Bears 2018 Offseason: Matt Nagy Hired as Head Coach

[David]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BieO6BGoaOQ&feature=push-fr&attr_tag=aaxbB7q1fcVqzZuh-6

[David]

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[David]

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Edit - this was a pretty good listen

 

here's a link where you can listen without having to go through itunes or anything

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/03/21/themmqb-podcast-peter-king-bears-head-coach-matt-nagy-jordan-palmer-quarterback-coach-sam-darnold

 

The Nagy interview starts at about 8:45

[David]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/03/22/sam-darnold-usc-pro-day-draft-cleveland-browns-mmqb

 

 

LESSON OF THE WEEK

Ryan Pace didn’t need another reason to be jacked about his quarterback’s future. But after a flurry of free-agent activity last week, the Bears GM got it from Mitch Trubisky anyway.

 

Maybe more meaningful? The incoming talent—receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, and tight end Trey Burton—was just as excited as the quarterback.

 

“Yeah, you could tell Mitch was excited, just through a quick text,” Pace said from his office the other night. “He’s fired up, and I know they’re all talking to each other. Today, Taylor was walking around the building in a Trubisky jersey. They’re all ready to go. It’s cool when you sense from the guys that we signed, how excited they are to play with him.

 

“And Mitch is equally excited, adding these pieces to what we already have.”

 

We keep getting these reminders, and there’s no need to overcomplicate it. Even after a year in which three of the final four teams left were led by a couple journeymen and a supposed draft bust, the lesson is there for everyone: The NFL is more about the quarterback now than it ever has been. Just look at what’s happened over the last six weeks alone …

 

• The Niners made Jimmy Garoppolo, he of the eight career starts, the highest paid player in league history, inking him to a five-year, $137.5 million deal.

 

• The Vikings trumped that, doing a three-year, $84 million deal with Kirk Cousins, while breaking new ground in fully guaranteeing the whole thing.

 

• The Chiefs gave Patrick Mahomes a shiny, if overpriced new downfield piece in Sammy Watkins—forking over a three-year, $48 million deal for him.

 

• The Texans gave multi-year deals to guards Senio Kelemete and Zach Fulton, and made a run at left tackle Nate Solder to better protect Deshaun Watson.

 

• The Jets traded three second-round picks to jump from 6 to 3, ensuring they’ll be in position to draft a top-tier quarterback.

 

So I asked Pace, is it too simplistic to say 2017 was about finding the quarterback for the Bears, and 2018 has been about building infrastructure around him?

 

“No, that’s accurate,” he quickly answered. “The hardest piece of this whole thing is to find the quarterback. We feel like we’ve done that. And so now, it’s surrounding your most important asset, your quarterback, with weapons so he can be successful and they can grow and develop chemistry together. And not just the quarterback and those players, but all of them and the new offensive staff. And they’re all young.”

 

And while Chicago’s actions have been interesting, its moves are just a part of a trend we’re seeing everywhere to over-invest in getting a quarterback, then over-invest in getting everything around him right.

 

Each of the six first-round quarterbacks drafted in the past two years were landed as part of a team trading up. The five who are starting going into 2018 have head coaches who were hired with extensive background working with quarterbacks as assistants. And last year, we saw the Eagles give Alshon Jeffrey to Carson Wentz, and the Rams give Robert Woods, Watkins and Cooper Kupp to Jared Goff.

 

That’s where Houston, Kansas City and Chicago are now—stocking the shelves for a sophomore quarterback. And so Pace gave us some insight into the steps the Bears took over the last two months to make it happen.

 

• Finding the coach. Four of the six candidates that Pace interviewed had background in coaching quarterbacks, something he says now was more just how things lined up this year. The priority was, in his words, to hire “the best leader and the best man.” He found it in coach Matt Nagy. Pace also concedes that the influence of all his years in New Orleans, seeing Sean Payton and Drew Brees together, absolutely crept into the search process.

 

“I try not to talk about New Orleans so much anymore, because it’s all about here now, but we all learn from our previous experiences,” Pace said. “When you think about, you look at Drew and Sean now, the levels they’re on, all they have to do is look at each other. The heights the offense has gone too, because of the cohesion between those two guys, that’s something everyone is striving for.

 

“It’s gonna be fun to have Mitch and Matt paired together long-term. … And a lot of times, if you have a successful play-caller, well, he’s gonna get plucked out of there to become a head coach elsewhere and then you break up the continuity between him and the quarterback. That’ll never happen here. So that’s the attractiveness of it.”

 

• Building a vision. The Bears struck a deal with Nagy in early January in Kansas City, and the coach and GM flew together on the McCaskeys’ plan back to Chicago. They didn’t necessarily mean for it to be this way, but that’s when the groundwork for March really began to take shape.

 

“It’s the first time he and I can just exhale and talk football,” Pace said. “The very first conversation we had involved how much he values the ‘U’ tight end, how productive the offense can be for those guys. And we went through it—who are some of those guys in free agency. And then all of the sudden, here’s Trey Burton.”

