Why Matt Nagy is earning trust with Justin Fields decision

The Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has been under the spotlight as fans and media speculate when he will make the move from Andy Dalton at quarterback to Justin Fields. Nagy has stayed conservative and has said that Dalton will be the starter until there is a feeling in the room that everyone knows that it is time. While this philosophy has been met with criticism, it may be worth giving Nagy a chance on this one.

Matt Nagy knows from Patrick Mahomes

One of the interesting notes that Nagy mentioned post-draft when saying he wanted to slow play Fields was that he was worried about Fields being comfortable calling plays in a huddle and changing his cadence. Nagy said that Patrick Mahomes played in a spread offense in college that did not huddle, and Mahomes had to spend months training his voice to command a huddle. These are small details that Nagy saw and many others did not, but not rushing Mahomes as he learned the minor details made him much better when it was his time.

That is a great story, but what gives Nagy even more credence in telling it is what Fields said yesterday. He was asked about the toughest part of the transition from college, and he essentially spouted what Nagy said post-draft.

The reality is that while we are mad at Matt Nagy for his work with Mitch Trubisky, he did not draft Mitch Trubisky. While he did have a relationship with Nick Foles, that was when Foles was a backup, because that is his skill level.

Now that Nagy has drafted his quarterback, and his quarterback actually has room to grow with upside it is fair to give Nagy a chance to show what he can do with his guy.

Of course, it cannot be blind optimism, but when Nagy says that Fields will need to work on his voice in the huddle, and months later Fields says he has dealing with a learning curve commanding the huddle, you have to admit that Nagy has some sort of clue as to what he is doing.