Pros and Cons of Matt Nagy Becoming Next Lions Offensive Coordinator
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The Matt Nagy era in Chicago was far from the most fruitful.
He went a combined 34-31 and made two playoff appearances in four seasons on the job.
He did, however, guide the Bears to a 12-4 mark and an NFC North crown in his first season in the Windy City (2018). During this campaign, the Nagy-led Bears, with then-second-year passer Mitchell Trubisky under center, averaged 26.3 points per game (good for ninth best in the NFL).
Trubisky started 14 games in his sophomore NFL season, winning 11 of the starts and throwing for a career-best 24 touchdowns and 3,223 yards. He also recorded a solid QBR of 71.0 and made his first and only Pro Bowl.
At this time, it looked like Nagy was a quarterback whisperer.
Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, had just come off a disappointing rookie campaign, during which he threw for the same number of touchdowns as interceptions (seven) and produced a dismal 32.4 QBR in 12 games.
A large sect of the Bears fanbase had already started to sour on the North Carolina product by this point, believing that the young signal-caller would never amount to anything.
However, then Nagy came in and made Trubisky look more than respectable. Nagy's stock was sky high at this point, and it looked like he could do no wrong.
Trubisky declined in play the following two seasons, though, and so did the team, to no surprise.
The Bears went just 8-8 in each of the next two seasons (2019 and 2020), with Nagy's stock plummeting as a result.
And then the bottom fell out for the organization in 2021, with Chicago going just 6-11 (finishing ahead of only the Lions in the NFC North). Additionally, the team posted an anemic 18.3 points a game (sixth worst in the NFL), with rookie QB Justin Fields (seven passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions) under center for more than half the season.
Fields and the team failed to show much improvement as the season progressed, and it ultimately cost Nagy his job.
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Now a free agent, he might just be a fit for the offensive coordinator vacancy in Detroit.
No, he wouldn't be a home-run hire, especially after seeing what transpired in Chicago over the last three years.
But, if Lions head man Dan Campbell could get Nagy under control and get him to play his style of football (with a heavy emphasis on the ground game), there could be a match between Nagy and the Detroit-based NFL franchise.
From all accounts, Campbell would prefer hiring Lions tight ends coach/passing game coordinator Ben Johnson for the OC opening. Johnson played an instrumental role in helping Campbell transition to calling offensive plays this past season.
"Ben is certainly, he’s in this conversation," Campbell said Tuesday from Mobile, Ala., the site of the Senior Bowl. "I’ve started the process this week. And so, I’ll have interviewed, I’m not going to give you names, but at least a couple by the time we leave Mobile."
Nagy is no front-runner for the aforementioned coordinator vacancy. However, there's a case to be made that the former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator could at least be sufficient in the same role on Campbell's staff in Detroit.
