NEWSLETTER
After bringing new energy and a load of swag to Chicago, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy needs a new shelf to put his hardware.
.@ChicagoBears HC Matt Nagy is the 2018 Coach of the Year! #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/vYi2uy1Sm1
— NFL (@NFL) February 2, 2019
The Associated Press named Nagy the NFL’s Coach of the Year at the NFL Honors show on Saturday in Atlanta. Nagy engineered one of the best single-season turn-around campaigns in Bears history in his first season at the helm in Chicago. After winning just 13 games in three years under John Fox, Nagy coached the Bears to a 12-win regular season, NFC North title, and a first-round home playoff game.
Led by the league’s top scoring defense, Nagy aided in the development of second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky and pushed the offense out of the basement and into respectability. The innovative changes on offense featured improved quarterback play, as well as fun gadget plays such as Oompa Loompa, Freezer Left, Santa’s Sleigh, and Lollipop. There was something for everyone who watched the 2018 Bears, including an initiative to celebrate every win like it meant something with the introduction of Club Dub.
It all added up to Nagy joining an exclusive club of Bears coaches:
Matt Nagy joins a long list of @ChicagoBears head coaches to win Coach of the Year. pic.twitter.com/C92MxZfH6l
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 2, 2019
Nagy held off stiff competition to receive 24 of the 50 votes, beating out the Chargers’ Anthony Lynn (10 votes), Colts leader Frank Reich (8), Chiefs boss Andy Reid (5 votes), as well as Seahawks coach Pete Carroll (2 votes), and Saints top dog Sean Payton (1 vote).
So while the Bears’ season came to an abrupt ending, there is no taking away from what Nagy did to get Chicago’s football team to the postseason. Nagy lifted the Bears to new heights, taking them from cellar dwellers in their own division to among the best teams in the league. The future is bright in Chicago, and Nagy’s leadership is one of the major reasons why.
