Chicago Bears: Did Sports Illustrated rank Matt Nagy correctly for 2021?

The Chicago Bears front office decided not to move on from Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy this offseason despite multiple rumors they were on the hot seat. Many fans were screaming for both to be let go. Ryan Pace redeemed himself in most fan’s eyes by walking away from the 2021 NFL Draft with both Justin Fields and Teven Jenkins. Now, it is time to see if Matt Nagy can do the same by coaching this team to a competitive season and playoff appearance.

This season will not be an easy one. The Chicago Bears have the third-toughest schedule this year. Luckily the Packers and Vikings are right behind them and the Bears have a schedule quirk that may help. Will Matt Nagy have what it takes to turn this offense into what he envisioned? An offense that actually puts up big numbers and doesn’t rank in the bottom half. Or, is it more likely this offense continues to fail and Nagy is not the coach he believes he is. I guess we will see.

Is Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy ranked correctly by Sports Illustrated?

As the 2021 regular season creeps closer, Sports Illustrated came out with their head coach rankings for this season. Matt Nagy finds himself in the bottom half of the rankings though. Bill Belichick is still on top, but they say his arrow is pointing downward. Andy Reid is second and the first name on the list who is ranked in a spot that shocks me is Mike Tomlin.

I always thought Tomlin was a great coach, but haven’t had him as high as three for quite some time. I have never looked too deeply into his coaching record, but according to Sports Illustrated, Tomlin has never had a losing season. The closest he has come is three 8-8 seasons over a 14-year career. Seems he does deserve that spot.

I was a little surprised to see Kyle Shanahan ranked ninth seeing he has a losing career record. He is definitely a better coach than his record would indicate, but is he the ninth-best coach? Well, seeing who is ranked 10th, he definitely should be above him. Matt LaFleur is a good coach and one I was high on before the Chicago Bears hired Matt Nagy. Putting him at 10th though is a bit of a stretch seeing he has Aaron Rodgers as his QB.

Matt Nagy on the other hand was ranked18th. This seems a little low based on the fact, like Mike Tomlin, Nagy does not have a losing season. Granted the sample size is much lower, but to see Mike Zimmer and Kevin Stefanski higher on the list is disappointing. Stefanski only has one year under his belt. We have seen a team firsthand succeed for a year and fall off the next. Zimmer actually has a solid career record with only two losing seasons over seven years, but he’s meh.

The good news is that these rankings mean very little. Matt Nagy was likely much higher heading into the 2019 season. Now, he must prove he’s worthy to move back up into the top of the league. With how things have felt and if we look at his ability as a coach objectively, Nagy is ranked pretty much where he should be — give or take a few spots.