Adam Jahns at the Chicago Sun-Times on new head coach Matt Nagy’s apparent lack of willingness to talk about the Bears position in the 2018 NFL draft.
“As candid and open as Bears coach Matt Nagy was during his news conferences at his first mini-camp, he remained tight-lipped about one subject.
Don’t ask Nagy too much about the NFL Draft because he won’t say too much.
“He’ll be as sly as a John Fox.
“What’s Nagy’s sense for the caliber of players who could be available at No. 8?
“’You can ask [general manager] Ryan [Pace] that one,’ Nagy said with smile. ’He’s the expert.”’
A couple things here.
First, though it was subtle in this case, I’m tired of hearing Jahns and others bash John Fox for his unwillingness to give anything away by talking too much to the local press.
It doesn’t make its way into the papers, themselves, that much if for no other reason than because a good editor wouldn’t allow it. But the complaints have been rampant on any podcast many of these guys spend any time on and they haven’t entirely stopped with Fox’s firing.
I get it. He made your job a little more difficult. But I don’t want to hear you whine about your problems any more than you would want me to walk into the newsroom and spend 10 minutes every week whining about mine.
Fox was afraid to say too much and said too little as a result. Again, I get it. But his first job was to win. Providing story lines for the press was secondary.
I might add that although Nagy might be saying more, he’s not that much better than Fox or any other head coach in the NFL.
When asked about the fact that defensive end Leonard Floyd wasn’t able to participate in last week’s mini-camp, Nagy played dumb, claimed he wasn’t concerned, that he didn’t know where Floyd was at in his recovery and that it was something for the training staff.
Your best outside linebacker and practically the only decent pass rusher currently on the roster sprained his knee, couldn’t play the last six games of the season and now, four months after the last game, he can’t even participate in a mini-camp. And you aren’t concerned? You haven’t spoken to anyone about where he’s at in his recovery? Really?
Wow, how candid. Gee, what a breath of fresh air. [eyes rolling]
Give me a break.
Second, on the more positive side, Nagy’s non-comment on the draft does signal something that I like to see. It means that the organization is probably leaving the draft to Pace. Not that Nagy doesn’t have input. He absolutely should. You don’t want your coaching staff stuck with players they don’t believe in.
But in the end, you want the draft to be in the hands of the people who spend their entire year preparing for it. And if you are Pace, you should certainly play your cards close to the vest and keep everyone, including Nagy, on a need to know basis. He did that last year, apparently not telling Fox he was drafting Trubisky until the last minute. And rightfully so, as Fox apparently had a habit of running to his friends in the media with such information. Nagy might or might not be better but no one can leak information they don’t have.
In this respect, the Bears are running the organization the way it should be run.