Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy disrespected by Sporting News 2019 ranking

The Chicago Bears continue to be disrespected by national media outlets. Sporting News is no different with the release of their 2019 head coach rankings.

Offseason rankings mean little to nothing to the Chicago Bears and other NFL teams. Too often, teams, players and coaches will either outperform or fall short of expectations. Even though we know this, it is easy to get caught up in the debate of how right or wrong we think a set of rankings may be.

This especially holds true when it involves your favorite team. Sporting News recently released their 2019 head coach rankings. As a Bears fan, I am not shocked by where they placed Matt Nagy (11). Too often national media outlets overlook the Bears. From a team standpoint over the last decade, I understand why. However, this team is different.

I am tired of hearing people say that last season was a fluke for the Bears. I am even more sick of hearing how the loss of Vic Fangio is going to ruin the defense. Listen, I love Fangio. He deserves to get his head coaching chance in Denver. However, this defense will be just fine. The Bears defense will see a regression in 2019. Guess what, that was happening even if Fangio stayed on as the Defensive Coordinator.

Now, when I say regression, I am talking a historically top-ranked defense to a top-five defense. This team is talented on so many levels, they will not fall off that drastically. The offense will also improve in year two of Nagy’s offense and this team will be the team to beat again in the NFC North.

OTAs are already underway and the Nagy 202 offense is in the works. Most importantly, the team is already back in their grove of having a fun and energetic culture. Nagy has turned this team into a destination spot for free agents on both sides of the ball. He even has made it a destination for assistant coaches. To land Chuck Pagano as the Defensive Coordinator was almost as important as their key free agent signings.

I can rant and rave about how great Matt Nagy and the Chicago Bears are going to be in 2019 and years to come. However, let us take a look at those who are ahead of Matt Nagy in the rankings. Bill Belichick is number one and rightfully so. The Patriots are always finding themselves deep in the playoffs if not winning the Super Bowl.

Sean McVay is number two. I love McVay and I have a hard time arguing against that spot for him. Sean Payton and Andy Reid follow suit. Both have an argument to be number two, but I like their respective ranks. Pete Carroll rounds out the top five. As much as I do not want to see him there, he has done a great job in Seattle.

Alright, so Matt Nagy, 2018 NFL Coach of the Year is not in the top five for me in 2019 either. Why? Well, I agree he needs to prove it again. If he does it in 2019 though, he could push himself into the discussion. When we look at who is sixth though, I find it hard not to rank Nagy in this spot.

John Harbaugh is who Sporting News put in the sixth spot. Although I like Harbaugh, he is becoming outdated in my opinion. In fact, going into 2018, his job was somewhat in question. A 10-6 record helped his stock and his job is safe, but he should not be this high. Nagy is easily more deserving in my opinion, no matter Harbaugh’s past successes.

Doug Pederson is seventh after being second on the list going into 2018. I know Pederson won a Super Bowl just two years ago, but I think Nagy is a better offensive mind. I honestly think Nagy is on pace to be as brilliant as Sean McVay. If you want to keep Pederson over Nagy I can understand your argument, you are just wrong.

Mike Tomlin, Anthony Lynn and Frank Reich rounded out the top 10. Like Harbaugh, I find Tomlin to be a little outdated. The issues Pittsburgh went through with contract and personnel issues are not on Tomlin completely, but I feel like Tomlin’s tenure might be on the downside. Give me Nagy again. Anthony Lynn is a good coach, but he does not excite me at all.

I like Reich and many thought he could have been the Coach of the Year last season. I’ll take Nagy mostly because of my team bias. Again, one through five I am okay with. However, I went ahead and fixed rankings six through eight and gave Matt Nagy the true credit he deserves.

6. Matt Nagy

7. Frank Reich

8. Doug Pederson

9. Anthony Lynn

10. Mike Tomlin

Where do you have Matt Nagy ranked going into 2019? Will he live up to the hype?