The Chicago Bears will start their third quarterback of the 2021 season on Sunday when they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. Nick Foles will start for Chicago as both Justin Fields and Andy Dalton will be out with injuries. With three games left in the 2021 season, it appears that nothing is going right for head coach Matt Nagy, as starting his third quarterback this season is a bad omen for his job security at the end of the year.

Embattled Bears' Coaches Always End Up Starting Backup Quarterbacks

Although Nagy is starting Foles due to several injuries at the quarterback position, starting a backup quarterback towards the end of the season has been a recurring trend for soon-to-be-fired Bears' coaches. Previous Bears' head coaches have either started backup quarterbacks due to injury or due to poor performances demonstrated by their starting quarterback. Previous coaches, including Marc Trestman, Dick Jauron, and Mike Ditka, all started backup quarterbacks one way or another in their final games as Chicago's head coach. In 2014, Trestman benched quarterback Jay Cutler for poor performance, but the decision came off as a desperate move on Trestman's part as an attempt to pin the Bears' poor offensive performance on Cutler. Jimmy Claussen started Chicago's week 16 games against the Detroit Lions, in which the Lions won 20-14 while Claussen suffered a concussion at the end of the game. Trestman's decision would backfire as Cutler was forced to start the season finale in Minnesota the following week.

In 2003, Jauron started rookie first-round quarterback Rex Grossman for the final three games of the 2003 season after the Bears were eliminated from playoff contention. In the 2003 season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, Grossman would break his finger early in the second quarter and miss the remainder of the game. With Chicago needing a win to finish at .500 for the season, Jauron allowed both Kordell Stewart and Chris Chandler to play at quarterback for the remainder of the game. Stewart came on for the injured Grossman but was benched in favor of Chandler. Despite losing 31-3, the Bears' three quarterbacks combined for only 198 passing yards. In 1992, Ditka had his worst season as Bears' head coach as the team finished with only five wins and lost eight of their last nine games of the 1992 season. One of the reasons why the legendary coach was fired at the end of the year was due to how he handled the quarterback position. Ditka had been upset starting quarterback Jim Harbaugh following a week five audible against the Minnesota Vikings that led to a Vikings come back and win. Following an interception return for a touchdown by the Vikings, Chicago's head coach was seen verbally berating Harbaugh on the sideline.

Following the loss to the Vikings, Ditka would consistently change starting quarterbacks as three quarterbacks started for the Bears in 1992. Despite Harbaugh being the best and most proven quarterback on the roster, Chicago would start three different quarterbacks in the final four games of the 1992 season. Against the eventual Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys, Ditka started Will Furrer at quarterback in the Bears' season finale. Furrer is regarded as one of the worst Bears' quarterbacks in franchise history as he only completed nine passes for 89 yards.

Starting Three Quarterbacks Is Never A Good Sign For A Coach That Will Be Fired

For Nagy, starting three quarterbacks in one season is never a good thing for a head coach, especially a coach that will likely be let go at the end of the year. The quarterback position for Chicago this season has been a disaster as their quarterbacks have combined for 13 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has through 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his last five games. To make matters worse for Nagy, his offense hasn't protected either quarterback this season as both Fields and Dalton have missed games twice due to separate injuries. Both Chicago quarterbacks suffered injuries when scrambling and have suffered undisclosed injuries after returning from a previous injury. Nagy was hired to bring stability to the quarterback position but has started two quarterbacks in each of his four seasons as Bears' head coach.

With the return of Foles against the Seahawks, this could be the worse possible outcome for Nagy before the end of the season. Last year when the Bears traded for the veteran quarterback, Chicago's head coach believed that he had finally had a quarterback capable of running his offense. When Foles took over as the Bears' starting quarterback in week 4 of the 2020 season, he struggled in his seven starts. Eventually, the veteran quarterback was benched for Mitchell Trubisky, who led a late-season playoff run for Chicago. If Foles struggles again against the Seahawks, it will only be an additional indictment against Nagy. Starting three different quarterbacks in one season is never a good sign for an NFL franchise, but it has been a common occurrence for the Chicago Bears. Since 1995, the 2009 season remains the only season in which the Bears only started one quarterback the entire season. When Chicago hired Nagy in January of 2018, he appeared poised to solve all of the team's problems at the quarterback position, but just like previous Bears' head coaches fired, a mess at the quarterback position at the end of the season is never a good sign.