Matt Nagy: “Time is now” for Bears offense

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Matt Nagy has taken the Bears to the playoffs twice and posted a winning record overall in his three seasons as the head coach in Chicago, but there’s one area where the team has fallen short consistently during his tenure.

Nagy came to the Bears after serving as offensive coordinator for the Chiefs and the hope was that he’d build a potent offense with the NFC North team. That hasn’t come close to happening, however, and that led to some speculation about his future coming out of the 2020 season.

Nagy and General Manager Ryan Pace remained on the job, though, and Nagy said on the Under Center podcast with Kenneth Davis that he refuses to allow the team to live in the past. They’re taking another whack at putting that kind of offense into place with Andy Dalton and Justin Fields at quarterback, and Nagy wants to see what happens with a “fresh start.”

“I think what we’ve put together — Ryan Pace has done such an amazing job of building the last three years — this roster that we have, we have a lot of depth,” Nagy said, via NBCSportsChicago.com. “And so now to be able to have the time to put together, we feel like we’re going to have a great opportunity offensively to to do what we need to do. The time is now, we know that and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Bears have many of the same offensive pieces back outside of the quarterback spot, so the play of Dalton and Fields will have a lot to do with their chances of putting up the kind of numbers needed to assuage those who doubt Nagy is still the right man for the job.

36 responses to “Matt Nagy: “Time is now” for Bears offense

  1. Translation: “If we don’t win something this year then I’m going to get canned”

  2. You have to give Fields one year under center before making that statement because Dalton is not that guy.

  3. He is by far the most sad pathetic fraud of a football coach the world has ever seen. Worse than not developing players is ruining talent…that list of players is too long for a post!
    Fire Nagy Now!!

  4. I mean, we have been deprived of an offense for years . I’m still counting on the defense to step up and score every week. That’s how much faith I have in us having a consistent offense year in and year out .prove me wrong nagy …prove me wrong . We had a good one the year Brandon Marshall was here and Jeffery then we blew that up.

  5. Matt inherited Mitch T., he is not responsible for drafting him. He did a decent job considering what he had to work with. If they don’t throw Fields to the wolves too soon, Nagy will make a winner out of Fields.
    As a Bear fan, I am not expecting too much this year, but the next 15 should be fun to watch!!

  6. I honestly don’t think anyone is going to believe this Matt, we are all just waiting for you to get canned. On balance, anyone who does believe this is inline with believe ANYTHING in the bias media or laid out upon us from the current administration.

    G0d Speed America!

  7. He’s all pumped up after watching Van Halens Right Now video. Reality will soon set in.

  8. I thought I might make a Justin Fields joke here but Matt Nagy wouldn’t let me start it.

  9. Something tells me the presence of Damien Williams will have a big impact in the ground game, which should help the passing game.

  10. What a crap organization saying such a thing with a raw rookie QB and a bad backup who stunk it up in Dallas last year. Bears will be firing Nagy this upcoming off season.

  11. Vic Fangio’s coaching tree is so large that he’s even able to keep the head coach employed years after he stopped being the DC.

  12. I don’t know if he’s delusional, loyal, or stupid with commending Pace for what a “great” job he’s done. Most in Nagy’s shoes would be looking for a scapegoat for his lack of success. GM ineptitude would be an easy one.

    Whatever, time is now or you and your pal Ryan can hit the unemployment office together.

  13. Let’s not forget about the defense in all this. They regressed badly last season and one of their most notable absences — Eddie Goldman — may be done for good. If the offense improves 75% from last year and the defense improves 50% the Bears can contend for a legit playoff berth (vs backing in to an expanded field as they did last year), but none of that is guaranteed.

  14. KC’s offense had no buzz to it until Nagy left. Terrible game manager, terrible play calling and clueless managing his young quarterbacks. Hopefully he’ll get canned in mid season so Fields career is saved from his mismanagement and indecision.

  15. Nagy is like Gase, even though they are not good head coaches, but because the coached under someone or can claim they coached a certain QB they must be great and idiot owners and stupid GMs fall for that crap. Bears desperately need new ownership, need to fire Pace and Nagy if he is not already fired.

  16. I just don’t see how this ends any other way than Matt being fired after this year, and fields having to start fresh with another coach next year. Kind of reminiscent to Josh Rosen, but hopefully the results are not the same.

  17. What happened the past 3 years coach, no offense at all because the time wasnt NOW?

  18. They’ve struggled with every single QB Nagy’s had. Absolutely zero reason to think that Andy Dalton and the extremely raw Justin Fields will be any different. Nothing against them–it’s just that Nagy’s system isn’t capable of making anybody look good.

  19. By drafting Fields, the coach and GM bought themselves 2-3 more years, which I am sure is not exactly the best news to many Bears fans.

  20. dabears70 says:
    July 13, 2021 at 8:01 am
    Matt inherited Mitch T., he is not responsible for drafting him. He did a decent job considering what he had to work with.
    —————————————————————————————————
    No mention of how Nagy brought in Foles, gave him a 3 yr/$24 million contract and he got beat out by Trubisky? # goalpostsaysdonk

  21. Nagy may not be a terrible coach, but he is for sure overrated. Also the Bears have been bad as far as management goes for years. I honestly believe that having Fields drop to them was the best thing in years. I think Fields will be a shining star that burns out fast, but that does give the Bears a shot or two in the next 5 or 6 seasons.

  22. Making the playoffs 2 out of 3 years with Ryan Pace as your GM would be akin to a guy being happy while watching “The View”

  23. I think all you people need to look at the real problem . . . . it begins with ownership! McCaskey, Phillips and Ice . . . . .the 3 stooges of the NFL!

  24. They’ve struggled with every single QB Nagy’s had. Absolutely zero reason to think that Andy Dalton and the extremely raw Justin Fields will be any different. Nothing against them–it’s just that Nagy’s system isn’t capable of making anybody look good.
    ————————
    Could not agree more. It’s sure looking like with Nagy it’s the system more to blame than the players. If Fields succeeds it will be despite Nagy, not because of him.

  25. I see people saying he needs a full year to work with Field so he shouldn’t be on the hot seat. The offense stunk with Trubisky, they stunk with Foles, if it stinks with Dalton and they turn to Fields and he struggles in limited playing time there is no reason to think Nagy will get him on track with another year

  26. Until he starts calling better plays and takes his face out of his precious laminated play sheet that he desperately clings to, that offense is going nowhere

  27. Andy Dalton has been in the league a long time and he hasn’t won a single playoff game. I expect more of the same. I like Andy. He’s a decent QB. There are just way too many better QB’s. They’re the ones winning all the playoff games. But it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Anything is possible, just highly unlikely. A lot of people like Fields. I haven’t seen where he resembles anything close to an NFL QB. He has potential. I just haven’t seen him make any strides toward the skill level needed in the NFL. I was anxiously awaiting his final year in college, because he did possess a nice physical skill set. College QB’s do mature. But I was highly disappointed. He showed no progress. But once again, anything is possible, just highly unlikely. Oh, and I’m a lifelong Buckeye’s fan. I have a tendency to over-rate Buckeyes.

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