The Chicago Bears finished 8-8 in 2019. Make no mistake. It was not the record anybody in the building hoped for or expected. However, several believe it came so close to becoming a lot worse. A number of players and coaches claim that if not for head coach Matt Nagy, the season would've spiraled much further out of control than it ultimately did.
Adam Jahns of The Athletic delivered an excellent piece covering Nagy's coaching odyssey in 2019. One constant theme throughout it was how surprisingly committed everybody in the organization was to him as their leader. A big part of why comes from the culture he's continued to foster since last season. How even in the midst of downtimes, the foundation in the locker room remains completely unaffected.
Pat O'Donnell:
“I don’t sense anything going on or fractures or cracks or anything like that within the character of the team.”
A big part of that comes from the types of personalities the Bears have collected on the roster. They've made a significant effort to acquire players who are far more about the team than they are themselves.
Akiem Hicks:
“There is a certain point in the league when the records are starting to get set, guys start dividing, guys start seeing different things, people start to get selfish. As a team and as our culture is here, we don’t operate that way.”
Perhaps nobody put it better than defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. He's been a head coach himself so he knew exactly what Nagy was going through this past year. He also knows it doesn't take a locker room long to figure out which coaches are genuine and which are fakers.
“That’s all those guys want to know. Am I getting the same guy? Or is he going to be ‘Mr. This’ when we win and then this Jekyll and Hyde type deal when we lose? His consistency, his positive attitude, he’s always upbeat. He always sees this thing glass half-full and that’s what he’s instilled in all these players, the locker room, the coaches. And it just trickles down.”
Matt Nagy cleared important hurdle despite down year
In hindsight, this season was an important one for Nagy. Everybody is happy with a head coach when things are good. Such was the case in 2018. It's the struggling times that truly separate the capable coaches from the bad ones. The Bears were the victims of a four-game losing streak at one point, falling in Philadelphia after posting just nine offensive yards in the first half. That was the moment most believe the season should've spiraled out of control.
In fact, if Marc Trestman or John Fox had been in charge? It probably would've.
Instead, Nagy kept his approach the same and continued to motivate his guy. He insisted if they kept working hard and kept fighting, things would turn around. That faith was rewarded as the Bears won four of their next five games, capped with a dominating effort over the Dallas Cowboys. Sadly it wasn't enough. Losses to Green Bay and Kansas City, two of the hottest teams in the league killed their hopes.
Still, that rally proved that Nagy can handle the pressure when things get tough. Not an unwelcome trait to have running a football team.
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