ORLANDO, Fla. — Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher was there when Matt Nagy’s career started to, as Fisher put it, “progress up the ladder.”
It was 2013. The Chiefs selected Fisher with the first overall pick, and Nagy was in his first year as a quarterbacks coach in the NFL after following coach Andy Reid from the Eagles.
“[The Bears] got something good,” Fisher said this week at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Disney World. “You should be pretty excited about a bright future in Chicago.”
The Chiefs, of course, are excited about their own future behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the favorite to be named the NFL’s most valuable player after throwing 50 touchdowns passes in only his second season.
But Fisher wasn’t the only Chiefs players in the Pro Bowl who had positive things to say about Nagy and the Bears when asked about them.
Colts quarterback Andrew Luck is on board the Bears’ bandwagon, too, after Chuck Pagano — the Colts’ coach for Luck’s first five seasons — was hired to replace Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator.
“Oh, Chuck’s the man,” Luck said. “I love him. He helped me grow so much as a player, so much as a person. He loves football. He is going to challenge men. He is going to challenge men to grow, and he’ll expect them to challenge him back. He’s a great coach. He knows his stuff. The Bears are lucky to have him.”
Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman shared similar thoughts about Nagy. An eight-year veteran in his first Pro Bowl, Sherman joined the Chiefs in the same year as Nagy and Fisher.
“He’s a great guy, great father, great husband, great leader,” Sherman said. “His mind for football is pretty special.”
Receiver Tyreek Hill was drafted by the Chiefs in 2016. It was Nagy’s first year as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator and Hill instantly became a game-breaking star.
“I feel like Nagy is a tremendous leader,” said Hill, who is in his third consecutive Pro Bowl. “He’s an offensive-minded head coach. The Bears got a great coach in my opinion.”
The Chiefs players’ belief in Nagy is rooted in their own coach — “They have someone who learned under Andy Reid,” Fisher said — but also in seeing Nagy at work.
As the Bears learned this past season, football always will be fun under Nagy.
“You never know what these great minds are going to come up and do,” Sherman said. “It’s just fun to be a part of, to go out there every day and see what kind of plays they drew up.”
But it’s more than that.
It’s Nagy’s contagious work ethic. As the Bears learned, Nagy lives by his “be obsessed” mantra and he expects his players to do the same. But the Chiefs already knew that.
“He’s going to put all the time in to make them successful,” Sherman said.
It’s Nagy’s naturally ability to challenge and connect with players, too. As the Bears learned through “Club Dub” and more, he’s a coach you want to play for. It’s a vibe that the Chiefs know well.
“Today, if needed something, I know I can call him for something,” Sherman said, “and I know that he’d be there. He’s just a great guy.”
And, it’s also Nagy’s work with quarterbacks. As the Bears experienced, Mitch Trubisky developed and improved under Nagy. The Chiefs, of course, saw the same with Alex Smith and Mahomes.
“[Nagy] just knows the world of quarterbacks,” said Fisher, who in his first Pro Bowl. “Having Alex [Smith] for those five years and being able to be with Pat for [a season] was pretty cool.”
The Bears always be compared to the Chiefs because of Nagy and their selection of Trubisky ahead of Mahomes. But the praise for Nagy — and Luck’s for Pagano — still carries weight.
It’s OK to be excited about the Bears; other NFL players apparently are.
“[Nagy’s] going to do pretty good things for them out there in Chicago,” Sherman said.
