The rise and fall of Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy was not hired to run the I-formation.

He was hired to implement his big-play, high-scoring offense that he learned under Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. He was brought in by general manager Ryan Pace who wanted him to nurture and develop a young quarterback. Most importantly, he was hired to shake the Chicago Bears out of the doldrums of the John Fox era.

None of that has gone according to plan. Nagy’s beginning made it look like the plan would flourish. Over time, that plan has wilted into one failure after another.

Nagy skyrocketed to coaching stardom in his first season. The Chicago Bears went 12-4, won the NFC North, and Nagy was awarded the Coach of the Year.

Since then, Nagy has gone 20-23.

His offenses struggle to score. They have ranked 29th and 22nd in the NFL the last two seasons in points and currently rank near the bottom this season. The Bears have ranked 29th, 26th, and this season currently rank towards the bottom in total yards. The Bears averaged 4.7 yards per play in 2019, 5.1 last season, and currently are averaging 4.9.

Nagy’s offenses have performed so poorly he has had to remove himself as play-caller twice.

Under Nagy’s leadership, the Bears have had a four-game losing streak in 2019 and a six-game losing streak last season–despite starting the season 5-1. For an encore, the Bears just snapped a five-game losing streak by barely beating the Detroit Lions 16-14 on Thanksgiving Day.

That young quarterback Nagy was tasked with grooming, Mitchell Trubisky, never could develop into a great franchise quarterback and is now the backup quarterback in Buffalo.

Nagy may not have been hired to call 40 run plays, but he was hired to win, make the offense explosive, and develop Trubisky. He has failed in all those areas.

He has been given a second chance to develop another franchise quarterback in Justin Fields. Through the first 10 games Fields played in, Nagy has given no indication he is the right coach for Fields.

Now, Chicago Bears fans are chanting “Fire Nagy” at Soldier Field, the United Center during a Bulls game, a Blackhawks game, a professional wrestling event, and even at his son’s high school football game.

The chants are getting so loud and numerous they may have to add a “Fire Nagy” lyric to “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.”

Reports of Nagy’s demise are running rampant and it seems more like Nagy’s job status is becoming a matter of when he will be fired and not if he will be fired.

Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey had to go in front of the team and confirm any reporting of Nagy being fired after the Lions game was false. While it may look like the Bears are sticking with Nagy through the rest of the season, no one is saying Nagy is the coach now and for the foreseeable future.

How did Nagy go from Coach of the Year to having his removal chanted at an NBA game? Let’s take a look at some of the pivotal moments in Nagy’s rise and fall from grace.