There are some places within the Bears community of fans where Head Coach Matt Nagy is seen as a polarizing figure. And I don’t imagine those feelings will change with the decision to start the season with Andy Dalton as QB1.
But no matter how anyone feels about him, one person believes that Nagy will do right by rookie Justin Fields.
That person just so happens to be the only coach in Bears history to ever win a Super Bowl:
Spoke to Mike Ditka today on Justin Fields and whether he should be the #Bears Week 1 starter.
"Put him on the field and let him learn. You learn by playing, you don’t learn by watching."
"Matt Nagy knows how to handle Fields and he’ll do a good job with him." pic.twitter.com/u2uPZpSxDv
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) June 28, 2021
While echoing the sentiments of many fans by declaring that Fields should play right away, Ditka gives the current Bears head coach a vote of confidence when he says: “Matt Nagy knows how to handle Fields and he’ll do a good job with him.” That might not mean much to folks who read the tweet above. However, no one is ever gonna say no to a vote of confidence. I sure wouldn’t.
And yet, the Ditka quotes present a juxtaposition of sorts. Because while Ditka believes Nagy will do right by Fields, Nagy’s history suggests he’ll do so while not following Ditka’s advice. Sure, Patrick Mahomes is a unicorn and his development path is (1) unique and (2) the only one with a direct connection to Nagy. But if Nagy were to lean on Andy Reid for advice on how to handle Fields in 2021, Reid might circle back to his easing in of Donovan McNabb during his rookie year. In any case, we don’t have much as far as data points go to suggest Nagy will put Fields on grass right away.
Nevertheless, we’ll add Mike Ditka to the growing chorus of folks who want to see Justin Fields as soon as possible. To which I say: Get in line and grab a number, chum.