In an interview with CHGO‘s Adam Hoge at the Super Bowl’s radio row, Hoge had the chance to speak with Matt Nagy now that the dust has settled from his being fired from the Chicago Bears.
Matt Nagy had a lot to say about Chicago in his first lengthy interview since being fired by the Bears.
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) February 7, 2023
* Does he regret the way he handled Justin Fields?
• What did he learn with the Bears?
• Why did he return to coaching so soon?
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In that interview, Matt Nagy was incredibly reflective on what his time was like while with the team, as well as what he took from that experience in moving forward.
Matt Nagy speaks on his time with the Chicago Bears, both during and after
After being fired, Matt Nagy teamed back up with the Kansas City Chiefs— which was where he came from prior to being the head coach of the Chicago Bears.
Nagy is currently the senior assistant and quarterbacks coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, and while it’s possible he wishes to be a head coach at some point, coaching Patrick Mahomes can’t be too bad of a gig.
In Nagy’s time with the Chicago Bears, there were some really high highs, as well as some bed rock-level lows.
| Simple Rating System | Playoffs | Challenges | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | W | L | T | W-L% | SRS | OSRS | DSRS | G plyf | W plyf | L plyf | W-L% | Rank | Num | Won | Notes |
| 2018 | 40 | CHI | NFL | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 4.8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 41 | CHI | NFL | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | -0.9 | -5.4 | 4.5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |||||
| 2020 | 42 | CHI | NFL | 16 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0.2 | -2.2 | 2.4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2021 | 43 | CHI | NFL | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | -5.2 | -4.9 | -0.3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |||||
| 4 yrs | 65 | 34 | 31 | 0 | .523 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2.3 | 15 | 6 |
During Nagy’s four seasons, even though he was highly scrutinized by his final year, had an above .500 record with a combined record of 34-31. Now, that started with a 12–4 record his “rookie” season as a head coach, but it seems all went downhill once the Bears lost in the infamous “Double Doink” game.
Typing those words in tandem makes me feel the need to go wash my hands, but there was a clear shift in how the Bears continued on under Nagy after that moment.
If just looking at the win-loss record and whether the team made the playoffs while under Matt Nagy, it’s hard to be as upset as most Chicago Bears fans were. That said, when following his every move like paparazzi surrounding a celebrity, Nagy’s flaws became more apparent.
Sure, he went to the playoffs two of his four years, but one of them ended in the you-know-what, and the second was a lackluster game hosted by Nickelodeon that ended in a sliming instead of a victory.
Matt Nagy essentially went from being the NFL’s Coach of the Year to being booed in every place he stepped foot. Even in buildings he wasn’t in, “Fire Nagy!” chants roared, and the human in me can’t help but feel bad for the guy.
Yes, he was a frustrating coach at times with his focus of finding “The why’s” during press conferences or his handling of Justin Fields at times, but in the CHGO interview, there were plenty of moments that give reason to believe Matt Nagy cared and wished things went better.
With some context out of the way, let’s get into what Nagy discussed in the CHGO interview prior to the Super Bowl this Sunday.