Matt Nagy understood the reality of things when the 2019 season ended. The Chicago Bears may have finished 8-8, but they might as well have been 4-12. That was how disappointing the finish to the season was. A dispiriting loss to the far superior Chiefs followed by an empty win against the Minnesota Vikings’ backups. The record meant nothing. It was evident this team needed a fresh start.
Would that involve a change at quarterback? Nagy wasn’t going to rule it out. He likes Mitch Trubisky and thinks the kid has a ton of talent. At the same time, it was clearly evident the young QB wasn’t grasping what the head coach wanted from him most of last season. Too many inaccurate throws. Too many bad decisions. Not enough poise against tougher opponents.
Nagy could’ve easily just gone to GM Ryan Pace and washed his hands of the whole thing, demanding a new quarterback. Instead, he offered the embattled Trubisky a way out. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, the coach gave him a specific list of five things he needed to fix if he wanted to keep his job in 2020.
“Going into this offseason, and on the final day of a tumultuous 2019, one that ended sideways both personally and team-wise, Trubisky was given a specific list of areas Nagy wanted him to work, as Nagy worked to revamp the coaching staff.
1) Improve footwork.
2) Stay in the pocket—don’t get flushed out as easily.
3) Control what you can control, and be yourself.
4) Work on getting through progressions in the offense.
5) Have a great next-play mentality.“
That list is a perfect reflection of the quarterback. All the things Trubisky seemed to struggle with. His feet were sloppy way too often. He’d choose to run too early when he had open receivers at later progressions. He’d also have a bad tendency to let things snowball when something didn’t go right during a game. All five of those things make up exactly what is wrong with him.
A reminder that Nagy isn’t blind to the reality facing this team.
By all accounts, Trubisky took that list to heart. Despite the onset of COVID-19, he worked tirelessly throughout the offseason on those exact requirements. He even hired respected QB trainer Jeff Christiansen to help him. So when training camp arrived and the battle with Nick Foles ready to begin? The man felt prepared and it showed.
Trubisky’s fundamentals looked sharper and more disciplined. He was able to find second and third reads more often. His number of turnovers from last year’s camp drastically reduced. Last but not least, he was able to follow up down moments with better ones.
Nagy was satisfied enough with what he saw to hand the reins back to him. Now only one question remains. Can they make it translate to the regular season?
