Chicago Bears: 5 options to replace Matt Nagy

Chicago Bears could always go the college route

The Bears are not a team that takes big-time chances. Whether it’s taking a chance on a player or a head coach, the front office is not, what you would call,  full of “risk-takers.” So it is unlikely this next candidate would get serious consideration, but he should.

Current Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley is another coach who has gotten some buzz as a future NFL head coach. Riley has long been considered an innovative offensive mind in the college game and his teams have scorched defenses in the Big 12 and NCAA, even if his defenses get equally torched.

But the Bears’ problem isn’t on the defensive side of the ball. They need someone with an offensive pedigree to come in and establish a system that is effective, repeatable, and takes advantage of the personnel on the team.

That’s exactly what Riley can do. He was the head coach who helped turn Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray into the No. 1 overall picks in consecutive years. He also worked with Jalen Hurts last year who broke out well beyond anything he did at the University of Alabama and wound up getting selected in the second round this past year.

One thing is clear, Riley gets the most out of his quarterbacks, and based on his recruiting of them, he can certainly identify talent. Those two qualities alone make him an extremely attractive option.