Chicago Bears: 3 Reasons Matt Nagy Could Be Their Guy

The Chicago Bears are set to pursue their next head coach come this January, and a popular name expected to be of interest in Matt Nagy

Offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs, his star has been rising rapidly over the past month. That was when head coach Andy Reid handed him play calling duties for the offense. Since then the Chiefs have not scored less than 26 points in any game and everything is clicking. At age 39 he represents another of those young blood coaches who might be able to follow in the footsteps of Coach of the Year hopeful Sean McVay out in Los Angeles.

Nagy remains a bit of an unknown. Being a Reid disciple is never a bad thing of course. Ask guys like Doug Pederson and John Harbaugh. At the same time, Nagy is still so fresh to the scene, having just become a coordinator in 2016. There’s no way to know for sure if he’d head coaching material, so perhaps it’s better to ask the simpler question. Would he be good for Mitch Trubisky and the Bears offense were he to take over?

Here are three things he can do for them.

#1 – Coaches passing efficiency

Alex Smith has always been an efficient passer but Nagy gets the most out of what he does best. Prior to his taking over, Smith had 19 touchdowns and four interceptions in 11 games. Over the past four games since Nagy took over play calling duties, Smith has seven touchdowns to just one interception. That’s an even better ratio prior to the change. This is something that the Bears will want more from Trubisky. Higher number of touchdowns, lower number of interceptions.

#2 – Commits to the run

Don’t be fooled. Nagy may be a former quarterback who specializes at the position, but he’s a balanced offensive mind. Just look back at the past four games. In three of the he made sure to give Kareem Hunt at least 24 touches on the ground. All three of those games were victories and in each he still managed to make sure Smith was staying productive as a passer. That’s the sort of balance the Bears have been yearning for.

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#3 – Knows how to manufacture big plays

One problem with the Bears offense since the start of the season has been their consistent inability to hit big plays, especially through the air. Despite having Smith at QB, a man notorious for not being a deep thrower, the Chiefs have consistently hit on several big plays over the past month. Much of this is due to Nagy’s ability to manufacture good matchups at the right time, then allowing his quarterback to take the shot.

Such an aggressive mentality is something the Bears haven’t had under John Fox. It’s high time that changed.