The Chicago Bears moved on from Matt Nagy after a curious reign as head of the franchise over four seasons. Nagy won coach of the year in 2018 after guiding the Bears to a 12-4 record and the NFC North title ahead of the Green Bay Packers. However, Cody Parkey’s doink off the upright against the Philadelphia Eagles halted a charge into the latter stages of the NFC playoffs.
We filled the other three years of his reign with frustration regarding a stagnant offense and bizarre off-the-field antics from Nagy regarding the quarterback situation. A 6-11 campaign in the 2021 season would end his tenure with a 34-31 record overall, but the statistics did not quite match the performances on the field and the development of talent.
After selecting Justin Fields 11th overall out of Ohio State University, the Bears would have been hopeful of a solid and encouraging season from their rookie quarterback under the tutelage of Nagy. The results were underwhelming, to say the least, emulating the struggles of Mitchell Trubisky under Nagy’s watch. Now that Nagy has been fired, the Bears believe that their offensive-mind coach was a hindrance rather than a benefit to the development of their quarterback.
Matt Eberflus was hired to replace Nagy after impressing over four years with the Indianapolis Colts’ defense. He will be the figurehead behind an overall improvement of the Bears’ record, but the pressure will be on new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to get the best out of Fields and quickly as there could be a great opportunity in the NFC North and the NFC Conference as a whole.
Chicago can only look to the example of the Cincinnati Bengals, and although they are underdogs in the Superbowl betting odds, have reached the title game for the first time since the 1989 season due to the brilliance of their second-year quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow has revived the fortunes of a struggling franchise, and the Bears will be hoping for similar results from Fields in his second campaign.
Fields struggled as did the entire offense in his rookie season as Nagy threw in him and out of the lineup, swapping the starting role with Andy Dalton. Both players endured injury issues, and it resulted in Chicago being ranked 24th in total offense in the 2021 campaign, and 27th in scoring offense. Therefore, Getsy does not have to do a significant amount to improve the fortunes of the Bears, and he does have talent starting with Fields to leap forward in the 2022 campaign.
Coach Flus on OC Luke Getsy: “He’s tough, innovative, smart…he’s a big team guy.” pic.twitter.com/XumDmBj1C8
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) January 31, 2022
Getsy arrived in Chicago after spending the last two seasons with the Packers as their quarterback’s coach and passing game coordinator, having previously been with the franchise as their quality control and wide receivers coach along with a stint as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach of Mississippi State. Green Bay were not renowned for their variety and creativity under Mike McCarthy and even under Matt LaFleur. Aaron Rodgers’ offense has been fairly rigid and molded to his style rather than a predicated system.
It would have been difficult for Getsy to have a powerful role in suggesting otherwise given his role on the totem pole behind LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, while Rodgers himself has not been the most coachable player in the league. It is hard to say what the Bears will get with Getsy as a creative offensive mind to get the most out of the dual-threat of Fields. The 22-year-old has all the talent to thrive, but the onus will be on Getsy to allow him to succeed.
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