total yards. If that holds it will be one of the worst finishes the team has in its history. It will also mark the sixth time since the dawn of the new millennium that the Bears have finished 27th or worse in points scored. Helfrich being the offensive coordinator puts him directly in the crossfire of criticism for obvious reasons. Yes, he isn’t the one who calls the plays, but his job is to have the unit prepared each week and it’s plain as day they haven’t been.
Helfrich stood before the Chicago media on Thursday and was asked if he was concerned about this reality. While unwilling to admit defeat, the coach expressed a clear understanding that the possibility is there.
Mark Helfrich will entrust his fate to Matt Nagy
In the end, the one who will decide all of this is Matt Nagy. He has final say over whether changes are made to his staff. Unless of course ownership decides to step in but that is unlikely with the McCaskeys in charge. Nagy is a former Coach of the Year. He’s earned enough credibility to make that decision. What’s impossible to know is what he’s thinking. The head coach has remained focused on finishing the regular season on a high note. He won’t address something like staff changes until that is over.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
All people can go by is who Nagy is as a person. Thus far he’s proven himself personable and loyal to those around him, players and coaches alike. He views his team as a family and family doesn’t turn on each other. That being said, Nagy is also a competitor who hates to lose. Then there is the obvious reality that his job will be on the line in 2020. If the offense doesn’t improve, the odds of getting back to the playoffs in a stacked NFC are remoted at best.
So Helfrich is right to feel that way. He has a job to do and is focused on that, but he understands his time could be short.
