When the Chicago Bears traded for Nick Foles, they finally acquired a quarterback who can run their offense. Now, we should get answers about the man coaching it.

Because Foles knows exactly how this offense is supposed to operate.

Prior to the 2019 season, his last 18 games had come with either Andy Reid or Doug Pedersen calling the shots. In the 14 games in which he threw more than 15 passes, he completed nearly 68 percent of them for 3,661 yards, 24 touchdowns, 9 interceptions and a passer rating of 97.2.

Those aren’t regular season MVP numbers, but with the Bears defense, they’d get the job done.

(And it shouldn’t be forgotten that five of those games came in the playoffs, including two against what were considered to be the league’s top defenses in those given seasons.)

Much has been said and written about what Foles did in Philadelphia, but it sure appears as if the Chiefs debated a quarterback change a year earlier. When Alex Smith was injured, Foles came in and threw two touchdowns off the bench to lead the team to a win. Reid wasted no time in naming Foles the starter for the following week and Foles put together an efficient outing for another win. The Chiefs ultimately stuck with their starter, however, as Smith returned and led them to the playoffs again.

Foles struggled in Jacksonville. There’s no debating that.

Now Bears quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo failed to duplicate what they accomplished in Philadelphia. Perhaps it would’ve worked if Foles didn’t get injured in the season-opener? We’ll never know. But that was Flip’s third attempt at being an offensive coordinator/play caller and it has become clear he isn’t suited for that role. After two years of struggling to score, it’s fair to question if Nagy as well.

The Bears have had signs of being a good offense, but no consistency. While it hasn’t all been on the quarterback, it seems that when Mitch Trubisky played well, the Bears scored points.  They haven’t been able to run the ball, but that has hardly been a prerequisite for making this offense function. It’s about moving the ball through the air and they need a quarterback who can make the right decisions and layup throws.

Before adding Foles, Nagy had an out. His offense couldn’t work because Trubisky could not learn defenses, process information or make accurate throws consistently. Foles can. We’ve seen it at the highest level.  With this trade, it certainly appears as if Nagy has his quarterback.

Does that mean 2020 is a make-or-break year for the Bears coach?

We know Foles can do his job. Can Nagy?

We get a chance to find out.