Leadership and Coaching: The Chicago Bears (and how not to develop talent)

Stupid post-COVID…I was wide awake at OH-THREE-FRICKIN’-THIRTY this morning. Sigh. What do you do when that happens? Well, I answered emails/did business with people in Europe and then…started in with some thinking. It started with reading some volleyball stuff on social media, turned to a book review I’m writing for The Strategy Bridge on leadership within the military, and then…to the NFL.

I grew up a Bears fan–saw the mediocrity of the 1970s, wasting a decade of the greatest running back ever’s talent (Walter Payton) before he finally reached a single Super Bowl. They’ve reached one more Super Bowl in the 36 years since that 1985 season, frittering away years with quite a bit of talent. This all comes to mind after watching the Bears self-destruct yesterday.

It’s not just about yesterday though. It’s about the past several years and what is clearly bad coaching and leadership from within the organization. To be clear–it’s not just about winning. There are times you’re stuck with a schedule of tough teams, there are times you have less experience, less talent, and you just aren’t going to win. Sometimes draft picks don’t pan out–no different than recruits not working out for colleges really.

But…the Bears illustrate some stuff that’s important to look at as a coach/leader–not to emulate, but to point at and say “Don’t do that, ever!”

You can start with yesterday. You’ve got a running back doing well (especially in the first half when the game was close)–so you use that player. Nope. In three years with the Bears, David Montgomery has equaled his college average carries/game only five times. They are 4-1 in those games…and that’s his average # of carries. Montgomery is capable of carrying a heavier load…and remember, that’s 4-1 behind an offensive line known to be weak. He’s not Payton, but he’s good. So why not use him?

In 2017, the Bears traded a crapton of stuff to draft their QB of the Future: Mitch Trubisky. They fired the coach after his first year to hire an offensive-minded coach away from a top team. That’s Matt Nagy. But there was no development of Trubisky. Nagy said he was flawed and the Bears signed Nick Foles to replace Trubisky…except that didn’t work. In the end, the Bears gave up on Trubisky and in 2021 traded a bunch of stuff for their QB of the Future: Justin Fields. Fields is a different style of QB than Trubisky, but Fields’ QB rating is lower than Trubisky’s. Oops.

We’ll get to the leadership in a sec…the Bears have one of the ten best receivers, Allan Robinson. He has not excelled either. The Bears have signed multiple tight ends…no real luck there either.

So what gives? I mentioned you lose sometimes because you just don’t have the talent of your opponent. Oh well. Get the next game. But the Bears have had top prospects at multiple skill positions and have still struggled. That’s on the coach.

It dawned on me this morning that Nagy may know a ton of technical stuff, but he’s a poor leader. He’s trying to force a system onto his talent rather than adjusting his system to the available talent. Because he wishes to pass, the RB doesn’t get enough carries. Because he insists on passing, he puts novice QBs in bad positions facing defenses which expect passes. Receivers need to run routes where the QB can get them the ball–and that doesn’t happen with Robinson now either. As a fan, this is really frustrating.

As a coach watching games, it’s just as frustrating. This is a case where the coach has his ego on the line–he came in as an offensive guru with a great ‘system’…so by God, we’re running that system. It’s not the system at fault–it’s the people running it. That’s not leadership. Leaders take responsibility. Leaders change what isn’t working rather than put the blame/responsibility on the people running things. Baltimore failed a 2-point conversion at the end of a game which resulted in a loss. The coach’s response, “That was my call. It didn’t work but that’s not on the players. That’s me.” To be expected because John Harbaugh a couple years ago completely redid his entire offensive philosophy to fit the skills of Lamar Jackson–rather than force Jackson into the pre-existing offense.

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As a coach, are you trying to force talent to fit your system, what you feel most comfortable with? Why do you use your defensive system–is it the best for your talent…or is it what your coach used with you as a player or what you feel most comfortable teaching? Do you run an offense suited for your talent–or do you set your outside hitter all the time because that’s what you see [Pick your top NCAA Top 10] doing? –do you have the same skill level as those schools?

It’s one of the things I always admired about Jim Stone at Ohio State. The system changed based on the talent. Did he have preferences? Sure–but when you look at the Ohio State teams of the early 90s, they are built around impeccable serve-receive and a setter able to distribute the ball to multiple hitters from anywhere on the court (I still idolize Laura Davis as a floor leader). A decade or so later, Ohio State had one big hitter (Stacey Gordon)–and weak blocking–so the entire strategy changed to maximize opportunities for Gordon while minimizing the block’s weaknesses (I’d never seen such relentless aggressive serving before–errors be damned). Would OSU have been successful in 1994 just setting one OH constantly? Nope. Would 2003 OSU be successful with a balanced offense relying on its block/defense? Nope. Stone changed everything because of the talent available. Masterful.

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Blah blah, right? The thing is, this was important for me personally today. Over the past 2-3 years, I permitted myself to drift away from this, and if not ‘drift away’, permit myself to be convinced by others (watching other teams, lobbying by my assistant)–and I started fitting athletes into expected slots rather than create a system for them maximizing their abilities. It wasn’t a complete failure–we didn’t suck…but it takes effort, a willingness to check your ego at the door, in order to not become a coach like Nagy is right now. I have to remember that for when I coach again. Because I drifted, I had a leadership failure–I didn’t consistently put my teams in the best positions for success on the court.** Live, reflect, learn. It’s easy to whip on Nagy for his mistakes–but then I’ve got to remember, I’m living in my own glass house.

**I haven’t lost sight of the big picture, that those athletes did well in classes, grew as leaders in their own right, and have moved on to four-year schools as well.