Report: Bears ownership 'directed' Matt Nagy to start Justin Fields in Week 5

The stories coming out of the Chicago Bears continue to paint an ugly picture for embattled coach Matt Nagy.

According to Hub Arkush of Pro Football Weekly, Bears chairman George McCaskey intervened and "directed" Nagy to make Justin Fields the team’s starting quarterback prior to the team’s Week 5 game. Nagy had stood by veteran Andy Dalton as his starter up to that point and was not on board with the decision to start Fields.

It is unclear if McCaskey relayed the message directly to Nagy or had general manager Ryan Pace do it on his behalf.

Dalton got hurt in Week 2 and was replaced by Fields, who also started the next two games due to Dalton’s injury. The Bears had been adamant that Dalton was their starter, which made for some awkward moments. The switch to Fields made Nagy look like he was backtracking and indecisive.

Whether Nagy deserves to keep his job or not, the Bears have not done him a lot of favors lately. He has been forced to deal with chatter about his firing, and it looks like he’s been undermined in some respects. The entire organization clearly needs a total reset, but that’s not all Nagy’s fault at this point.