The Chicago Bears want to develop quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, and that’s exactly what they hope new head coach Matt Nagy will do.
Nagy, who served as the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons, was named as John Fox’s on Monday, ending a process that took only a week to complete.
That process, headed up by Bears G.M. Ryan Pace, churned through at least six interviews in just seven days, and ultimately settled on a man who has spent his entire coaching career under the tutelage of one of the NFL’s most well-known coaches.
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In Nagy, the Bears are hoping that they have found the right man to kick their offense into high gear. Under his guidance, the Chiefs’ offense hit remarkable highs and lows in the 2017 season, with Kareem Hunt and Alex Smith both having tremendous seasons in the process.
Nagy showed that he can do some great work with weapons like Hunt and Travis Kelce, and he will hope to bring similar success to players like Tarik Cohen, Jordan Howard, and Adam Shaheen with the Bears.
Of course, there will be questions about Nagy’s lack of playcalling experience, as he only took those duties over late in the 2017 season with the Chiefs. The Chiefs did have some great results with him at the helm, but then hit a wall when Hunt went completely silent in the second half of the team’s loss to the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
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Even still, Pace clearly liked what he heard from the Andy Reid protégé, as Nagy has spent his entire coaching career learning from a man known for his offensive prowess. Add to that his successes as a quarterback in the Arena Football League, and Nagy’s mind is certainly geared toward getting the most out of the man under center, and that’s exactly what Pace was looking for when he started the coaching search.
Nagy reportedly loved Trubisky when he was entering the draft process, and now the two will be linked together. Their successes and failures will be considered as a tandem, and their fortunes, along with Pace’s, are forever intertwined.
Whether or not Nagy, and by extension, Trubisky, will be a success remains to be seen, but one thing is abundantly clear after this rapid coaching search. Pace is not an executive that messes around when he wants something.
He gave up tons of draft assets to move up to take Trubisky and Leonard Floyd. He let Alshon Jeffery walk out the door and cut loose Bears standouts like Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, and Robbie Gould. He hired a head coach less than 48 hours after his former team exited the playoffs.
Whether his moves work out or not, Pace clearly doesn’t overthink things, and has a clear vision in his head for where the Bears are moving in the future. That vision isn’t always presented to fans and pundits like it is with other Chicago sports teams, but Pace has something in mind for this Bears team, and it appears that Nagy is the man he believes can execute that vision.
