Matt Nagy was firm in his commitment to maintaining play-calling duties for his Chicago Bears.
That is, until Friday.
Nagy told reporters during his end-of-week presser he will be handing play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.
"It allows me to really look at all three phases from the head-coaching position and focus on that," Nagy said, via The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain. ... "I'm excited to let Bill take this over and he has experience in this role. I think he's gonna do a great job."
Nagy said as recently as this week that he wasn't prepared to hand off play-calling duties, despite his team continuing to struggle mightily when possessing the ball. He echoed the same phrase he'd used weeks prior, saying the Bears staff was "looking at all that right now."
Though Nagy told reporters he wouldn't publicly announce such a change, his examination during the week apparently prompted him to change course.
"I'd be lying if I said this was easy. It's not easy," Nagy said. "It's one of my favorite parts of coaching. I love calling plays."
He hands off to a coach who last called plays in Cincinnati two seasons ago, with the hopes of jumpstarting an offense that is thoroughly entrenched in the mud. Chicago currently ranks 29th in total yards per game, 31st in yards per play and 32nd in rushing yards per game. The Bears are also 31st in the NFL in third-down percentage, numerically illustrating an offense that simply isn't doing much of anything well.
The onus has further shifted to the defense, which is playing at a top-10 level and is overwhelmingly the reason the Bears are in contention at 5-4. Still staring up at Green Bay atop the NFC North, Chicago will hope Lazor serves as the cure-all it has needed for over a month.
