The Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley breaks down the Bears’ chaotic week:
The Bears’ past week has been…
Of their own making — both because the team lost to Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley and because executives did not shoot down the Patch.com report that Matt Nagy would be fired quickly enough to avoid distraction.
Who, or what, is to blame for the Bears’ week?
Losing to a backup quarterback, at home, after a bye. If the Bears defense doesn’t collapse on the final drive Sunday — it’s remarkable that two of the defensive backs involved in the 29-yard blown coverage didn’t play a single defensive snap four days later — questions about Nagy’s job status wouldn’t have carried the same immediacy.
Did Nagy handle it well?
Many of Nagy’s missteps this season have come because of his inability to say the right thing at the right time. But this week was one of Nagy’s finest public-facing moments. He acknowledged the reality that his job is in jeopardy this year — “When you lose five games in a row, you understand, and when you’re 3-7, you know what territory you can get to,” he said — and then won a game, albeit in ugly fashion.
Who is most responsible for the Bears’ exasperating season?
Separating general manager Ryan Pace from Nagy — or vice versa — inherently absolves one or the other from responsibility. The Bears were clear in January that the two were tied together. Pace hasn’t done anything to change that.
Will Nagy last the rest of the season? Why or why not?
The McCaskeys have never fired anyone midseason, but they put tremendous value in the Packers rivalry. If he gets embarrassed at Lambeau Field in two weeks, he won’t last.
What will the Bears’ final record be?
7-10. Nagy is 5-1 against the Vikings all-time. As of today, the Bears have a better record than either the Seahawks or the Giants.
If I owned the Bears over the next six weeks, my master plan would be…
I’d put president/CEO Ted Phillips in a role that oversees the Arlington Heights stadium project and other business ventures. I’d hire a football czar to oversee the general manager and coach — and let him decide whether Pace gets to stay in a role that inherently has less power. Wanting his own head coach, the czar would fire Nagy at the end of the year. While we’re at it: I’d get rid of the orange jerseys — I run the Bears, not some low-level ACC team — and upgrade from Diet Rite in the press box.
