Nick Foles could thrive with competition, coaching familiarity with Bears

The Chicago Bears have given Nick Foles a chance to be their starting quarterback and, should that happen, the pieces are in place for him to excel.

It’s no secret that the Mitch Trubisky era in Chicago has been a roller coaster ride, to be kind. With the trade for Nick Foles becoming official as of Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago Bears suddenly find themselves with an intriguing quarterback situation. Given the 100-year history of the franchise at the quarterback position, this is cause for fans to be excited.

When it comes to quarterbacks in the NFL, sometimes having the team bring in somebody to nip at the starter’s heels can get them to play to their full potential, motivated by the mere assumption that someone can come in from the outside and take their job. Foles is no ordinary joe off the street, however.

When it comes to roller coaster careers, it’s tough to find someone with the heights of the highs and depths of the lows that Foles has had. It’s also not much of a discussion that his best time as a quarterback came during his two stints with the Philadelphia Eagles. The highest of highs coming when he was Carson Wentz’s backup, which got him a Super Bowl MVP. This is perfect for the Bears.

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It’s far from a guarantee that Foles will be automatically penciled in as the starter, especially coming off of an injury and a lackluster showing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact, it’s very likely that he’ll start the season as the backup to Trubisky. The competition should bring out the best in both, especially Foles, given he thrives in the probable-backup spot.

Should anything happen to Trubisky, whether it be benching or injury, Foles can step in and perform with this coaching staff. Which brings us to this.

While Foles was very good and, at times, spectacular under Chip Kelly, his 2017 playoff run — arguably the greatest ever — was under Doug Pederson. Pederson is a disciple of Andy Reid, who actually drafted Foles in 2012, and coached him during his rookie season.

Matt Nagy is also a branch of the Reid coaching tree and a very solid one at that. He’ll be able to use his creativity to build an offense around Foles, perhaps RPO-based, that also utilizes the Bears strong rushing attack. The running game was a key for Foles in Philly, and it can be in Chicago, with a better play designer and a better defense to support him.

Nagy isn’t the only coach Foles is familiar with either. This season, the Bears will feature a new offensive coordinator in Bill Lazor. Lazor served as the Eagles quarterbacks coach in 2013. This was the season under Kelly when Foles passed for 27 touchdowns and two interceptions, including a seven-touchdown game.

The Bears also hired John DeFilippo to be their quarterbacks coach entering the new decade. DeFilippo was Foles’ quarterbacks coach in 2017 when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. He even served as the Jaguars offensive coordinator last season. Let’s hope the results or more Philly than Jacksonville.

Given Foles’ career thus far, and the team still supporting Trubisky, it’s far from a sure bet that he can be the savior at quarterback the Bears have been waiting for since pretty much Sid Luckman. However the formula does seem to be there for Foles to thrive in the Windy City should he be called upon to perform.