 

What stuck out to Pace was how specific Nagy was for each skill position. So Burton became the target as the move tight end, to pair with the supersized Adam Shaheen. Robinson was the big, smart route-runner who could shield defenders. Gabriel was the game-breaker. Each would be used to attack another level of the defense. And the scheme would work to do that too.

 

• Filling the staff. We mentioned a couple weeks back what a coup getting line coach Harry Hiestand from Notre Dame was. But as Pace explains it, the hire of former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator was a priority, too. It’s an addition that the Bears feel will help maximize Trubisky and others who worked in spread concepts as collegians.

 

“Matt was passionate about Helfrich from the very beginning,” Pace said. “They’d been on each other’s radar for a long time. Matt likes some of the outside-the-box thoughts he’s gonna bring from college. I’ll go down there at night right now, and Matt’s up on the board drawing plays with Helfrich and Brad Childress in there, and they’re bouncing ideas off each other, coming up with new things. It’s neat to see.”

 

So the big piece here is the kind of creativity to merge college and pro style that we’ve seen from Andy Reid’s Kansas City staff of late. What Doug Pederson’s done in Philly is an offshoot of it, too. And a side benefit? Pace said that the background Helfrich and Heistand have on this year’s draft class, having known a lot of the guys since they were 16-year-old recruits, has been invaluable.

 

If the Bears get it right with Trubisky, how they got there won’t matter much. And with the personnel, the coaches, and the scheme, the belief is they’ve given their quarterback every chance to make the team look good.

 

With that foundation set, the rest is up to him.

 

 

I can't horsefeathering wait to watch this stuff

[David]

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[CaliforniaRaisin]

Bears get Quenton Nelson in Matt Miller's most recent mock:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766224-2018-nfl-mock-draft-matt-millers-latest-predictions-with-1-month-remaining

[David]

These are just for fantasy football but some of the offensive numbers are fun to look at

 

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[David]

normally, i'd assume that with a post like this, he's talking about his injury in september and not a fresh setback, but with his history, who the hell knows

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgzO6kAF2Uz/?taken-by=mrwhite

[Bertz]

Bears get Quenton Nelson in Matt Miller's most recent mock:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766224-2018-nfl-mock-draft-matt-millers-latest-predictions-with-1-month-remaining

 

Mel Kiper also has the Bears getting Nelson

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/insider/story/_/id/22917443/nfl-mock-draft-2018-30-mel-kiper-first-round-pick-rankings-draft-order-32-picks

 

I would guess it plays out more like Miller's scenario, but I think the larger point stands that the top 6 looks increasingly like it will be Barkley, Chubb, and the top 4 QBs.

[Brian]

The Bears are ditching the throwback alts and going back to the orange

[minnesotacubsfan]

Bears get Quenton Nelson in Matt Miller's most recent mock:

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2766224-2018-nfl-mock-draft-matt-millers-latest-predictions-with-1-month-remaining

 

Mel Kiper also has the Bears getting Nelson

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/insider/story/_/id/22917443/nfl-mock-draft-2018-30-mel-kiper-first-round-pick-rankings-draft-order-32-picks

 

I would guess it plays out more like Miller's scenario, but I think the larger point stands that the top 6 looks increasingly like it will be Barkley, Chubb, and the top 4 QBs.

 

 

Bears interior of healthy Long, Whitehair and Nelson would be very nice, I’d take it

 

Also, what does the board think of RRH opposite Floyd fulltime? He only had 2 sacks last year but in a back-up roll. When he played, he seemed to get good pressure and dude is a beast, 6’7” 270 lbs

[WrigleyField 22]

The Bears are ditching the throwback alts and going back to the orange

Boo

[minnesotacubsfan]

The Bears are ditching the throwback alts and going back to the orange

 

 

I hate this.

[David]

I don't mind the orange, but I LOVE the 40's throwbacks. This is a bummer.

 

I wonder if I can still get me a 40's Mitch jersey

[Thed Hoyerstein]

The Bears are ditching the throwback alts and going back to the orange

Boo

 

You're right, the orange is appropriate for halloween

[Brian]

I also kind of like the orange (and think if they tweak them right, they can be better) but the '40s throwbacks are perfect.

[David]

Random but I really like what the Bears have done this offseason. Burton and Gabriel are a couple of solid, under the radar pass catchers for Trubisky. It's building the pass catching group from the inside out with two of a young QB's best friend in a TE as slot WR. Next up is an OT and maybe a G to move Whitehair back to C?

 

not sure they'll go after a starting tackle, but i think the expectation right now is they'll take nelson if he falls to them...if not maybe they get a center (i'd hate to be counting on grasu) and put whitehair at the other guard spot.

 

i wouldn't hate that because i'd kinda like to see them draft a pass rusher in the first round, but i'd be good with either scenario, i think.

[Cubswin11]

How far would Nelson fall/what other teams are fits for him if the Bears pass on him? Seems like they might be in a spot to trade down if the QB run happens early and would be in a spot for someone to come up to grab one of the CBs/S that is kinda the next tier of positions projected to go on a run starting around the Bears pick. Swapping with the Packers at 14 and picking up a 3rd/4th round pick would seem to be smart because I think they want to get one of the top secondary players and Nelson could still be there at 14.

