The Chicago Bears fan base was calling for blood when the team announced head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace were returning after the 2020 season.
And now, after trading up to land Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, the sins of the Mitchell Trubisky pick have been washed away.
And the redemption tour for Pace and Nagy is well underway.
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First stop, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN's First Take. Who makes a startling apology, primarily to Nagy for Pace's misdeeds.
"I will tell you this, and I openly confess I'm a bit emotional. And you don't hear me say this often, I've been a bit hard on Matt Nagy," Smith said.
"I want to give a slight mea culpa in that regard."
Smith cites their consecutive 8-8 seasons, the defense regression (fair) and the disgust for moving up to get Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson.
NFL
Wait... what?
And this is important, he says "they" meaning Pace and Nagy. He even clarifies it.
"I've been so disgusted. I haven't recovered that they moved up to draft Mitchell Trubisky and passed on Deshaun Watson, you know Nagy and Pace," Smith said. "I think that was a fireable offense."
And for Pace that's probably fair. But Nagy was in Kansas City with the Chiefs who traded up to land Patrick Mahomes. Nagy helped develop Mahomes his rookie season, and was his offensive coordinator for Mahomes' first NFL start.
John Fox was the Bears' head coach when Trubisky was drafted and he coached Trubisky in his rookie season.
He again says that decision means "they shouldn't have their jobs."
So Smith is a little out of sorts, but hey we'll take his message to be for the Bears in general.
But he concludes his monologue by saying people are sleeping on the possibility of Fields sleeping starting in the playoffs.
"I have to confess been a bit hard on Nagy because Nagy can coach, and I can't do deny that," Smith said.
Something tells me another mea culpa might be coming to Nagy from Stephen A.
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