Matt Nagy probably doesn’t want anyone’s pity, but I feel sorry for him. Day after day, week after week, the Bears coach has to find ways to positively describe Mitch Trubisky to a skeptical media. Sometimes it’s like praising a warthog for being able to grow four legs.
The man who should be facing the questions about the Bears’ so-so quarterback is the man who fell in love with the idea of Trubisky rather than his actual ability. That would be general manager Ryan Pace, international man of mystery.
Pace doesn’t talk to reporters during the season, though he does do interviews before games with WBBM, the Bears’ radio partner. But talking to the state-run station doesn’t count. Facing media members who might have difficult questions about what the heck a certain GM possibly could have possibly been thinking would.
The philosophy driving Pace’s relative silence, apparently, is that the Bears want the organization to have one public voice and for that voice to be Nagy’s. It’s unfair and spineless.
Even if it’s certain that Pace would deflect every media question, he needs to answer for the mistake he made on what he thought was a franchise quarterback. At a minimum, he should have to answer why, as the Chicago Tribune reported this week, the Bears didn’t have a dinner and a private, on-campus workout with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson in 2017, as they did with Trubisky and Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes. Both Watson (selected 12th overall by the Texans) and Mahomes (10th, by the Chiefs) have been spectacular. Trubisky, whom Pace traded up a spot to take second overall, has been anything but.
Instead, we get Pace saying to WBBM before last week’s game that “we all know that Mitch can play better.’’ How? Where specifically can he improve? What is he doing wrong? Is Nagy’s system right for him?
There wasn’t time for any of that. Pace was too busy sending out thick layers of fluff about Trubisky:
”This is all part of playing quarterback in the NFL. Every quarterback goes through this, and it’s just part of the experience. We’re fortunate that we have a head coach that understands him more than anyone. (Nagy) played the position himself. There’s growth that happens on the field. There’s growth that happens off the field. Other young quarterbacks around the league are going through it, the same thing, and honestly we’re proud of the way that Mitch is handling it.”
You can bet that Pace will be gushing in Sunday’s pregame interview about Trubisky’s three-touchdown game against a weak Detroit defense last week.
Nagy has been quick to point out that the entire offense is struggling this season. He’s trying to spread the blame so that Trubisky doesn’t get buried by it. It’s clear he’s concerned about his quarterback’s confidence. I wouldn’t expect Pace to say anything different, but that’s not the point. It’s that he should have to be publicly confronted with the mess he has made.
This isn’t some inside-journalism rant, though by ignoring the media throughout the season, Pace is, in effect, ignoring Bear fans. It’s about whatever it is he’s afraid of – speaking in public, taking responsibility for what Trubisky has become or speaking bluntly about his fragile quarterback. Who knows?
Strange behavior from a Bears GM isn’t new. When Phil Emery was in charge, he periodically held off-the-record sessions with media members before games. Everything he said in response to their questions was vanilla. Nothing he said was controversial or particularly insightful. What he offered wasn’t ridiculously obvious, along the lines of “Brandon Marshall is a wide receiver,’’ but it wasn’t far off. One day I couldn’t take it anymore and told him I didn’t understand why what he was saying couldn’t be on the record. He responded by not responding, which, come to think of it, is the Bears’ way.
They’ve refused to say whether they’ll attend Colin Kaepernick’s NFL-arranged workout Saturday, citing their policy of not publicly announcing where their scouts are at any given moment. Well, sure. Once the location of their scouts is known, all of us are wide open to terrorist attacks.
There are so many things I’d like to ask the general manager of the Chicago Bears. I’d like to ask him about Kaepernick. I’d like to ask him specific questions about what he thought he saw in Trubisky. Mostly, I’d like to ask him if he’s worried about losing his job.
I’m sure he’d talk about the collegial effort that went into identifying Trubisky as a real talent. That’s what he does whenever he’s interviewed. It’s always “we.’’ But “we’’ doesn’t have to face daily questions from reporters about What’s Wrong With Mitch. Nagy does.
And that’s not right at all.
