Report: George McCaskey instructed Bears to name Justin Fields starting QB

Alyssa Barbieri

Wed, Nov 24, 2021, 1:14 PM·1 min read

Bears head coach Matt Nagy has proven in multiple ways that he’s not the right guy to develop quarterback Justin Fields.

And it started before the season when Nagy refused to let Fields compete for the starting job, relegating him to the bench to start the season despite Fields showing he was ready to develop on the field.

Even when Fields finally saw the field as a starter when Andy Dalton suffered a knee injury, Nagy remained insistent that Dalton would take over as the starter when he was healthy. As you can imagine, that didn’t go over well with the fans.

When Nagy named Fields the permanent starter in Week 5, many fans speculated that ownership had stepped in to force Nagy’s hand. Especially given Nagy’s continued insistence that Dalton would be the starter when he returned from injury…until Nagy finally relented.

Now, it appears we know why.

According to Shaw Media‘s Hub Arkush, it was Bears chairman George McCaskey who instructed the team to name Fields the permanent starting quarterback — against Nagy’s wishes.

It’s unclear how the directive was given to the coaching staff, whether there was a conversation in person between McCaskey and Bears head coach Matt Nagy, or if general manager Ryan Pace was directed to give the instructions to Nagy. The move was against the wishes of Nagy, per multiple sources.

While Fields has had some typical rookie growing pains, the most important thing this season is that he’s getting some beneficial game experience, and his development from Week 3 to now has been evident.

The Bears aren’t contenders this season, which makes the rest of this season about Fields’ development…once he returns from a rib injury suffered on Sunday.

And if that’s the case, as it should be, Nagy shouldn’t get six more games to impact Fields given he most likely won’t be coaching in Chicago next season.