Sports Illustrated published a story Wednesday that quoted several of the nine kickers -- some of them anonymously -- that the Bears brought in for an audition at rookie camp. The kickers' complaints ranged from Nagy's obsession with Parkey's missed 43-yard field goal attempt in Chicago's playoff loss to the Eagles (the infamous double-doink), the way the Bears used metrics to evaluate the kickers, the overall negative mood in the special teams' room and a perceived bias that involved kicker consultant Jamie Kohl, who the Bears hired to aid them in their search.
Many, but not all, of the kickers invited to Halas Hall had at one time kicked at one of Kohl's camps.
"All of Jamie's guys, they could have shanked the kick, and it was like, 'Oh, you have really good rotation, your foot is wrapping around the ball,'" one kicker told SI. "I don't think this situation will be solved or will be what the team needs to be until Jamie Kohl is gone. The way he very much tries to control a room, tries to be the alpha."
Another kicker added: "All the vibes they gave us during the specialists meetings just did not seem positive whatsoever. It didn't seem like anyone did well. The vibe and the energy was off."
Former Notre Dame kicker Justin Yoon took issue with Nagy harping on Parkey's 43-yard miss. The Bears repeatedly in the offseason program called for their kickers to attempt field goals from 43 yards.
"It's not efficient for the team to continuously beat that one dead horse the whole time," Yoon said. "You have to build a system of confidence for your kicker. I don't think that's how the Bears are running it."
don’t have their defensive coordinator from last year. The Broncos have him, as their head coach. The Bears still don’t have a kicker, which cost them a shot at the Super Bowl last year. The Bears have a much more difficult schedule this year.
