Matt Nagy Is Using a Bill Parcells Tactic With Mitch Trubisky

Matt Nagy isn't a fool. He understands that his coaching career is tied to the success of Mitch Trubisky. That was the challenge he embraced when the Chicago Bears put him in charge back in January of 2018. Thus far he's done good work. Trubisky was a Pro Bowl alternate last season and set a franchise record for passer rating in a season with a 95.4. He ended up accounted for over 3,800 total yards and 27 touchdowns.

Solid as that is, it's not good enough for many. If the Bears want to win the Super Bowl in a loaded NFC, they need more from him. Expectations are he should be better in 2019 with a full year in the offensive system. He also has a deeper, more diverse array of weapons at his disposal. Nagy has stated time and again that the young quarterback is far ahead of where he was last year, particularly in regards to reading defenses and making pre-snap decisions.

One issue that Nagy has run into though is Trubisky's perfectionism. Time and again the 24-year old has said he's his own worst critic. This apparently has led him to be wound a little tightly whenever he makes a mistake. That's why the head coach decided to pull him aside and give him some advice according to Yahoo Sports.

“Mitch is growing as a quarterback, which is important,” Nagy told Yahoo Sports. “In this offense, it takes a good two and a half, three years until I think you truly know it all, and he’s a kid that wants to be so perfect that sometimes I pull him up and say, ‘Hey it’s OK if you make an error, it’s OK to just play.’”

Matt Nagy used tried and true Parcells tactic on his QB

That seems like a strange method to use. Most coaches usually work hard to tell their quarterbacks to take fewer chances in order to avoid turnovers. Nagy believes doing so robs them of playing their best. Playing free and without fear. The more confidence they show in how they execute, the better the results will be. He isn't the first coach to realize this.

One man who put it to such great effect during his career was Bill Parcells. The Hall of Fame coach ran into similar quarterback troubles in the 1980s. It's amazing how similar the scenario is. He has a former top 10 pick in Phil Simms who was a surprise pick and not overly welcomed by a lot of fans. He endured accuracy issues early in his career and seemed to grow gun shy at times.

Things reached a crisis moment in 1986. Through the first 10 games, Simms was a mess, throwing for 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while barely completing 53% of his passes. So Parcells decided to try something different.

Simms immediately relaxed after that. He finished the season on a tear, throwing 17 touchdowns and just eight interceptions over the final nine games while completing over 62.8% of his passes. This culminated in a Super Bowl MVP award and a championship. In fact, that pep talk had a profound effect on his career. Before it, Simms had a career quarterback rating of 71.9. Afterward, it spiked to 85.3 the rest of the way.

Kudos to Nagy for utilizing this tactic.