Defense not bothered by Nagy's criticism: 'No one took offense to it' originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bears defense played poorly Sunday at Lambeau Field. So when head coach Matt Nagy met with the media Monday morning, he said as much.
This became controversial.
Such things happen in the NFL, especially when a team is struggling. And the criticism was loud enough that Nagy addressed his defense about it when the team reconvened at Halas Hall this week. Nagy spends time in the defensive meeting every Wednesday, but after the players were home on Monday and Tuesday due to the league’s COVID-19 protocol, he felt the need to clarify some things.
“I think that him being the head coach, you never know how certain guys might take certain things or how certain guys might read into it. He clarified it. I won't go into specifics, but he just let us know that he had our back,” safety Tashaun Gipson said.
And despite his team’s struggles the last two seasons, that has never been in question. Other than one players-only meeting during last year’s four-game losing streak, there was never any doubt that Nagy maintained the trust of the locker room in 2019. And despite the drama kicked up this week by Nagy telling the truth about a performance both players and coaches have called “embarrassing,” the locker room still appears to have his back.
“Coach Nagy’s not the type of person where he’s going to come and bash somebody, throw somebody under the bus,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “I don’t feel like anyone took offense to it. For us, we just need to go out there and learn better. Like I said, we hold ourselves up to a high standard. I told you guys that a few weeks ago, and so does coach.”
Somewhat lost in Nagy’s emotional plea Monday morning is that he didn’t say anything that wasn’t already obvious. He was particularly irked by the Packers’ first 36 plays of the game, when the defense allowed 22 plays of at least five yards, 16 first downs and three touchdowns. Those are astoundingly awful numbers. Even Marc Trestman could have jumped on a Zoom call and complained about that performance with some credibility.
The difference is that Nagy still carries the respect of his players. He’s always going to be largely tied to a struggling offense, but there’s never been any question about him leading the entire team and the defense has always appreciated him as a head coach.
“I've only been here a year man, but I have a great deal of respect for him, so (he) just pretty much let us know, man, like it wasn't a finger pointing session,” Gibson said.
Nagy even said as much on Monday. Yes, he called out the defensive struggles, but he also pointed out the offensive issues. And when he issued his challenge, it was always to the entire team – including the coaches.
“We better wake our tails up,” Nagy said Monday. “Every freaking coach on the staff, every player, better wake up and start understanding where we're at. Have some personal pride. Have a freaking sense of urgency.”
In his challenge, Nagy listed off a bunch of actions players can take, including spending more time on the JUGS machine or watching more film. He pleaded to his players – all of them -- to ask themselves if they can do more.
“Check yourself, and that's where there's some soul searching. That's what the soul searching means. It doesn't mean point fingers. It doesn't mean blame. That's not what we do, that's not how we roll,” Nagy said.
Based on what was said by Jackson and Gipson Thursday, his players didn’t object.
“When he says something like that, we take it as motivation,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to get back on track and fix what needs to be fixed.
Gipson appreciated that Nagy addressed the subject in Wednesday’s defensive meeting but didn’t think it was necessary.
“Nobody that I talked to was personally offended and brought up the comments, so honestly, had he not even said nothing, I don't think it was something that people would have lingered on or thought about to be honest with you,” Gipson said. “But like I said, him being the guy that he is, he got in front of it just in case there was anybody who had any ill will towards the comments.”
And that’s the thing -- on a large football team, there’s always one or two players unhappy about something, even during winning streaks. Just because Jackson and Gipson don’t think anyone was offended doesn’t mean there weren’t one or two players who took offense because the defense has largely carried the offense the last three years.
But as sick as fans – and even reporters – are of hearing about the Bears’ strong culture, it does help in situations like this. What matters is how the players respond this week against the Detroit Lions.
Another bad performance could expose some cracks in that culture, but for now, Nagy’s comments about the defense aren’t nearly as a big of a problem as what’s happening on the field. Those are the real problems that need to be fixed.
