Tony Dungy Has Surprising Comment About Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell Trubisky has been under fire since he’s entered the NFL. The Chicago Bears quarterback hasn’t lived up to expectations ever since the Bears traded up to select him with the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Trubisky now has veteran Nick Foles looking over his shoulder this season in case he struggles. Former head coach and current sports analyst Tony Dungy had a surprising comment regarding Trubisky’s upcoming season.
Mitchell Trubisky selected No. 2 overall in 2017
After Myles Garrett was selected as the top pick in the 2017 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers were on the clock. The Chicago Bears, picking third, were apparently afraid the 49ers or another team was going to snag Trubisky, so they traded up a spot to pick second. The Bears surrendered three drafts picks to do so.
The Bears selected Trubisky, who played his college football at North Carolina, at No. 2. Trubisky has been average at best, leading the Bears to a 23-18 regular-season record. He did make the Pro Bowl after guiding Chicago to an 11-3 mark in his 14 starts in 2018. He threw for 3,223 yards and 24 touchdowns in those 14 games.
Outside of that season, Trubisky is 12-15 as a starter. Last year, the Bears went 8-7 in the 15 games Trubisky was the quarterback. He threw 17 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. The Bears declined to exercise Trubisky’s fifth-year option and traded for Nick Foles to compete with Trubisky for the starting job. The Bears announced Trubisky won the job and will start Week 1.
A confident Trubisky said he was fueled by adversity
Mitchell Trubisky has heard the boos. The Bears brought in a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Nick Foles to possibly pry the job away from Trubisky. Trubisky wouldn’t have any of it. He kept his starting job with a strong outing at camp.
“I just accepted it as a challenge,” Trubisky said, according to ChicagoBears.com. “It really pushed me every day mentally to just want to get better and want to prove everyone wrong and make sure that this was still my team and I think I just found my confidence this offseason when I figured out it was going to be a competition.
“I mean, something had to change from last year to this year,” he said. “I think it was getting healthy, how I trained this offseason, how I approached it mentally, just talking to my support cast and family and friends and reaching out for advice and I just found my confidence again. You have to believe in yourself for your teammates and other people to believe in you. So I just came in here with a different attitude and mindset and how I’m going to approach this season.”
Tony Dungy makes surprising comment regarding Trubisky
With veteran Nick Foles ready to serve as Mitchell Trubisky’s backup, many might be calling for a quick switch if the Bears’ offense struggles early. Most Bears fans will want to have Trubisky on a short leash. Veteran coach Tony Dungy said that should not be the case. He said Trubisky won the job and needs to know it’s his for the long haul.
“(Trubisky) has to know that I’m your guy,” Dungy told NBC Sports. “And a three-interception game or the offense getting in a little funk, (thinking) all of a sudden I’m going to be out – that’s a hard way to play quarterback.”
Dungy said the team needs to rally behind their guy and know he is their guy. “He’s our quarterback, we gotta rally behind him,” Dungy said. “And if he doesn’t play well sometimes, you know what, other guys – you have to play better. It may not be all him. That’s the way I’d be selling it. Now if you ever make the decision to go to Nick Foles, then you’re making a big statement. You’re saying hey, we gave Mitch every opportunity and it just didn’t quite work out.”
