The Chicago Bears are currently without an offensive coordinator following the firing of Mark Helfrich. But it sounds like someone with ties to Matt Nagy that’s on the open market is looking for a job.
Former New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur, who was fired on Dec. 30, is looking to remain in coaching and wants a coordinator job, according to the New York Post.
While Shurmur’s name has been floated around as a possibility for offensive coordinator in Washington or Kansas City — should Eric Bieniemy get a head coaching gig — another team that could be interested are the Bears.
Shurmur’s reputation in grooming quarterbacks is impressive. Look no further than his work with Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019. While Jones endured rookie struggles, he passed for 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Ultimately the Giants didn’t have enough pieces around the young quarterback, and Shurmur will be looking for a job elsewhere.
Someone that would benefit from the hiring of Shurmur would be Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who will be entering his fourth season. Trubisky took several steps back in 2019, and his future is in question unless he can drastically turn things around in 2020.
But there’s also the possibility that Chicago isn’t an attractive option for an offensive coordinator, considering Nagy serves as play caller. Although the Andy Reid/Nagy connection is reason to believe that Shurmur would be someone the Bears would likely target.
Shurmur has previously served as offensive coordinator for the Rams, Eagles and Vikings. Two of those tenures have led to head coaching jobs, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll be getting another head coaching job soon. But if he were able to perform miracles on Trubisky, that in itself would surely be reason for opportunity No. 3.
