The Bears named Matt Nagy the 16th head coach in team history on Monday morning. Here are five things to know about him:
He believes in Mitch Trubisky. The Chiefs were one of the teams interested in drafting quarterback Mitch Trubisky before the Bears traded up to draft him No. 2 overall. Instead, they drafted Patrick Mahomes in the first round. Nagy tutored the Texas Tech quarterback, who started only the season finale, while helping starter Alex Smith to perhaps the best season of his career.
He revitalized the Chiefs offense. Nagy’s career play-calling resume has been limited to the last six games the Chiefs played. Nagy took over play-calling duties from head coach Andy Reid when the Chiefs were 6-5 in early December.. The Chiefs finished the regular season 4-1, averaging 28.6 points to reach the playoffs. The Chiefs blew a 21-3 lead in their first-round playoff game Saturday — tight end Travis Kelce left with a concussion — and eventually lost to the Titans.
He was a star quarterback. Nagy played at Delaware alongside future Chiefs general manager Brett Veach before spending six years in the Arena Football League. He played for the New York Dragons, Carolina Cobras, Georgia Force and Columbus Destroyers from 2002-08, totaling 374 touchdowns and 55 interceptions.
He was a NFL quarterback, too — for a few hours. In 2008 and 2009, he served as an Eagles caching intern during training camp. When quarterback Kevn Kolb was injured, Nagy signed a contract and suited up for a morning practice. By the afternoon, the NFL said no to his signing — the Arena League hadn’t yet folded and the NFL didn’t want to set the precedent of teams stashing future players as interns. He returned to his coaching job.
He wasn’t always destined to be a coach. In February 2010, Nagy he was working in real estate to support his family, which included four children and twin boys, before landing he Eagles internship. He was eventually promoted when Veach went to the personnel side of the team.
