The Chicago Bears have hired Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as their next head coach. The Bears recently fired John Fox after placing fourth in the NFC North and hoisting a 14-34 in three seasons. Nagy comes from a Chiefs offense which recently lost in the AFC Wild Card game, but started the season 5-0. After a mid-season disaster culminating in week 13, Nagy took over the offensive play calling from head coach Andy Reid, resurrecting the offense while raising the Chiefs to a 4-2 record down the stretch of the season.
Chicago Bears Hire Matt Nagy as Head Coach
Several teams were interested in hiring Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as their next head coach, but the Chicago Bears were the team to get the coordinator who may be the next offensive mastermind in the NFL. Nagy was an intrinsic part to the Chiefs offensive creation and resurrection in 2017, seeing a 10-6 record.
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith completed arguably the best season of his career under Nagy, completing 67.5 percent of passes while landing 4,042 yards, 26 touchdowns and a mere five interceptions. In addition, Smith threw for the longest adjusted net yards per pass in his career at 8.6 yards per pass. That underlying statistic assisted in Smith overcoming his ‘check-down’ nomenclature.
Nagy will be inheriting a Bears team that has placed fourth in the NFC North over the past four years. However, he also will be receiving quarterback Mitch Trubisky heading into his second year and looking to overcome a rookie ‘check-down’ nomenclature as well. The Bears offense also owns a powerful running attack between Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Despite some tangential success and weapons, the Bears finished the 2017 season 5-11.
The Bears also possess a growing defense behind linebackers Leonard Floyd and Danny Trevathan. Nagy has a plethora of talent to work with, but will need to work in the off-season with general manager Ryan Pace to complete the Bears roster.
Pace’s contract was recently extended through the 2021 season. However, details on Nagy’s contract are yet to be announced. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Bears are expected to lock-up Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator.
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