AVENTURA, Fla. — When the clock hit zero and the Chiefs clinched their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, the first ping into general manager Brett Veach’s phone came from the man in the NFL he’s known probably the longest: Bears coach Matt Nagy.
Veach caught passes from Nagy when the two played at Delaware. He later helped Nagy get his first NFL job: a three-week training camp internship with the Eagles in 2009. They were coworkers with the Eagles and Chiefs.
“He’s in Chicago now and I’m in K.C, but we spent so many years together — not just at Delaware, but going through the grind — and knowing how hard it is to get here,” Veach, the Chiefs’ general manager, told the Sun-Times on Thursday. “How many times we were breaking down tape during training camp and talking about overviews and offensive philosophy.
“Sometimes you catch yourself. We do it all the time in the offseason when we’re together — we talk about how crazy this whole thing is. A couple kids from central Pennsylvania. And then a couple kids at Delaware. And now a couple kids in the NFL. It’s been a great ride.”
Nagy’s DNA is part of the Chiefs, and vice versa. His mentor, Andy Reid, is their head coach. He incubated Patrick Mahomes during the quarterback’s redshirt rookie season, and helped craft the offense — a spread scheme with West Coast principles and a dash of daring — that has since made the quarterback famous.
But mimicking the Chiefs isn’t the fastest path for the Bears to get to next year’s Super Bowl. Instead, Nagy should look across the field — to the 49ers. Because no team can be the Chiefs. Not even the one that took away their offensive coordinator.
Nagy would probably disagree. Sunday’s Super Bowl is between the Ginger and Mary Ann of the NFL — the sexy passing team and the efficient run squad. What offensive coordinator wouldn’t rather be the Ginger?
But the Bears’ personnel much closer matches the defense-and-ball-control 49ers than it does the Chiefs, who boast a generational talent at quarterback and the greatest assembly of wide receiver speed in the NFL.
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky will never be Mahomes. With work, he could be Garoppolo, who attempted only eight passes in the 49ers’ NFC title game win. The old argument that the Bears should tailor their offense to their developing quarterback doesn’t make sense anymore. In his fourth year, Trubisky’s job will be to win games — even if he turns around and hands the ball off. Last season, he said scoring 19 points to win a game wasn’t good enough. Next year, it must be.
David Montgomery’s pedigree rivals any of the 49ers’ three running backs: Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman. The Bears’ offensive line, though, doesn’t compare to the NFC champions.
The 49ers front line looks a lot like the Bears’. Second-team all-pro defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and Defensive Rookie of the Year slam dunk Nick Bosa pose perhaps the best inside-outside threat in football — if it doesn’t exist in Chicago, with a healthy Khalil Mack and Akiem.
The biggest obstacle, of course, would be getting Nagy to embrace his inner 49er.
He’ll never be a ground-and-pound coach, but he needs to show at least a passing interest in running the ball efficiently. Even if it’s against his every instinct, he must realize his defense has a better chance of winning him a game than his offense will.
Like they did with the Eagles, Nagy and Veach still talk about offensive philosophy and how to improve. It’s over the phone, though, and they have to make sure not to divulge team secrets.
But they understand, more than ever, just how difficult it is to win — and how sweet it feels when you do.
“This is what you sign up for,” Veach said. “This league is tough. It’s tough to win games week-in and week-out, let alone divisional titles and world titles.”
