Chicago Bears: 5 options to replace Matt Nagy

Could the Chicago Bears tap the fountain of youth again?

If the Bears decide to pursue a young, offensive mind again, one name that could get a lot of attention is Joe Brady, the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator. Brady, you may recall, rose to fame as the offensive coordinator who oversaw Joe Burrow’s historic 2019 campaign for the LSU Tigers.

Brady rode that momentum all the way to the NFL as brand new head coach Matt Rhule decided to make him his offensive coordinator.

So far the results have been pretty good. The Panthers are averaging 250 passing yards per game (compared to 223 for the Bears) while rushing for 110 yards per game (compared to just 84 for the Bears).

Those numbers may not jump off the page, as they sit near league average, but league average would have the Bears as front-runners in the NFC. It’s also important to remember that this is just his first year as a coordinator in the NFL and is working with a rookie head coach, a brand new quarterback, and has been without star running back Christian McCaffrey for six of their eight games.

If the Panthers can continue to put together a decent season offensively, Brady’s name is going to gain a lot of traction as a potential head-coaching candidate. He may ultimately be too inexperienced to jump to an NFL head coaching position, but a team may not want to wait and miss out on the opportunity to hire the “next great young offensive head coach.”