Bears hire Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator

One of the biggest keys to success for Matt Nagy as Bears' head coach was always going to be what kind of coaching staff he'd put together. After already bringing in one of the best offensive line coaches in football yesterday in Harry Hiestand, along with filling out his special teams staff, Nagy has now all but mapped out his vision for the Bears with his new offensive right hand man.

Mark Helfrich - former Oregon head coach - has been officially hired as the Bears' offensive coordinator, as originally reported by Jeff Hughes of DaBearsBlog on Wednesday.

Helfrich comes to the Bears after spending time away from football for a season following a 2016 ouster with the Ducks in college football. He had spent eight seasons there as first a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012 under Chip Kelly, and then was summarily promoted to head coach in 2013 following Kelly's move to the NFL.

Some of Helfrich's best work includes the development of now Tennessee Titans quarterback and 2015 No. 2 overall pick, Marcus Mariota. The two went on to the National Championship Game in Mariota's final college season before eventually falling to Ohio State.

Thanks to much of Helfrich's assistance, Oregon was a consistent offensive dynamo during his time there, regularly churning out special offensive numbers in a light offensive system that put a lot of run-pass responsibility on the quarterback. Before Oregon, Helfrich had also previously worked under current Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter at both Boise State and then Arizona State, where he helped Andrew Walter break John Elway's Pac-10 records.

Needless to say, Helfrich knows quarterbacks, how to grow them, and understands the expected college implementation of Nagy's unique offense. This should be music to Mitchell Trubisky's ears, who both men will be tasked with turning into a star.

While this is somewhat out of the box at first glance, Helfrich is a seamless offensive coordinating hire for Nagy in completing a quality staff with the Bears.

Robert Zeglinski is the Bears beat writer for The Rock River Times, an editor for Windy City Gridiron, and contributor to The Athletic Chicago. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.