If you thought some of Mike Zimmer’s time management and situational decisions have been mind-numbing, wait until the Minnesota Vikings pull up on Matt Nagy in Chicago. There may not be two hotter seats in all of the NFL than Zimmer and Nagy’s right now. On Monday night, the two will collide in front of a national audience.
It will be the first of two matchups between the Chicago Bears and Vikings over the final four weeks. Minnesota is still vying for a postseason berth. Chicago is crawling to the finish line and trying to avoid landmines in the process.
The Bears gave a valiant effort in a 45-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. Coming out of halftime, Nagy said to NBC, “I’m having so much fun.” Even from those in Chicago, the response he got was what you expect.
Situational awareness may not be Nagy’s strong suit.
While the Bears were leading at halftime, the comment still had a skin-crawling effect on those in Chicago. This has been another less-than-glamorous year for the Bears. For most of their fans, Nagy’s coaching has been a big reason why. While it didn’t do any harm in saying what he said, the optics of it are just flat-out bad given all the elements of Chicago’s season.
Suppose Nagy was leading the charge for a 10-3 or 9-4 squad and said that coming out of halftime. More power to him. That’s not the case here. Chicago is a team with no identity that lacks competence up and down the chain of command.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Nagy further cemented this narrative on Monday.
Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, Nagy sent out the punt unit on fourth-and-inches. The ball was marked at Chicago’s 36-yard line. But as soon as they sent the punt into the night sky, the Bears’ chances of winning went sailing with it. It was a questionable move, in the moment and in retrospect both.
On Monday, Nagy had the media dumbfounded with his response.
“You wish you would’ve went for it. That’s the part where you look back as a coach and you go, ‘Damn, that would’ve been a time to do that.'”
This is who the Vikings get to play on Monday night.
It hasn’t been roses and candy for the Vikings. They have underperformed based on their pre-season projections. Some will blame the close losses that could’ve gone either way. Others will still scapegoat Kirk Cousins. No doubt Zimmer deserves a piece of the humble pie as well. How much of that blame he gets is subjective, but he’s helped contribute to the mess. Monday night could feature two coaches looking for other gigs after this season.
For Zimmer to stick around past this year, Minnesota would undoubtedly have to make the playoffs and do some damage in the postseason. Even then, it might not be enough. The real question that remains is if the locker room is fractured and if his message has fallen on deaf ears. Once the locker room is lost, it’s hard to regain it. Take a peek over in Jacksonville for a perfect example with Urban Meyer.
It’s possible those in charge, primarily the Wilfs, view it differently. But more likely, they know change is necessary. As unrealistic as it sounds, a Super Bowl appearance may be the only thing that saves Zimmer at this point. It’s hard to argue against that logic, given all that has transpired this year. In Chicago, it’s slightly different.
The Bears are already all but eliminated from the playoffs. Nagy will almost surely be shown the door at season’s end. Remember, this organization sounded like they were getting rid of Nagy last year before opting to bring him back. Not even winning out with Justin Fields looking magnificent will be good enough to save him at this point. Unless there’s some blackmail material he’s clinging to, Chicago will be in the market for a new head coach.
Monday’s matchup will feature dysfunction vs. dysfunction at Soldier Field. One side is still clinging to life, even if many fans want to pull the plug now. The other side is already beginning their dirt nap. Somehow, Mike Zimmer is coaching Monday against a counterpart who has even less to lose than he does.
