Opinion: Jim Harbaugh Will Return to Chicago
Jim Harbaugh Will Return to Chicago
The 2020 Chicago Bears season has taken quite the twisted turn, but the sad fact is many of us expected this. The three week stretch of visiting the LA Rams, vs New Orleans at Soldier Field, and at Tennessee was the crucial test many of us were looking at with hope and optimism, but the stretch has turned out to be what we all realistically were waiting for. After this Bears team started 5-1, they now sit at a what feels like a disappointing 5-4, and are riding a 3-game losing streak. The offense looks hopeless. The play calling is truly horrendous. The hope is gone.
The issue in Chicago is the play calling, and it is something that Matt Nagy has refused to relinquish to his Offensive Coordinator, Bill Lazor. Chicago’s only loss that has looked winnable has been the New Orleans Saints matchup in week 8 that they lost in OT on a Will Lutz field goal. In the four Chicago loses, Chicago has scored 42 points in the 4th quarter alone. That’s great for a team that would need to close games out, but the problem is that heading into the 4th quarter in those loses, Chicago had only scored 22 points, and trailed a combined 22-73 heading into the final quarter of play.
Matt Nagy apparently cannot call a game accurately until garbage time, so it’s time to officially place him on the hot seat.
Enter: Jim Harbaugh
The Chicago Bears drafted Jim Harbaugh in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft, and was the backup to Chicago’s last Super Bowl winning QB, Jim McMahon. A reunion between Chicago and Harbaugh would certainly be entertaining and absolutely makes sense for a Chicago team whose clock is ticking on a generational defense that gets older and older with every passing season. Harbaugh spent 4 seasons (2011-2014) as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers which saw Harbaugh go 44-19-1 including three straight 10+ win seasons, three straight NFC Championship games, 1 NFC championship, and 1 Super Bowl appearance. Following a lackluster 8-8 finish in 2014, team ownership informed Harbaugh he would not be returning as the head coach, and Harbaugh spurned another chance at the NFL for Michigan. Harbaugh told ESPN back in 2015, “I really didn’t look at any other situation. I didn’t do a pros and cons list or anything. It was just a decision I made from the heart and that was it. I was going to go to Michigan.” Since then, the Michigan Wolverines have gone 47-18 (35-12 Big Ten) (1-4 Bowl Games) in five full seasons under Harbaugh, but the team’s rough 1-2 start to the 2020 campaign have many calling for Harbaugh’s job.
Giving the keys to Harbaugh should not be out of the question, especially with how horrendous the state of Matt Nagy’s offense is in. Should the Bears continue to spiral, Nagy may find himself looking for a new job come that first Monday in January. If the Bears opt to move on from Nagy, they should also move on from Trubisky/Foles. My personal pick for the Bears’ 2021 QB1 is Kyle Trask, an X-Factor QB for the Florida Gators, who are fresh off of their blowout upset win over their rival Georgia Bulldogs. Trask’s 2020 season have him tied for first in TDs (22) to only 3 INT. Trask also boasts the 4th best QBR in college football (92.9). Pursuing this option would allow Chicago’s front office to franchise tag Allen Robinson for one more season and instantly give Trask a top WR talent in Robinson and an emerging talent in speedster Darnell Mooney.
I’m of course getting ahead of myself. Let’s see how Nagy runs the table in 2020, and we’ll re-evaluate this team next month. As for now, Jim Harbaugh has a high record of winning with the last two franchises he has led, and a Chicago-Harbaugh reunion could be just the thing this Bears organization needs to finally get over the hump.
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