A few weeks from now Matt Nagy will be lamenting where things went wrong with his time as Chicago Bears head coach. There are plenty of possible examples, but most will agree the beginning of the end was how he handled the situation with Justin Fields. From refusing to give the rookie any chance at competing for the starting job to not even allowing him to take snaps with the 1st-team offense in training camp.
All of those decisions played a part in Fields and the offense looking so out of sync at times this season. Many experts and fans said even before the season that Nagy was making a mistake. He should’ve just gone with the kid immediately. Let him learn on the job. It would benefit everybody down the line. He didn’t listen. Now more notable people are chiming in. Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy is one of them. He was asked about the Fields’ situation on the Under Center podcast.
Suffice to say his answer doesn’t reflect well on the Bears head coach.
Dungy knows a thing or two about developing quarterbacks. He inherited Trent Dilfer in 1996, a former 1st round pick who’d struggled his first two years. Rather than start over, the head coach made it clear to the organization they were going with Dilfer moving forward. All focus would be on him until they were certain the guy was capable or not. A year later the quarterback made the Pro Bowl.
This should’ve been the approach by the Bears from the beginning with Justin Fields. Insert him as the starter and devote every resource available to make him a success. It shouldn’t have mattered that the team made a promise to Dalton. This is a business. Deals change all the time. Nagy operated like somebody who thought he’d have time. Who thought that Dalton could be his Alex Smith. Never bothering to understand he didn’t have the surrounding talent Smith enjoyed in Kansas City.
By the time that realization hit? It was far too late. Fields had to face Cleveland woefully underprepared and it showed. Now the Bears are 4-8 with another loss in Green Bay likely around the corner. It feels like this could’ve been avoided had Nagy operated with more awareness of his actual situation rather than pining for what he had with the Chiefs.
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