Chicago Bears: Grades for each unit as they enter the bye week

Chicago Bears Coaching

As the season started, Nagy was already on the hot seat. Many people expected the Chicago Bears to fire him after last season but he got another chance.

Now it seems that his days are numbered. He completely mishandled the quarterback situation. He insisted on having Fields sit for the season, not giving him any work with the starters during training camp.

Finally, after a Dalton injury forced Nagy’s hand, Fields became the starter. It was apparent that he should stay there and, after causing an uproar when he said Dalton would return, Nagy decided against that. Fields became the permanent QB1.

Even if Dalton was Nagy’s number one guy, he didn’t have to be so adamant about it or give FIelds minimal work. He could have had Fields work with the starters and at the end of the preseason announce Dalton as the starter. He didn’t do that, and it hurt the offense.

Fields became the starter without having chemistry with any of the other starters. They all had to learn about each other on the fly. Actually, the only starter who did well with FIelds from the start was Darnell Mooney. That only happened because he worked with Fields after practices. Once Fields became the starter, he and Mooney had a connection.

That was just one part of coaching in which Nagy failed. He came to Chicago with the reputation of being an offensive guru. However, in his time as head coach in Chicago, his offense continually ranks at or near the bottom of most categories.

In addition, Nagy’s team consistently looks unprepared and undisciplined. There are too many times when the offense comes out after a timeout and ends up with a penalty called. There are also times when they need to call timeouts because the play took too long to be called and then the play clock was running down.

Nagy has trouble adjusting his game plan mid-game. It seems that no matter what happens, the plan is the plan and that’s it. No adjustments are made by him. That’s how a game with nine sacks against Fields happens.

Even though Nagy isn’t calling plays, the game plan still goes through him. He made sure to tell everyone that. It is evident that he still doesn’t trust Fields. Too many times he places handcuffs on the kid. Fields is showing more and more that he can make the big plays. If Nagy lets him loose more, perhaps more wins happen. Now, we’re left to wonder “What if” and hope that the next regime does better.

Grade: F