All about culture, club
Make no mistake, Nick Foles arrives driven to be the winner of the Bears’ QB competition
Nick Foles believes he knows exactly why his football career didn’t die when he was absolutely ready to let it. Foles is certain he understands why the flame barely flickering inside him never went out but instead became a roaring fire again.
When his one and only season with the Rams came to an end in 2015, Foles was seriously considering walking away. He was battered and fatigued by his on-field struggles. And that one year in St. Louis had been emotionally taxing to boot.
Foles had struggled to adapt to a new offense and, in retrospect, never asserted himself enough to persuade coaches to cater the system to his strengths. He played poorly. He was benched late in the season in favor of Case Keenum. And when the Rams finished 7-9 — the franchise’s ninth consecutive losing season — Foles felt the full drain of an organization that had a shaken culture and too much of a losing vibe.
In so many ways, when Foles requested his release just before training camp in 2016, the 26-yearold quarterback was ready for his retirement. He felt worn down by feelings that he was no longer playing a game but trying to survive in a business. He was bothered by a sense that so few people around him truly cared about his well-being.
Still, when Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who had brought him into the league with the Eagles four years earlier, offered a life raft, Foles took a leap of faith. One more shot at this.
Said Foles: “I just told Andy during that time, ‘There’s a little spark inside me that might still be there that loves playing football. But I’ve got to be in the right culture to make that happen.’”
It’s that 2016 season in Kansas City, Mo., that was truly the revival. Sure, it was a year in which Foles threw only 55 passes and made only one emergency November start in place of Alex Smith. But it was the year in which Foles fell in love with football again, a season in which he developed strong bonds with coaches and teammates and was reminded what makes him tick.
With Reid providing the positive energy and Chiefs quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy challenging and stimulating Foles daily, the quarterback felt his flickering flame getting its oxygen and growing day after day.
“It had nothing to do with football,” Foles said Friday afternoon. “It had to do with the culture and the energy from the human beings within the organization that allowed me to (enjoy everything).
“Four days into training camp I started loving the game. This love of the game poured back in. The way I play the game, the way I look at the game, has changed forever.”
In short, Foles said, he rediscovered a brotherhood where “everyone was in it together.”
“The love of football came back because of the people that I was stepping into the huddle with and going to work with every day.”
Now, as he begins this next leg of his football odyssey with the Bears as his fifth team and Nagy as his new head coach, Foles is convinced a similar vibe awaits.
“I’m excited to once again have this opportunity,” Foles said. “It’s amazing that it’s happening.”
‘He’s very aware’: Make no mistake. Foles will arrive in Chicago intent on becoming the Bears’ Week 1 starting quarterback and never letting that role go. Sure, he called incumbent starter Mitch Trubisky shortly after the Jaguars traded him last month, wanting to “get started on the right foot.” Foles quickly wanted to cut through any awkwardness and connect to let Trubisky know he would be supportive in every way possible at every step along the way.
But with what the bosses at Halas Hall have declared “an open competition” at quarterback, the driven side of Foles will come out quickly. Foles wants to prove he can be a successful full-time starter in the NFL, something he hasn’t really done over the first eight years of his career.
“Obviously,” Foles said, “going through my career, it’s been an interesting curve. It’s been all over the place. Which has honestly allowed me to go through a lot of different things and gain a lot of wisdom from it. But the opportunity to be a full-time starter and make it through a season is something any player would love to do in the right situation. So this opportunity to have that? I’m excited for it. I really am.”
Foles has seen the highest peaks and lowest valleys as an NFL quarterback. He has been a Super Bowl MVP and an unwanted castoff.
In Chicago, quite naturally, there’s already an intense debate over which version of Foles the Bears are getting.
But for Nagy and Bears general manager Ryan Pace, Foles’ entry into the quarterback competition is exciting. For one thing, they know there will be no phobia of the big stage in the big city.
“He’s a talented player,” Pace said. “And the fact that he’s played in some big games and performed well in those big games? That carries a lot of weight.”
Added Nagy: “The one thing that you guys will realize about Nick Foles is that he’s very aware He understands what’s going on. He understands the situation. And that’s another part of this. … I can promise you this: It’s going to be completely fair and it’s going to be extremely competitive in a good way. It’s going to be a healthy competitiveness.”
Time will tell: Foles has no idea when the first time he’ll set foot on a practice field at Halas Hall might be. He has no idea when he’ll be allowed to sit in a meeting with his new coaches and teammates for the first time or when he’ll be allowed to just hang out and immerse himself in the Bears locker room.
No one knows.
In an uncertain time when the nation’s coronavirus emergency has postponed life as everyone once knew it, Foles’ football future hangs in a necessary state of limbo.
The veteran quarterback understands that will bring challenges as he tries to learn the Bears offense without on-field practice time to develop chemistry and timing.
His experience working in similar offenses with the Eagles and Chiefs should help. So, too, will his relationships from previous stops with Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.
But that process of connecting? “The big thing is you always want to be around people,” Foles said. “The thing I thrive in is a great culture with good people, understanding the relationships and building those relationships. And honestly the offseason training time is a huge part of that. … So that’ll be different (right now). Those are the times we’re in.”
For now, that means Foles will be left alone mostly, with cut-ups of the Bears offense to study and digest and later review. He’s already jotting down his list of questions for coaches so he can fully understand the concepts and terminology.
He also feels optimistic that the high-energy, think-big environment Nagy has established over the past two seasons at Halas Hall is conducive to chasing a championship.
“I’ve seen what cultures can create,” Foles said. “It just makes people better. It makes them want to be in the facility and makes it about more than just themselves. That is a huge excitement (for me).”
The bond with Nagy, Foles said, will also be valuable if and when it’s his turn to play. Having that direct connection between playcaller and quarterback can be energizing. And, Foles said, with the additional support of Lazor, DeFilippo and passing-game coordinator Dave Ragone, he’s hopeful to experience something similar to what fueled the Eagles’ 2017 run to the Super Bowl.
In Philadelphia, the unselfish cohesion between coach Doug Pederson, offensive coordinator Frank Reich and DeFilippo was ever-present. They sparked a breakthrough for Carson Wentz to become an MVP front-runner. And after Wentz suffered a seasonending left knee injury late in the year, the coaches gracefully pivoted to bring out the best in Foles.
“We were able to develop a game plan I loved,” Foles said, “and I could go out there and play with my eyes closed. That was a huge part of it because there weren’t egos. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, he’s going to run this version of the offense.’ It was ‘What can we do to put Nick in a position to succeed with his teammates?’ ”
In Chicago, the stage is set for a true quarterback competition with Foles and Trubisky battling it out on equal footing and trying to win the job for the regular season. When Halas Hall fully reopens and players are allowed to again hit the field together, the city’s spotlight will immediately move toward the competitors in the orange practice jerseys.
Foles understands the intrigue and is eager for whatever is ahead.
“Once again,” he said, “it’s not about me. Everyone is excited — quarterback this, quarterback that. But it’s about the Chicago Bears. It’s about helping this team and this city being successful. I’m truly grateful to be here.”