Is Mitch Trubisky playing his last season as a starter for the Chicago Bears? Much of that depends on how the final seven games play out. He seemed to settle himself a bit against Detroit with three touchdown passes. However, it's apparent he is still struggling in many areas. The pocket awareness. The decision-making and timidity to take off and run. It's just not there and the offense is suffering for it despite the best efforts of Matt Nagy and his staff. If this continues through December, it will be hard to justify giving him one more year.
There is a problem though. If this is the course the Bears do choose, they'd be putting that responsibility back in the hands of GM Ryan Pace. Not exactly a welcome proposition. This is the man who traded up to draft Trubisky after all, and the man who handed a lucrative contract to Mike Glennon. His track record at the position is less than zero at this point. The one saving grace in peoples' minds is he has Matt Nagy around this time.
However, word has recently come out that John Fox wanted Deshaun Watson back in 2017 and Pace basically ignored him. So can the GM be trusted to acquiesce to his head coach this time around? That's hard to know for sure. That said, there is extended history across the NFL proving that teams have benefitted from letting their head coaches pick their quarterbacks.
Chicago Bears can trust Nagy to get it right
Pace is a good GM who has done a lot of strong work for the Bears. That said, would it not make sense that when it comes to quarterbacks, Nagy would know best? Not only is he a former quarterback himself, but he also knows exactly the type of player at that position needed to make the offense function. History shows that coaches who had the power to find their own quarterback often benefitted greatly.
- Bob McMillan - Bobby Layne (trade)
- Sid Gillman - John Hadl
- Bill McPeak - Sonny Jurgensen (trade)
- Weeb Ewbank - Joe Namath
- Paul Brown - Ken Anderson
- Bart Starr - Lynn Dickey (trade)
- Bill Walsh - Joe Montana
- Don Shula - Dan Marino
- Jimmy Johnson - Troy Aikman
- Tom Coughlin - Mark Brunell (trade)
- Dick Vermeil - Kurt Warner (FA)
- Bill Belichick - Tom Brady
- Mike Holmgren - Matt Hasselbeck (trade)
- Dan Reeves - Michael Vick
- Andy Reid - Nick Foles
Keep in mind this list doesn't just include all-time great coaches. Lesser-known guys like McMillan, McPeak, and Starr were able to find quality passers even if it didn't ultimately lead to their own personal success. This should offer some conclusive proof that the Bears can trust Nagy to find a guy who fits the offense and the type of team he wants to trot out on Sundays. What it will come down to is whether Pace is willing to relinquish that final authority.
