Matt Nagy was a somewhat wild card choice when the Chicago Bears made him their head coach last January. It had that unnerving feel of another Marc Trestman hire. An offensive specialist, sure, but could he motivate and lead an NFL locker room? After all, it’s not like he had a lot of time to prepare.
Nagy became a quarterbacks coach in 2013 and wasn’t a coordinator for the first time until 2016 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He made it two years at that job before the Bears came calling. At 39-years old a lot was being asked of a man who’d been coaching for only 10 years. The end results were far above expectations.
Nagy turned the team around in a matter of months from an offensively-challenged 5-11 squad to a 12-4 playoff contender. His offense, while a work in progress demanded far more respect than anything the Bears had produced in half a decade. Mitch Trubisky accomplished several firsts as a starting quarterback.
Everything clicked and if not for a Cody Parkey misfire, he would’ve been the first coach in team history to win a playoff game in his first year. That aside, he did manage to achieve one more bit of history along the way.
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💥BA-BOOM!!!💥
Matt Nagy has been named Coach of the Year at #NFLHonors. pic.twitter.com/0ArxatFTNh
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) February 2, 2019
Matt Nagy Coach of the Year honor puts Bears on top again
Coming into 2018, the Bears were in a three-way tie with the New England Patriots and Washington Redskins for the most Coach of the Year winners in the Super Bowl era with four apiece. Nagy’s victory this season finally broke the tie, putting Chicago back on top with five. They include Mike Ditka in 1985 and 1988, Dick Jauron in 2001, and Lovie Smith in 2005.
Throw in the two George Halas won in 1963 and 1965, the Bears have seven total since the award became a thing in 1957. That is also a record that is unchallenged. That’s a nice accomplishment for Nagy with his career only getting started. Next on the agenda must be the one of being only the second Bears coach to ever win a Lombardi trophy.
