I’m all in on the Matt Nagy hire

I was just as shocked as most of you guys when the Chicago Bears announced Matt Nagy as the sixteenth head coach in franchise history earlier this morning.

Don’t get me wrong, because I am completely on board with the hire.

He was my top pick, I just thought that general manager Ryan Pace would go with Eagles’ quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo.

The Bears now have their offensive minded head coach to pair up with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, and the future couldn’t look brighter.

News will start to trickle in about his coaching staff soon, but the most important thing is having an offensive system in place that Trubisky can stay in. It will be Nagy’s offense and he will be the play caller. If by some chance the new offensive coordinator ends up a hot coaching prospect in 2019, there will be no interruption in Trubisky’s growth and development in the system.

I reached out to Joel Thorman, SB Nation’s NFL league manager, and site manager of Arrowhead Pride, to get his take on the Nagy hire.

Ten years ago Matt Nagy was an assistant coach on a high school football team (not even head coach!). His rise is very impressive but he couldn’t have picked someone better to do it with. Andy Reid is terrific at developing his younger coaches. Look at his coaching tree around the NFL -- six current head coaches from the Andy Reid tree with the possibility of a couple more this year.

Nagy took a similar path as Pederson as a former quarterback, quality control coach, quarterbacks coach and coordinator. If you like what Pederson did with Carson Wentz and the Eagles this year, that’s a good comp for you.

Check out a couple recent articles from Arowhead Pride:

I tweeted out my initial thoughts on Nagy earlier today.

I caught up with a few of my colleges to get their initial reaction to the news.

Steven Schweickert - “I’m on board. If 2017 was The Year of Finding the Quarterback, 2018 is The Year of Getting Everything Out Of The Quarterback. Bonus points if Nagy loved Trubisky in the draft even half as much as it sounds. Nagy wasn’t in my original top 5 but that was more for lack of buzz than lack of offensive pedigree. Of course a lot remains to be seen about his ability to handle the job, but it’s better to take this swing than not. I’m hopeful for good offensive things in 2018, especially with another good draft.”

Sam Householder - “Good hire, I’m happy. He’s inexperienced, but I think he comes from a good coaching tree and has access to some good staffs to build from. If it allows Fangio to stay, even better!“

Josh Sunderbruch - “Can’t blame Pace for giving this a shot. It seems like it might work, and it gives the Bears a good chance to get something out of MT10. Let’s hope Fox was a big part of the struggles.”

Ken Mitchell - “Pace announced what he was looking for when John Fox was fired. He said he wanted a head coach to help Mitchell Trubisky become a top franchise quarterback in the NFL.”

“I don’t know of Nagy CAN help Mitch become a true franchise QB, but he certainly seems to be a guy laser-focused on trying. Nagy, by many different verified accounts, loved Trubisky coming out of school & wanted KC to draft him. He and Mitch kept in touch throughout the season, which is another indication that they can/will mesh well. Of course, there’s a lot more to being a head coach than just developing a quarterback, and much of his success will depend upon Ryan Pace bringing in playmakers in the draft and not signing Markus Weaton, Marcus Cooper, Dion Sims and Tom Compton type players in free agency this year, let alone any more Mike Glennon types.”

Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter - “Instant reaction: rock solid move. This becomes an OUTSTANDING move, IF the Bears are successful in retaining Vic Fangio as their DC. Regardless, the Bears’ offense should see a meteoric rise next season.”

Jeff Berckes - “Pace swings at a good pitch and gets a stand up double. He didn’t desperately swing from his heels for a longshot or fall for a curveball. Good approach at the plate got him a good result.”

Jacob Infante - ‟I like this hire. I was personally holding out for John DeFilippo to be the hire, but Nagy was my second choice. His offense is very Trubisky-friendly, and he has proven to be able to use his offensive weapons very well. It was crucial for the Bears to find someone who can get the best out of Trubisky, and it looks like they got their guy.‟

We’ll have more from Robert Zeglinski later today and some more detailed reaction from our staff tomorrow at WCG.