Report: Former Bears Matt Nagy, Mitch Trubisky Never Gelled

New report highlights dysfunction between Nagy, Trubisky originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Matt Nagy has earned plenty of criticism for his unsuccessful tenure as Bears head coach. But the one thing that may have ultimately led to his firing, and Ryan Pace’s firing, was Nagy’s inability to develop Mitchell Trubisky into the quarterback the team envisioned when they traded up to draft him with the No. 2 overall pick.

It was clear to anyone watching the games that Trubisky was not the quarterback for Nagy, nor was Nagy the coach for Trubisky. Now, recent reporting from Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain reveals the dysfunction ran much deeper than previously imagined.

“After the 2019 season concluded, Trubisky prepared to meet with Nagy,” wrote Jahns and Fishbain. “They needed to have a conversation. How were they going to make this work? The quarterback prepared notes for the meeting. Nagy, though, didn’t make it — ‘He no-showed him,’ a source said. Trubisky left his notes behind.”

There was no mention of a rescheduled meeting, or anything of that nature. Just an admission of sorts that maybe this relationship couldn’t be repaired.

The fractures became more pronounced later in 2020, as well. According to Jahns and Fishbain, after the Bears’ Week 2 win over the Giants, Nagy laid into Trubisky “for being uncoachable” in front of the whole team. It’s not uncommon for coaches to publicly single out a player in film study.

“But the rebuke of Trubisky struck a different chord in the locker room,” wrote Jahns and Fishbain.

Unsurprising, after Nagy reportedly called Trubisky “uncoachable.”

Also unsurprising given the report, Trubisky was benched one week later in favor of Nick Foles. But it wasn’t the end of Trubisky’s time leading the offense, yet. The embattled QB returned to the starting lineup eight weeks later, after Foles suffered an injury against the Vikings. In his second stint running the offense, Trubisky was much more successful too. That might be due to one key reason: offensive coordinator Bill Lazor was calling the plays now, not Nagy.

“Trubisky came equipped with plays he wanted to run,” wrote Jahns and Fishbain. “In the past, Trubisky’s concerns had been shrugged off — he had been wanting to get running back David Montgomery and Kmet more involved — but now the coaches listened.”

As more reports come out, it’s become clear that the pairing of both Trubisky and John Fox, and Trubisky and Nagy were arranged marriages. And once again, the Bears find themselves in the position of needing to pair a young quarterback with a head coach who can help him realize his full potential.

This time they’ll need to do everything they can to ensure they find that perfect match.

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