The Chicago Bears will not have the same group of captains in 2018 on a week-to-week basis. Instead, head coach Matt Nagy, his coaching staff, and the players, will vote on captains each week.
For Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, the Bears’ captains will be Mitchell Trubisky (offense), Akiem Hicks (defense), and Benny Cunningham (special teams).
This is the same way the Kansas City Chiefs handled their captaincy when Nagy worked there as an assistant coach under Andy Reid.
Some Bears fans are likely soured on this way of picking captains because this was the preferred way former head coach Marc Trestman did it, but there are a handful of NFL teams that subscribe to this method.
“It gives guys opportunities to have ownership, accountability and be a leader for a week,” Nagy said via the Chicago Sun Times. “And then as far as if you end up making it to the playoffs, if you’re fortunate enough to do that, and then we go back to the permanent for the playoffs.”
The Bears will still have locker room leaders, and veterans the younger players turn to, so don’t assume this technique will create a leadership void. This is simply a way for the coaches and players to honor someone for an outstanding week of practice, or an exceptional game.
With rotating captains, the Bears will not utilize the captain’s C on their jersey this year.