Chicago Bears: Is Matt Nagy a Mirage or The New Adam Gase?

The Chicago Bears have a ton of interviews lined up in the coming weeks as they try to find their next head coach. Hopefully one that can finally win them game.

Early expectations are that GM Ryan Pace will seek out an offensive guru. There are a number of reasons for this. First and foremost is it will provide stability for quarterback Mitch Trubisky. His development is paramount to the future success of this team. Second, it follows the New Orleans Saints blueprint that Pace has clearly stuck to since he took over. No doubt he’s searching for his “Sean Payton” since Trubisky is his Drew Brees.

That’s why it’s no surprise men like Josh McDaniels, Pat Shurmur and John DeFilippo are among the early interview candidates for the position. All are offensive specialists with a background in quarterback development. McDaniels has overseen the peak of the Tom Brady era in New England. Shurmur revived his career by getting a Pro Bowl season from Case Keenum of all people. DeFilippo helped turn Carson Wentz into an MVP candidate for the Eagles.

Another name who just joined that list is Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.

Nagy came out of nowhere in 2017, leading to questions and excitement

At the start of the season Nagy was a bit of an afterthought. He was the quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs since 2013. Then in 2016 he was promoted to offensive coordinator after Doug Pederson left for Philadelphia. Even then people didn’t pay him much notice. Head coach Andy Reid was calling the plays so his impact was viewed as minimal. That changed on December 3rd when Reid handed the calls to him.

Since then Kansas City is averaging over 28 points per game. In that span the Chiefs quarterbacks have thrown seven touchdowns to just two interceptions and the team is a perfect 4-0. Nagy’s name is suddenly red hot going into the playoffs. If he can deliver another strong performance, teams are really going to take notice. So what’s holding them back?

Well aside from still being new to this position of power, Nagy is a bit of a mystery in general. He wasn’t given a major assistant coaching job until he got to Kansas City five years ago. Before that he was an intern and minor assistant in Philadelphia. He’s never worked for anybody besides Andy Reid in the NFL. Before that he was a journeyman quarterback in the Arena League. So the question becomes is this guy a mere flash in the pan? Or could he be another Adam Gase?

Gase had a similar meteoric rise to stardom in the AFC West

It would seem the AFC West might be the place where young offensive minds thrive. This feels like a second act in a way. Nagy isn’t the first coordinator to come from such a quiet background to dominate the NFL. Back in 2013 Adam Gase was a complete unknown. He’d been a minor assistant briefly in Detroit and San Francisco before arriving under McDaniels with the Broncos in 2009. He was held over in 2011 by John Fox and eventually got promoted to offensive coordinator two years later.

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Many weren’t sure he’d be able to cut it. Then Denver delivered the greatest season an offense would ever have, becoming the only one in NFL history to score over 600 points. From there Gase became a hot coaching candidate. Though it took a little longer than expected he eventually took over the Miami Dolphins. How fitting might it be if the Bears were to land a coach who rose up the ranks in the same fashion? Especially considering they could’ve promoted Gase back in 2016.