After smooth 2018, Bears coach Matt Nagy navigating foreign, treacherous territory

LONDON — Matt Nagy has had a long season, and it’s only a month old.

In the last week alone, the Bears coach lost starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky to an injured left shoulder and was forced to answer questions — or, rather, refuse to — about linebacker Roquan Smith’s absence from last week’s game for personal reasons.

Eight Bears starters have missed at least one game. Their kicker has limped through the last two with a pinched nerve in his right knee.

They have yet to have a normal week of game prep, having played on a Thursday night and a Monday night before getting ready for this week’s game against the Raiders at 6 p.m. London time. After his players slept on the plane Thursday night, Nagy held a dance contest to start Friday’s practice in London — anything to awaken a little more energy from his team.

Nagy’s offense — his baby — is averaging the fifth fewest points in the NFL, leading him to admit that defenses are scheming for him differently than they did last year. (“We need to figure that part out,” he said.)

At least the 2018 NFL Coach of the Year can look back on his first season for guidance, right?

Right?

“I learned nothing from last year,” Nagy said. “Because last year went pretty well. It went smooth, and that’s just how it goes sometimes.

“We were fortunate with injuries. We were fortunate with building trust. We were fortunate with building the culture, relationships. We won some games, got on some streaks, and we didn’t have a lot of this stuff that’s going on.”

Nagy has made more late-night phone calls to his mentors than he did last year.

“If I don’t do that, then I’m putting more stuff on me and more weight on my shoulders — which makes me a worse coach,” he said.

Still, the Bears will improve to 4-1 with a win against the Raiders, entering the bye after the easy part of their schedule. While Nagy so far hasn’t repeated his award-winning performance from last year, the degree of difficulty has been higher. The Bears went into their Week 5 bye last year with just two starters having missed a single game due to injury: cornerback Prince Amukamara and receiver Anthony Miller. This year, eight players who started at least one game went on to miss at least one start: Smith, defensive linemen Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols; guard Kyle Long; tight end Trey Burton; right tackle Bobby Massie; receiver Taylor Gabriel and running back Mike Davis.

Trubisky — who was injured six plays into last week’s game against the Vikings — joins that list Sunday.

“What’s that saying? Anyone can hold the helm when the seas are calm,” said offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, the former Oregon coach. “A lot of it is easy when [safety] Eddie Jackson is scoring three touchdowns before you touch the ball, or whatever it is. Whether it’s on the field, off the field, you’re playing with house money a little bit in some regard.

“And, yeah, you’re the hunter instead of the hunted. And you have to flip that mentality immediately and continue to hunt. But, yeah, it’s different.”

Nagy’s players have told him how important last week’s win — against the Vikings, with so many starters hurt — was to the team. Nagy cites the mindset they have established, dating to last year.

“You build that thing so that when things get uncomfortable, you’re OK with it,” he said. “We’re going through some of that right now. But the part that makes us so strong in the end . . . those are the ones when you say next year, ‘Do you remember that game?’ ”

Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano, the former Colts head coach, said Nagy has “handled things as good as anybody I have ever seen.”

“Our team handles things like this really, really well,” Pagano said. “It’s our culture, it’s our locker room, it’s our environment. It’s everything he has preached from Day 1.”