REID THE TREE LEAVES
New Bears coach Nagy comes from good stock
Matt Nagy comes to the Bears without a glamorous résumé but with a pretty good lineage.
Until we meet Nagy and see whom he hires, how he runs an NFL team, how he develops a quarterback and how he manages an actual game, his most compelling attribute is the Andy Reid coaching tree that produced him.
Nagy has spent the last 10 seasons with Reid: five with the Eagles from 2008 to ’ 12 and the last five with the Chiefs as quarterbacks coach from 2013 to ’ 15 and offensive coordinator from 2016 to ’ 17.
While Bill Belichick disciples have come and gone without much accomplishment over the years, Reid’s protégés have a relatively impressive record:
John Harbaugh, Reid’s special- teams coordinator with the Eagles ( and secondary coach for one season) won a Super Bowl with the Ravens.
Ron Rivera, Reid’s linebackers coach for five seasons with the Eagles, reached the Super Bowl with the Panthers and has made the playoffs four of the last five seasons.
Doug Pederson, Nagy’s predecessor as offensive coordinator for Reid with the Chiefs ( who also worked with Reid for four seasons with the Eagles), went 13- 3 with the Eagles, the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season.
Sean McDermott, who spent 12 seasons as a defensive coach for Reid with the Eagles, just coached the Bills to their first playoff berth in 18 years.
Other former Reid assistants to get NFL head- coach- ing jobs are Todd Bowles ( still with the Jets), Leslie Frazier ( Vikings), Brad Childress ( Vikings), Pat Shurmur ( Browns) and Steve Spagnuolo ( Rams).
Among his assistant coaches, Nagy’s 10 seasons with Reid are eclipsed only by Childress and McDermott ( 12 seasons). The former Arena League quarterback joined the Eagles as an intern in 2009 and was impressive enough to get called back for a second stint. He officially joined the staff full time in 2010.
Reid not only brought Nagy with him to Kansas City, but with a promotion from quality- control coach to quarterbacks coach in 2012. He promoted Nagy and Childress to co- offensive coordinators when Pederson left to become coach of the Eagles. But Nagy was given the sole voice in Reid’s headset.
Reid himself comes from an impressive coaching tree under Mike Holmgren. In 1992, Holmgren’s staff included Steve Mariucci, Jon Gruden, Ray Rhodes, Dick Jauron and Reid — all of whom became NFL head coaches.
LikeNagy, Reidwas a relative unknown and a surprise choice when he was hired by the Eagles. He had been the Packers’ tight ends coach, then their quarterbacks coach when he leapfrogged several bigger names and established coordinators to get the job. In fact, it was Holmgren who recommended Reid to Eagles owner Jeff Lurie after turning down an opportunity to interview with the Eagles to take the Seahawks job.
Reid likewise has gone out of his way to support his assistants for head- coaching jobs. With Harbaugh stonewalled in his attempts to get a head- coaching job — likely because of his status as a special- teams coordinator — Reid agreed to make him a secondary coach for one season, and that did the trick. The Ravens hired Harbaugh the next season.
So if Nagy’s hiring came with a Reid endorsement — as it so obviously did — it’s likely more than a head coach telling a young general manager what he wants to hear. NFL coaching hires are hit- and- miss — whether it’s a former Super Bowl winner, a red- hot coordinator or an outside- the- box guy. But we know one thing for sure about Nagy: He comes from good stock.