Once upon a time, the Chicago Bears took a quarterback in the top-five of the draft. After a lackluster rookie season, is was time to do what it took to put his career on the right track, starting with the hiring of a head coach who could set a young quarterback up to succeed.
No, we are not talking about Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson. The Bears took Mitchell Trubisky second overall in the 2017 draft, and while hindsight has proven the level of mistake that was, seeing what he had in a more ideal situation was a necessity.
So the Bears tapped into the Andy Reid coaching tree, hiring Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as their new head coach in 2018. Reid gets most of the credit for the success of the Chiefs' offense, but the Bears were not the first team (and they won't be the last) to hire a new head coach after they were closely associated with success elsewhere.
Nagy finished with a 34-31 record over four seasons as the Bears' head coach, with one winning season (his first), one losing season (his last), and two 8-8 marks. With the benefit of hindsight, though, and with what came after him, with Matt Eberflus the last three seasons, leading the Bears to two playoff appearances with Trubisky as his quarterback, is quite an accomplishment for Nagy.
Nagy went back to the Chiefs in 2022 after he was fired by the Bears, and he's entering his third season back in the offensive coordinator post. He may belong on the long list of coaches who are good assistants but are not a fit to be a head coach. That said, he did interview for the New York Jets' job in this year's hiring cycle before they made a seemingly inevitable hire of Aaron Glenn.
Matt Nagy makes list of coordinators who could get a head coaching job in 2026
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report recently named eight NFL coordinators who could get a head coaching job after the 2025 season. Nagy was a surprising inclusion on the list, but Moton presented a solid case if the circumstance lines up.
"The Kansas City Chiefs want to field a more explosive passing attack this year. Of course, head coach Andy Reid will be the mastermind behind play designs. Still, Matt Nagy could get a second look as a head coach from teams that want to implement some of the Chiefs' high-octane passing flavor."
"Nagy has already made the transition from Chiefs offensive coordinator to a head coach."
"The Chicago Bears hired Nagy after the 2017 season, before Patrick Mahomes took over the starting quarterback job in Kansas City. He went 34-31 as the Bears' head coach, leading the team to just one winning season."
"As a potential retread, Nagy's resume is decent, considering the Bears went 12-4 in 2018 and Mitchell Trubisky made the NFC Pro Bowl roster in his best year as a pro under him."
"If Nagy sets himself up with a team that has a high-ceiling quarterback, he could be a successful head coach. This year, Nagy interviewed for the New York Jets' head coaching job. His interview request list could be a lot longer in 2026."
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Such as genuine head coaching opportunities may come his way after the 2025 season, which will be a question mark until shown otherwise, Nagy will surely prioritize somewhere that either has a promising young quarterback or is in position to draft one next April. Otherwise, he might be (should be?) content to continue working under Reid for as long as he can.