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Bears coach Matt Nagy hands over play-calling to OC after criticism, struggles

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
·2-min read

After weeks of complaints and offensive struggles, Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy is giving up play-calling duties.

Nagy announced on Friday that he is done calling plays on the offensive end and will instead hand that responsibility off to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor — who will run the show starting with their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday.

“I’d be lying if I said this was easy. It’s not easy,” Nagy said, via 670 The Score’s Chris Emma. “It’s one of my favorite parts of coaching. I love calling plays. I love it. 
 We need to do what’s best for us, not what’s best for Matt Nagy.”

Nagy said that Lazor will call plays on Monday, and then they will evaluate things during their bye week and go from there.

“This will give me an opportunity to step back and see things from a different position,” Nagy said, via the Bears. “I’m excited to let Bill take this over. It’s something that we all decided together.”

Will Nagy stepping aside make a difference?

The Bears are currently on a three-game losing skid, capped by a 24-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans last week. Chicago currently boasts the fourth-worst offense in the league in both total offensive yards per game and points per game, and it is the worst rushing offense in the league with only 82.3 yards on the ground per contest.

The Bears’ offense has struggled repeatedly during that losing stretch, and many have questioned play calls that didn’t seem to fit the situation. There were several instances of that during Chicago’s 24-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, though Nagy insisted after that game that play-calling wasn’t the issue.

“There’s no opposition from me if we feel like [play-calling is] what the issue is, and so we look at that. Right now, where we’re at, that’s not where we think it’s at,” he said.

There was even a report that quarterback Nick Foles was growing tired of Nagy’s play-calling, though both Foles and Nagy walked that back a day later.

Lazor calling plays doesn’t guarantee success by any means, but it could be the spark the team needs to get them back on track — something Lazor said is much needed.

“The [feeling] is not very good,” Lazor said of their offense, via the Chicago Sun Times. “But the reality is probably a lot better. I say that because I think many of us — maybe all of us — are at a very frustrated point right now.

“How does it feel? Not very satisfying when you put so much work into it and it doesn’t produce like you’d like it to.”

Head coach Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears talks with quarterback Nick Foles
Matt Nagy is done calling plays for the Chicago Bears. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

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