Four questions as the Bears prepare to play the Jets — whom they’ve beaten four consecutive times, dating to 2002 — on Sunday at Soldier Field:
Whom will Dad cheer for?
Bears coach Matt Nagy’s father, Bill, will have two coaches to root for when he sits in the stands.
He was an assistant coach at Elizabeth (New Jersey) High School when Jets coach Todd Bowles starred there as a safety before graduating in 1981. Nagy’s uncle was his position coach.
On Friday, Nagy said his dad better pick the right guy.
“I have a bunch of New York/New Jersey Sopranos,’’ Nagy said. “They’re loud, they’re aggressive, and they better be Bears fans or else their butt is getting kicked out of my house.”
Nagy was only 3 when Bowles left for Temple, but he grew up hearing stories from his dad. Later, Nagy and Bowles worked together as Eagles assistants.
“I always remember, vividly, pulling in the first day of work in Philly and having our nameplates for where we park right next to each other,” Nagy said. “We had a great relationship in Philadelphia. I have so much respect for him — what he does defensively. But on top of that, I think he’s such a great human being. He does things the right way.”
Could Bowles have been the Bears’ coach?
The timing wasn’t right. On
Jan. 8, 2015, the Bears hired Ryan Pace as general manager. Pace immediately walked into a meeting with Bowles, a head-coaching candidate who happened to be at Halas Hall to meet with Bears chairman George McCaskey and president/CEO Ted Phillips.
“Well, I knew it was weird, but I knew that was weird for [Pace], as well,” Bowles said. “I knew he wasn’t going to hire no head coach on the first interview of the first meeting when he just walked in the building.
“It was just kinda strange that it happened. But I’m glad I met him and we connected, and we get along pretty well.”
Halftime hot tip
The over/under for the game is 44. The number has gone over in four of the Bears’ six games and four of the Jets’ last five.
Will the rookie O-lineman ever sit again?
Left guard Eric Kush’s neck injury, which has nagged him for weeks, will keep him out of the game. Rookie James Daniels will play every down in his place after spending the last three weeks rotating drive by drive.
A second-round pick, Daniels, 21, might never relinquish the gig. The Bears probably would love for him to run with the job.
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“When he gets that chance to be the guy and be permanently the guy, I think he’s going to seize it and be great,” defensive end Akiem Hicks said.
The rotation helped Daniels acclimate himself to what he can — and can’t — do in the NFL.
“I feel like I’m getting more comfortable with my eye control,” Daniels said. “It’s still the same speed, but once you know what you’re looking at, it feels like the game is slowing down.”
How bad have the Bears’ running backs been?
When detailing the Bears’ running-game struggles this week, Nagy marveled at one stat.
“We’re sixth in the league right now in rushing,” he said. “How crazy is that, right?”
He knows the stat is misleading. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky, after all, claims 245 of the Bears’ 784 rushing yards.
Here’s a number that puts the Bears’ running-game woes into proper context: Their running backs are averaging 3.81 yards per carry.
The franchise hasn’t had an average that low from its running backs since 2010. That team, which reached the NFC title game, got only 3.807 yards per carry from its running backs. One more carry for five yards would have moved the 2010 team past the Bears’ current average.
