Head coaches may have a similar title, but not all of them have the same responsibilities. All of them don’t approach the job the same way. Each has different approaches to the game. How they game plan, how they motivate, and how they assess personnel. That last point might be the most diverse of all. Where some coaches prefer to be hands-off regarding free agency or the draft, others wish to be fully involved in the process. Matt Nagy may take the latter to the extreme.
Don’t be fooled by his classic coaching style. Nagy takes the entire process of building a football team 100% seriously. How much so? Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace revealed a fascinating nugget when speaking with Adam Jahns of The Athletic. Not only does the head coach involve himself in player evaluations, but he also goes the extra mile. How so? By actually writing and submitting honest to god scouting reports.
“Matt gets really into it,” Pace said. “He’s been that way since we hired him. It’s not just quarterbacks. … He’ll actually write reports and put grades in and put them in our database. I don’t know how common that is for a head coach to have reports and grades in the database, but it’s important for him because he wants to be on record.”
That is true dedication.
It would be so easy for Nagy to maintain his focus on just the quarterback position or the offensive side of the ball in general. Not him. He wants to make his voice heard on every player they seek to acquire. Why? Any good coach would want his fingerprints on the entire roster. It would be pretty cool if you’re a draft prospect to learn the head coach himself pounded the table for you in pre-draft meetings. Even writing up a fully detailed scouting report.
That speaks to a man who is dedicated to every facet of this organization. Not just coaching the players but acquiring them as well. This isn’t about subverting the authority of Pace. It’s about doing his part to help the Bears get the best players possible. He was a major advocate of drafting Jaylon Johnson last year. One can imagine his fingerprints were on a number of prospects last month as well.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQX3EQtqEw8&t=3s
Matt Nagy influence can’t be ignored
Ever since he arrived in 2018, it feels like the Bears’ drafting has improved. Not so much in terms of scoring star power but in terms of consistently finding quality players. Over a span of three years, Chicago has made 19 picks. Eight of them emerged to become regular starters for their roster. That is a pretty solid hit rate. The challenge has been finally hitting that elusive home run.
Thus far the Chicago Bears have gotten by with a bunch of singles and doubles. Good players who can be long-term fixtures on the roster but no superstars. Roquan Smith is the closest thing they have to one. If they’re going to take that next step, they need more blue chip talent in the mix. Could the 2021 draft deliver on that hope? It certainly feels possible thanks to the addition of quarterback Justin Fields and new left tackle Teven Jenkins.
Time will tell.
Either way, it’s nice to know Matt Nagy is doing everything in his power to make the Bears a winner. There are no cutting corners with him. If he can lend his assistance in any way, he’ll do it. Coach the players? Of course. Watch massive amounts of tape and write scouting reports on them? He’ll do that too. The man is all-in. This could be a big reason why ownership remains steadfast in support of him.