A SINKING LEADERSHIP

In the midst of a championship lull, we size up coaches and managers running Chicago’s five major teams

Some of the uproar about the White Sox’ decision to hire 76-year-old Tony La Russa as their manager has subsided, drowned out by all the rousing talk about a young, exciting team.

But La Russa is going to be front and center in whatever the Sox do in 2021. He’s playing nice with the media so far, injecting some humor into his video conferences. The perception, fair or not, is that he’s humorless, so any attempt at lightheartedness on his part is like watching a glacier finally give in to the warmth of the sun. It feels good, but you do wonder when the angry waves will hit the boat.

This is not what anyone would call the Golden Age of Guidance in Chicago sports. Part of that has to do with newness. La Russa and the Bulls’ Billy Donovan are in their first seasons with their teams, and the Cubs’ David Ross has one pandemic-shortened season under his belt. Part of it has to do with disappointment. Matt Nagy and the Bears have regressed since his first season. And part of it has to do with personality. Blackhawks fans looking for a spark from Jeremy Colliton might want to bring their own book of matches.

None of that means the five coaches/managers won’t turn into Chicago icons someday. But we’re in something of a lull, charismawise. There’s no Ditka. No Phil. No Ozzie. No Q. No Maddon. And, come to think of it, we’re in a lull championship-wise, too. Winning is sort of important.

What, exactly, do we have here when it comes to these maximum leaders? And where are they going? Let’s take a look.

Matt Nagy: He could have owned Chicago after his rookie season as a head coach.

The Bears went 12-4 in 2018, he won the NFL Coach of the Year award and he was lots of fun. His offense looked innovative, he ran trick plays and he made quarterback Mitch Trubisky appear to be halfway decent. What was there not to love?

Two years later, a more demanding, impatient owner than George McCaskey would have shown Nagy the door.

How did we get here? Turns out you need a quarterback and

TYLER LARIVIERE/SUN-TIMES (SKYLINE), JOHN ANTONOFF/SUN-TIMES (LA RUSSA), GETTY IMAGES

HANNAH FOSLIEN/GETTY IMAGES Bears coach Matt Nagy has squandered much of the goodwill he built when he compiled a 12-4 record in his first season at the helm in 2018.