One of the persistent problems for the Chicago Bears over the years has been where they get their head coaches from. While most of them were qualified professionals, the Bears had a nasty habit of grabbing men who come from questionable coaching trees. Marc Trestman was an NFL journeyman who served under Bud Grant and Jon Gruden. Dick Jauron had a modest run as an assistant under Mike Holmgren and Tom Coughlin. Dave Wannstedt fed off Jimmy Johnson’s success in Dallas.
None of those men went on to nurture and develop future great coaches. One reason Lovie Smith had so much success was that he got lessons from Tony Dungy, a Hall of Famer. One of the reasons Mike Ditka had so much success was because he got lessons from Tom Landry, a Hall of Famer. Sensing a pattern here yet?
Simply taking from a successful coaching staff isn’t enough. One must be careful to take from one that’s run by a coach known for developing his assistants properly. Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, and Sid Gillman were among the all-time greats at this. Another who is proving to be the same? Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
Doug Pederson adds to Reid legacy and gives Chicago Bears hope
Right now there isn’t a head coach in the NFL who has done a better job cultivating future head coaches than Reid. The list of quality names has grown staggeringly long. To date 10 of his subordinates have become head coaches, six of them made the playoffs at least once, four have reached a conference championship, three have reached the Super Bowl and now two of them have rings. That became the case after Doug Pederson and the Philadelphia Eagles knocked off the New England Patriots.
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The amazing part about the Reid coaching tree is the former pupils are developing a reputation of outproducing their teacher. Pederson and Harbaugh now have rings. Reid still awaits his first despite having coached since 1999. While it’s hard not to feel sorry for him, at the same time it’s also hard not to feel giddy about the Bears’ prospects.
Matt Nagy couldn’t be more homegrown from the Reid coaching tree if he tried. He was brought up as an intern in Philadelphia in 2008. Since then he followed Reid to Kansas City where he was QBs coach and then offensive coordinator. In fact, Reid went on record saying he believes Nagy is the best head coaching candidate he’s ever produced.
The Matt Nagy train really picking up momentum now:
Andy Reid on Nagy: "Best head-coaching candidate I've ever had."
Everybody on Harry Hiestand: "Best OL coach in the country:
Dirk Koetter on Mark Helfrich: "As smart a football guy as I know."
All aboard!
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) January 11, 2018
Things may not happen as quickly as they did for Pederson. Still, it’s hard not to feel a little more confident about the Bears’ future prospects. Nagy is renowned for his leadership and intelligence. If Ryan Pace can give him a strong roster to work with this team could be in line for big things.
