Chicago Bears clean house after 6-11 losing season by firing general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Naggy. Pace spent seven seasons with the Monsters of the Midway, and Naggy has been with the Bears for four years.
Naggy is known in the NFL for working under the wing of Andy Reid’s Philadephia Eagles for five seasons. He held various offensive positions, including assistant coach in 2009. In 2013, Reid left and became head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Naggy followed Reid to Kansas City, taking on the position of the quarterback’s coach then later on an offensive coordinator. Reid is 5th in NFL history in terms of career combined wins in the regular season and post-season.
2018 was Naggy’s first season as the Chicago Bears coach. This season, he helped the team achieve a 12-4 record. As a result, the team would reach the playoffs, which had not been done in eight years. General Manager Pace was happy for the organization and confident in choosing the coach. Naggy won the NFL’s Coach of the Year for this strong and passionate winning season with hopes of a championship as a future goal.
“Nagy was never able to duplicate his first season, in part because the quarterback he inherited was Mitchell Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2017 draft never made the necessary improvement,” according to ESPN.
Rumors were cooking that the Chicago Bears head coach would be fired in November after the Thanksgiving day game versus the Detroit Lions. However, he was unaware of his impending firing. Front office and ownership never stepped forward to deny the reports publically.
“A day later, owner George McCaskey told players during a team meeting that Nagy would not be fired after the game,” according to ESPN. While with the Monsters of the Midway under coach Naggy, the regular-season record was 34-31 and 0-2 in the playoffs.
As general manager of the Chicago Bears for seven seasons, Pace hired two coaches and drafted two quarterbacks through trade-ups. As a result, the Monsters of the Midway made playoff appearances but never won a game. Nevertheless, paces highlighted successful moments that come through free agency. During his tenure, he was able to get key pieces such as defense tackle Akeem Hicks, receiver Allen Robinson, receiver Darnell Mooney, and others. However, adjusting players and management was not enough to complete the dream of the Bears as annual playoff contenders.
“The day that I signed up to be the head coach here in Chicago … you’re always understanding what comes with your position,” Nagy said Sunday following a 31-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings,” according to the USA Today. Naggy could never get consistency out of the Monsters of the Midway’s offense. The offense never ranked better than 21st in the coach’s tenure.
Naggy has been accused of making questionable decisions regarding offensive play calling and his decisions starting quarterbacks. This year 11th round draft pick Justin Fields had a standout preseason. However, Naggy tried to continue with veteran free-agent quarterback Andy Dalton as a starter.
Chicago Bears fans were outraged. “It wasn’t long after that when “Fire Nagy” chants were heard at Soldier Field, the United Center during a Chicago Bulls game and even at a high school game in which Nagy’s son was a participant,” according to USA Today.
Written by Lionel Carter
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
ESPN News: Chicago Bears fire coach Matt Nagy, GM Ryan Pace following 6-11 season; by Kevin Seifert
USA Today: Bears fire former NFL coach of the year Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace; by Nate Davis and Mike Jones
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