Matt Nagy to resume play-calling duties for Bears

Nagy said Friday he will call plays next season. This comes after the Bears signed ex-Bill Lazor pupil Andy Dalton. Lazor called the Bears’ offensive plays beginning in Week 10. Despite Lazor having been Dalton’s position coach in 2016 and his offensive coordinator for the next two seasons, he will return to his initial Bears role as a non-play-calling OC.

Nagy’s play-calling acumen played a key role in his 2018 Coach of the Year award, with the former Chiefs OC elevating Mitchell Trubisky during a season that nearly ended with the Bears advancing to the divisional round. However, Trubisky regressed considerably in 2019 and was benched early in the 2020 season. While Trubisky returned to his QB1 role late in the season and led the Bears to three straight wins in Nagy’s second playoff bid, Chicago proved no match for Green Bay and New Orleans in one-sided defeats to close the season. The Bears, who ranked 25th in offensive DVOA last season, have not ranked above 20th in Nagy’s three seasons in charge.

The Bears promised Dalton he would be the starter and followed through on that pledge Friday, slotting the 10-year veteran above Nick Foles at quarterback. Nagy, who will enter the season on one of the NFL’s hottest seats, will be running the show during Dalton’s Chicago debut.