Chicago Bears fans hoping for a quick turnaround under new coach Matt Nagy will be buoyed by the opinion of his former star tight end.
"I think Matt's a hell of a coach," Travis Kelcetold the team's official website. "I think he could be Doug Pederson 2.0, to be honest, especially with the quarterback."
Pederson took only two years to help raise the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl champions after leaving the Kansas City Chiefs.
In certain ways, the Bears mirror the Eagles: young quarterback on the rise, good running game, solid defense led by a good coordinator. Among the differences between the teams is Pederson got to work the kinks out with Carson Wentz as a rookie, leading to his MVP-candidate second season. Nagy joins Mitchell Trubisky a year into the process.
Nagy took over as offensive coordinator in Kansas City after Pederson took the Philly job in 2016. Nagy helped Alex Smith lead the NFL with a 104.7 passer rating and Kareem Hunt top the league with 1,327 rushing yards.
When he took over play-calling duties in the middle of the season, Nagy implemented more run-pass options for Smith, which got the QB into a rhythm and opened the running game. Nagy's play calling also reignited the explosive plays that had gone dormant.
Nagy's best asset in Chicago is his ability to coax production out of the talent given and coach to the strength of his players. That ability is something Pederson and his coaching staff displayed in spades during their run to the Super Bowl.
"I'd like to see him have all the success possible just because of how much I loved him as a coach," Kelce said of Nagy.
There are several holes on the Bears' roster that will need to be plugged before Chicago can reach its full potential under Nagy. In Philadelphia, Pederson had Howie Roseman who made moves to get him the players necessary to make the Super Bowl run -- like swiping Alshon Jeffery from Chicago.
We know little about what type of coach Nagy will be or whether general manager Ryan Pace can provide him with the players to finally help the Bears claw out of the cellar in the NFC North. However, anyone and everyone from Kansas City has only good things to say about the former offensive coordinator. Kind words don't equal wins, but it's a good place to start.
