Matt Nagy was like everybody else when he heard that the Oakland Raiders were shopping Khalil Mack. He didn’t believe it at first. He thought it was a wild rumor. Nagy knew better than anybody how good of a player Mack was. He had to coach against the star pass rusher for four years in Kansas City, which gave him plenty of sleepless nights.
Then as the days passed the Chicago Bears began to learn that Oakland was serious about a trade. At that point GM Ryan Pace made a commitment to go get him. Not only was Mack a phenomenal talent, but also fixed what was a big concern for the Bears defense at edge rusher. The cost was high: two 1st round picks, a 3rd round pick and a 6th round pick.
Yet early returns indicate they may have committed one of the greatest robberies in NFL history. Mack already has five sacks, four forced fumbles and a pick-six touchdown. THat was in four games without the benefit of training camp or preseason. Utterly insane. The best part is there’s a fun story behind that trade.
Nagy told Rich Eisen as much during an interview on The Rich Eisen Show.
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"We knew what we were getting… but it's been another level." –@ChicagoBears HC Matt Nagy walked us through the acquisition of @52Mack_ and what he's meant four games into the season: pic.twitter.com/CzG7RjWEKL
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 2, 2018
Matt Nagy got contacted by the Chiefs brass after the deal went down
Right after the deal was agreed to and the Bears began the process of working out a contract extension with Mack, it seems Nagy got calls from some familiar faces. Eisen asked half-jokingly if he got a thank you from Andy Reid, his former mentor in Kansas City for taking Mack out of the division. The answer was too perfect.
“Not only coach but I also got one from the GM, from Brett Veach. He was the first one I got. He said thanks for getting him. You know what he said? He said I think his exact quote was ‘The Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs just got better today.'”
That’s spectacular. It’s also true. The Chiefs are 4-0 and leading the AFC at present. The Bears are 3-1, leading the NFC North. Much of that is thanks to how Mack has invigorated the defense. There’s no question the Raiders are worse off. Their defense ranks near the bottom of the NFL and the team is 1-3 through the first month of the season. It may have been a partial joke, but Veach wasn’t lying.
Mack leaving for Chicago drastically shifted the balance of power in two divisions. Not many players have that capability. Another sign that the Bears did the right thing.
