Chicago Bears: John Fox suddenly sees light in Mitchell Trubisky

After repeatedly saying Mike Glennon is the Chicago Bears quarterback, suddenly John Fox decided to Mitchell Trubisky in Week 5. What made him see the light?

The one thing Chicago Bears fans were sure of at the end of the season was that the Jay Cutler era was over. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out. What they didn’t know was who would take over. Then, the Bears went out and signed MIke Glennon to a three-year, $45 million contract. What? Glennon?

We should have known something was up if we looked at the contract more in-depth. First of all, the Bears could drop Glennon after this season. His guaranteed money is $18.5 million, but they’re paying him $16 million this season. They need to pay him another $16 million if he plays in Year 2. Instead, if they cut him, they pay him $2.5 million and save $11.5 million in salary space.

Also, general manager Ryan Pace turned around and traded valuable draft picks to move up one spot to pick a quarterback in the first round with the second overall pick. Seeing this, how many fans really think Pace thought Glennon was his guy?

Yeah, me neither.

Knowing this, the fact the Bears went after a quarterback shouldn’t have been surprising. Giving up the draft picks still hurts, but Pace felt Mitchell Trubisky was his guy. Even though Trubisky was the future, the Bears wanted him to sit awhile so he learned before taking over. As you could see from Glennon’s contract, all he needed to do was make it through the season. That didn’t happen.

Glennon’s first throw as a Bear was a pick-six in the preseason. It pretty much went downhill from there. Trubisky, on the other hand, kept impressing. He looked good moving around, running for some yards and throwing accurate passes.

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Through it all, head coach John Fox reiterated the company line that Glennon was the guy. The rookie needed to sit. Glennon kept throwing interceptions (eight in his last three games) and the calls for Trubisky grew louder and louder.

As the offense struggled, Fox continued to defend Glennon. After the debacle in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reporters asked Fox if he thought about putting in Trubisky, and he said this via CBS Sports:

"“No. I don’t think anybody … without even seeing the tape yet that you can pin that on the quarterback. Like I said earlier, everybody had their hand in that.”"

The Bears won in Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the offense was mainly the running game. Even so, Glennon’s interception thrown in the fourth quarter could have cost the game.

The Bears faced the hated Green Bay Packers in Week 5 and, as is the case in nearly all games against Aaron Rodgers, the Packer blew the Bears out. Once again, Glennon struggled, throwing two interceptions and losing two fumbles. On the day after the Packers game, reporters again asked Fox about Trubisky. Again he seemed to edge towards Glennon, per ABC7 Chicago:

"“Again, Mitch is a young player, four regular-season games into his rookie season in his NFL career. Like I said, we have a big gap here [between Trubisky’s experience and Glennon’s].”"

That had Bears fans frustrated and upset. They saw enough of Glennon to not want to see any more of him.

Then, suddenly, things changed over the weekend. Fox somehow saw the light and decided that whatever experience Trubisky still needed, he got. Only three days after talking about the “gap” between the two quarterbacks, he replaced Glennon with Trubisky. The head coach said this via the Chicago Sun-Times:

"“It’s definitely going to be a challenge. Minnesota at least in my tenure has been very salty on defense,. But I think he’s ready. He’s worked hard. He’s grown quite a bit. I think the four games he’s sat and prepared . . . you see him in practice, how he operates — his confidence level. I think he adds a dimension [of mobility]. We’re excited to see how he does.”"

Perhaps Fox feels the pressure of the hot seat he’s on. Not many people see him as coach of the Chicago Bears past this season. Putting in Trubisky adds some excitement and, if he does well, Fox may feel Pace asks him back. Of course, “doing well” doesn’t necessarily mean winning games. If Trubisky shows a good handling of the offense it shows the team moving in the right direction. If it’s Fox that’s helping him, he may survive.

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Conversely, Pace’s hands could be all over this and Fox is out either way. Isn’t cheering for the Bears exciting?

However it happened and for whatever reason, Mitchell Trubisky is the Bears’ new starter. He has his chance to lead the offense and hopefully ushers in a new era. We’ll look back at this week as the point when the Bears turned things around, or when the end of the Ryan Pace/John Fox era began. Everyone hopes it’s the former and not the latter.