It’s been hinted in several corners of the Bears universe that Head Coach Matt Nagy is squarely on the hot seat. And because losing to the Packers traditionally tends to be a last straw for the franchise’s decision-makers, it comes as no surprise that Nagy is already fielding questions about his future.
Also unsurprising? The way Nagy has no concerns about his job security.
“No, I’m not [concerned about my job security],” Nagy said, via 670 The Score’s Chris Emma. “I just think that right now with our team, this is the stuff with the season that you go through. It’s about fighting adversity. It’s about building a culture, staying together. That’s where we’re at.”
Don’t get me wrong. Building a culture is important. As is staying together. Nagy needs to lean on culture as much as he can as his team fights a five-game losing streak. HOWEVER, the team is fighting a losing battle with adversity. Moreover, it is also taking on water from a public perception point of view. I wasn’t a straight-A scholar, but I know enough about history to know that fighting a two-front war will lead to heavy losses.
The Bears were a national punching bag on Sunday Night Football. Mitchell Trubisky did nothing with a clean slate put in front of him as he re-entered the starting lineup. Naturally, the nationally televised broadcast had ample time to remind us that Trubisky was taken ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. And that Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have dominated the rivalry’s most recent years. Putting a cherry on top of things was analyst Tony Dungy suggesting that Chicago’s defensive players quit on the team.
Narrative aside, the on-field statement the Bears made said more than enough to fill the space in this post. A defense coming off the bye allowed 41 points, tackled poorly, couldn’t get off the field on third down, and let Green Bay have what it wanted in the red zone. Offensively, it was more of the same for the new-look Bears. A re-worked offensive line allowed Trubisky to be sacked six times and knocked down on six other occasions. When Trubisky wasn’t getting clobbered, he committed three turnovers. And frankly, there could’ve been more. That’s not what it’s supposed to look like coming out of the bye. Not when you’ve fancied yourself as a playoff contender. And not when you should be playing with your hair on fire because you were desperate to avoid being below .500 this late in the season.
In other words, a short-term worst-case scenario* played out in front of a nationally televised audience. So … maybe Nagy should be a little concerned about that job security?
Considering that five-game losing streaks accompanied John Fox in his final season in 2017 and marked the beginning of the end of Marc Trestman’s reign of terror, then the answer to this question should be different than the one he gave reporters on Sunday night.
*Long-term, perhaps losing that way, in front of that audience will spark some much-needed change within the organization. But that’s a story for another post.