Howard's departure had been rumored since the day Nagy arrived, and it finally occurred Thursday evening when he was flipped to the Eagles for a conditional 2020 draft pick that at best will land in the fifth round. That's where the Bears found Howard initially in 2016, and his production has been unquestionable with 3,370 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns in 778 attempts in three seasons.
And here's hoping the best for him in Philadelphia, but it was clear that this Bears offense needs somebody faster and more agile, with greater ability to contribute as a pass receiver.
Cloning Tarik Cohen is out of the question for now and a possible violation of both the collective bargaining agreement and medical ethical standards, but finding more multi-faceted weapons like him was a priority the moment the season came to its hollow double-thunk of an end. That's why Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Davis were added in free agency and another shifty back is likely to arrive via the draft.
It's Nagy's world, and when the Coach of the Year walks into the office of the Executive of the Year and outlines what he wants to take this machine to another gear, they trade the slow guy and make room for faster guys.
And that's what this really boils down to, without complicating the issue. Howard isn't quick or fast enough. We saw it right in front of our eyes.
It didn't matter as much when former coach John Fox was content to play antiquated football and slog around accomplishing nothing, but now there's little time for that and even less desire. Howard was a significant contributor to a terrible offense and then proved to be a noticeably less important part of a much better one.
The Bears also were predictable with Howard in, a tendency wholly anathema to what Nagy is doing here. The entire idea is to keep defenses guessing with regular personnel groupings that conceal any number of route combinations and misdirections that create advantageous and immediately exploitable matchups. Howard made that more difficult.
The Bears could have waited into training camp, betting that attrition at the position around the league would inflate Howard's market value, but acting as they did means they place a higher value on just getting on with the inevitable and advancing the installation to the 202-level classes without concern for any retro-fitting of older parts.
Nagy is speeding it all up, on the field and off of it.