Chicago Bears: Has Nagy Seen The Light? Probably Not

After saying earlier this week that Andy Dalton would remain the starting quarterback, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy reversed course and said Justin Fields would be the permanent starter.

As if we didn’t have enough drama in the quarterback situation, Chicago Bears head coach continues the roller coaster ride. Earlier this week, he announced that if healthy, Andy Dalton would return as starting quarterback. That news sent fans and analysts into a tizzy. After a pretty good showing last week, how could sitting Justin Fields back down help in his development?

Then, a few days later, Nagy reverses course. He said that going forward, Fields would be the starter. Not only is Fields the starter again this week, but he’ll start the rest of the season. Of course, that’s only if he doesn’t get hurt or ride the offense back into the toilet.

That last announcement should send a shot of excitement into Fields and into the entire offense. The players know that FIelds is the future. Nagy finally relented on his stance and the future starts now. That’s a big pick-me-up for the team.

Nagy was very adamant that Dalton was the guy to lead the offense. The feeling he had was that Fields could develop by playing a handful of snaps per game. Then he could take over next season.

Nagy was on an island with his handling of the quarterbacks

It seemed that Nagy was by himself thinking that his plan was the way to go. That was especially true considering how well FIelds played in Week 4 after the nightmare of a game in Week 3. He showed he could bounce back and that the speed of the game doesn’t overwhelm him.

How could sitting Fields down again help him? We saw that he wasn’t a wallflower. He went right back and made some big throws that eventually led to touchdowns.

Nagy felt that winning games is what would save his job. If that was true, then Dalton is the right choice.

However, this is not a championship roster, no matter who plays under center. If Nagy thought this was even a playoff team he was mistaken.

If this isn’t a playoff team, then the proper choice to go with is Fields. The top priority is developing FIelds. Sitting on the bench and seeing a handful of snaps per game would do nothing for that development. Let him develop this season so he’ll be ready to lead a much better team next season.

The Chicago Bears have 31 free agents after the season. They also have others who have buyouts. That means the front office has a chance to completely overhaul the roster and build a winning team quickly. Fields is sure to have a much better roster surrounding him next season.

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Nagy had help with this decision

So, did Nagy finally see the light and saw the error of his ways? The answer to that is a resounding NO. Nagy is in job-saving mode. After originally feeling that winning games with Dalton would save his job, he finally came to the realization that developing FIelds could buy him some time.

Nagy probably had help coming to this new realization. As I mentioned, Nagy was convinced and adamant that Dalton was the man. Suddenly, however, things changed?

Yes, they did. I imagine either general manager Ryan Pace or Chicago Bears Chairman Geroge McCaskey helped Nagy.

If Nagy benched Fields again there would be a fan revolt. Nagy and Pace wouldn’t survive that. After seeing the possibility of deep completions, then going back to watching short completions throughout a game is won’t make the fans happy or excited. If you thought things were bad at just the mention of benching Fields, imagine actually seeing it happen.

The blowback of benching Fields would be too much for Nagy and Pace to handle. Nagy had to finally realize that, or he needed someone to make him realize it. If he wants to make it to 2022 as Chicago Bears head coach, he needs to hitch his wagons on Fields.