Bears might have in-state replacement in mind for Matt Nagy
The Bears are reportedly looking close to home in the search to replace Matt Nagy.
The Chicago Bears need a reset in 2021. The team suffered another excruciating loss Sunday when a Mitchell Trubisky fumble allowed the Detroit Lions to take a late lead that resulted in the Bears dropping to 5-7 after a 5-1 start.
The changes need to start at head coach. Matt Nagy’s offense just isn’t working and he has not been able to develop Trubisky at all. He openly criticized his team after last week’s 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers and some internal reflection may be needed to figure out why his team is collapsing.
This latest loss to the Lions still only has the Bears one loss out of the NFC playoff picture. However, there is no evidence Nagy can fix things and it is time to look for a new coach. NFL insider Jason La Canfora wrote Sunday how one top option is already in the state of Illinois.
Bears staying within Illinois
La Canfora explained how Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald will be a top candidate for the Bears. He also noted how Fitzgerald has made it clear he loves his current job and it will take a lot to convince him to take over a team facing such struggles.
Fitzgerald’s Northwestern squad has already clinched a berth in the Big Ten Championship game in what has been a chaotic year in college football. That alone is a testament to his coaching after a rough 3-9 finish for the program in 2019.
The head coach is a Chicago-area native and has spent his entire head coaching career at Northwestern. That program is not going to out-recruit the likes of Ohio State and Michigan, but he has still managed to win four bowl games in his tenure.
Fitzgerald received a 10-year extension back in 2017. That showed a commitment from him to build some special at Northwestern. He has also proven to be fire-proof at that school barring some sort of legendary losing streak.
Matt Nagy gave a disastrous postgame answer. dark. Next
The Bears are right to have Fitzgerald as a candidate. It is just going to take quite the sales pitch to convince him to leave tens of millions of dollars on the table to take over a team that has had three head coaches since 2013.