The Matt Nagy era in Chicago had a promising start, but a disastrous ending. The Chicago Bears announced Monday that the organization has fired Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace, a total rebuild for an organization that hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2010 season. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora first reported the Bears would fire Nagy.
The Bears moved on from Nagy after four seasons leading the franchise, as Nagy finished with a 34-31 record with only one losing season (2021). Nagy lead the Bears to the NFC North title in his first season and won the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year, but went just 22-27 in the three seasons since. Nagy was tasked with developing quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, but the Bears moved on from him despite making the playoffs in two of Trubisky’s three seasons as a starting quarterback.
Pace took over the general manager job in Chicago in 2015, yet just had one winning season and two playoff appearance in seven years on the job. The Bears went 48-65 under Pace, who had four losing seasons in his tenure. Pace oversaw the hiring of two head coaches, Nagy and John Fox. Under Fox, the Bears went 14-34 before Nagy turned the franchise around by going 12-4 in 2018 in Trubisky’s second season as the starting quarterback. Expectations were raised in Chicago after that NFC North title, yet the Bears only reached the playoffs one in the three seasons since.
Pace’s tenure in Chicago is defined by two draft day trades, the first was moving up one spot to acquire Trubisky in the 2017 draft. The Bears drafted the No. 3 pick, a third-round pick (No. 67), a fourth-round pick (No. 111) and a 2018 third-round pick (No. 70) to move from No. 3 to No. 2. Trubisky lasted just four seasons in Chicago before the Bears moved on.
The second trade occurred this past offseason as the Bears traded two first-round draft picks to move up nine spots in the 2021 NFL draft. Chicago traded the No. 20 pick, a fifth-round pick (No. 164), a 2022 first-round pick and a 2022 fourth-round pick to move up to No. 11 overall and select Justin Fields — who struggled his first season in Chicago as a result of being yanked in and out of the lineup.
As a result, Nagy and Pace are both out and Chicago is looking for a fresh start for the organization — and their young quarterback.
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