How many former quarterbacks does it take to kickstart Mitchell Trubisky’s development? The Bears are certainly banking on the answer being four.
Matt Nagy did some housecleaning this offseason on his coaching staff, bringing in new offensive voices that specialize in the areas of need the Bears have.
And of course, one of those areas of need is at the quarterback position with Trubisky. Nagy brought in Bill Lazor as the new offensive coordinator and John DeFilippo as quarterbacks coach, as well as promoted former quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone to passing game coordinator. All four of those guys, Nagy included, are former quarterbacks.
The goal appears to be one final attempt to get something out of Trubisky, who is entering his fourth year amid questions of his future in Chicago. And who better to get it out of him than four guys that used to play the position?
It’s also worth noting that all four coaches are familiar with Trubisky. Obviously Nagy and Ragone, who have been working with Trubisky for two and three years, respectively. Then there’s Lazor, who told Bears All Access that years ago he’d scouted Trubisky as a high school quarterback in Mentor, Ohio.
Finally, DeFilippo should be familiar with Trubisky, considering he interviewed for the Bears head coaching job in 2018, where a big draw was how to get the best out of Trubisky like he did working as quarterbacks coach with Carson Wentz in Philadelphia, when he had his MVP-caliber season in 2017.
The former No. 2 overall selection, Trubisky’s struggles have been noted. During a season where Trubisky was supposed to take the next step in his development and in Nagy’s offense, Trubisky’s regression was the joke of the NFL.
Trubisky’s numbers dipped from 2018 to 2019, including passer rating (95.4 to 83.0), touchdowns (24 to 17), completion percentage (66.6 to 63.2) and yards per game (230.2 to 209.2).
Now, Trubisky is entering his fourth season in Chicago, and it might well be his last unless the Bears can find a way to right the ship.
While Nagy and Ragone weren’t enough to handle the job, maybe Lazor and DeFilippo can help salvage something out of the beleaguered quarterback.
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