[minnesotacubsfan]

How far would Nelson fall/what other teams are fits for him if the Bears pass on him? Seems like they might be in a spot to trade down if the QB run happens early and would be in a spot for someone to come up to grab one of the CBs/S that is kinda the next tier of positions projected to go on a run starting around the Bears pick. Swapping with the Packers at 14 and picking up a 3rd/4th round pick would seem to be smart because I think they want to get one of the top secondary players and Nelson could still be there at 14.

 

How many teams trade up in the draft for a DB? Seems like a position not suited for that kind of draft pursuit. If 4 qbs go before the bears pick, the bears better take the best available at 8 because pretty much all of the left over top picks fit a Bears need, save maybe WR. Even then....

[Cubswin11]

How far would Nelson fall/what other teams are fits for him if the Bears pass on him? Seems like they might be in a spot to trade down if the QB run happens early and would be in a spot for someone to come up to grab one of the CBs/S that is kinda the next tier of positions projected to go on a run starting around the Bears pick. Swapping with the Packers at 14 and picking up a 3rd/4th round pick would seem to be smart because I think they want to get one of the top secondary players and Nelson could still be there at 14.

 

How many teams trade up in the draft for a DB? Seems like a position not suited for that kind of draft pursuit. If 4 qbs go before the bears pick, the bears better take the best available at 8 because pretty much all of the left over top picks fit a Bears need, save maybe WR. Even then....

Was just a scenario I thought of today. The Packers have like 2 CBs on the whole roster right now, they might be especially desperate to make sure they get Ward or Fitzpatrick

[David]

i have no idea how legit this is

 

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[minnesotacubsfan]

How far would Nelson fall/what other teams are fits for him if the Bears pass on him? Seems like they might be in a spot to trade down if the QB run happens early and would be in a spot for someone to come up to grab one of the CBs/S that is kinda the next tier of positions projected to go on a run starting around the Bears pick. Swapping with the Packers at 14 and picking up a 3rd/4th round pick would seem to be smart because I think they want to get one of the top secondary players and Nelson could still be there at 14.

 

How many teams trade up in the draft for a DB? Seems like a position not suited for that kind of draft pursuit. If 4 qbs go before the bears pick, the bears better take the best available at 8 because pretty much all of the left over top picks fit a Bears need, save maybe WR. Even then....

Was just a scenario I thought of today. The Packers have like 2 CBs on the whole roster right now, they might be especially desperate to make sure they get Ward or Fitzpatrick

 

The idea still supposes Nelson is around at 11, which he likely wouldn’t be. Lots of talent at #11, but far better options at 8. Id really have to feel confident there was a 1a, 1b, 1c at 11 to give up 8. I mean, its only 3 spots, but the talent left on the board might be difference makers. Also why let GB get a top shelf DB? Now if only 2 qbs go before 8, I’d def consider trading down to someone looking for a qb

 

Who would you anticipate falling back to at 11 if Nelson was taken before then, out of curiosity?

[Bertz]

 

How many teams trade up in the draft for a DB? Seems like a position not suited for that kind of draft pursuit. If 4 qbs go before the bears pick, the bears better take the best available at 8 because pretty much all of the left over top picks fit a Bears need, save maybe WR. Even then....

Was just a scenario I thought of today. The Packers have like 2 CBs on the whole roster right now, they might be especially desperate to make sure they get Ward or Fitzpatrick

 

The idea still supposes Nelson is around at 11, which he likely wouldn’t be. Lots of talent at #11, but far better options at 8. Id really have to feel confident there was a 1a, 1b, 1c at 11 to give up 8. I mean, its only 3 spots, but the talent left on the board might be difference makers. Also why let GB get a top shelf DB? Now if only 2 qbs go before 8, I’d def consider trading down to someone looking for a qb

 

Who would you anticipate falling back to at 11 if Nelson was taken before then, out of curiosity?

 

Yeah, I think trading back if Nelson's on the board is a mistake. Nelson/Barkley/Chubb/Fitzpatrick are the top tier of non-QBs. Getting one of those guys at #8 is a gift, and I don't think recouping what is probably a 3rd rounder is worth it.

 

Now, if one of the top 4 QBs is still on the board, I'd be all about trading down. At that point, unless something weird happened those top tier guys are all gone, so whether we're picking at #8 or #12 (Bills) or probably even #15 (Cardinals) we're picking from a similar tier of player. Plus, if a team is trading up to grab a QB they're more likely to pay above sticker price, so the reward for trading down is probably something more like a 2nd rounder.

[BigbadB]

Giants are a mess. They've traded Pierre-Paul. They have Beckham on the trade block. They gave up on Eli last year. That team is basically in rebuild mode. So, I have them trading the 2nd pick on draft day. With that said, here's my mock where the Bears get their man.

 

Cleveland- QB

Giants pick traded ((Buffalo maybe?) QB If the Giants keep the #2 pick, then they might as well draft Manning's replacement- QB

Jets- QB

Cleveland- Chubb

Denver- QB

Indy- Barkley

Tampa- Fitzpatrick

Bears- Nelson

[We Got The Whole 9]

So Nagy and Burton have bought in to the fired up Pace lexicon