Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
Did Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky play any role in the hiring of new coach Matt Nagy?
Dennis P.
Des Plaines, Illinois
Ryan Pace had indicated at the start of the process that he was going to consider having quarterback Mitchell Trubisky involved in some way in the search for a new head coach, but the Bears general manager decided against it. Plus, Trubisky had spent some time with new head coach Matt Nagy, so the two are already familiar with each other. Here's what Pace had to say Tuesday about whether Trubisky was involved: "We talked about it and at the end of the day we didn't include him in the interview process. Kansas City was aggressive in that research as well, so Matt knew a lot about Mitch. He said he had him at the facility all day long and in the draft process and I know Mitch knows a lot about Matt from that experience. So I felt like they already knew each other without having Mitch involved in the interview."
I'd really like to see Vic Fangio return as defensive coordinator. What's the latest with that?
Steven B.
Muncie, Indiana
Vic Fangio's future with the Bears is up in the air, but I don't think it will take very long to resolve the situation. (When John Fox was hired as head coach in 2015, Fangio joined his staff the next day.) Here's what general manager Ryan Pace had to say at Matt Nagy's introductory press conference Tuesday about Fangio: "You know that I have a ton of respect for Vic and we're talking to Vic right now. We thought, let this play out. Matt's just getting his feet set and after that his first priority is going to be our existing staff and then attacking the coaching candidates." Nagy mentioned that he has spoken with Fangio and said: "we're going to attack that full steam ahead and we're going to make a clear decision about what's best for Vic and what's best for this organization."
What exactly was Matt Nagy's role with the Chiefs? Did he call plays? I know he worked with two very experienced offensive-minded coaches in Andy Reid and Brad Childress.
Gary T.
Hampshire, Illinois
Matt Nagy was quarterbacks coach with the Chiefs from 2013-15 before being promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2016 after Doug Pederson left to become Eagles head coach and offensive coordinator in 2017. Nagy did not call plays until the final six games of this season. At his introductory press conference Tuesday, he spoke about the collaborative process with Reid, Childress and himself in Kansas City: "It was really neat because between the three of us and the rest of our staff, we all gave ideas," Nagy said. "Everybody had ideas. There were no egos. You would think most of the time, that would be the biggest [issue]—too many cooks in the kitchen. That wasn't the case. With coach Reid, there were zero egos. He doesn't care. If a play works and you ever see his beautiful mind board in that room and the amount of plays that we used to put up there just to see where it's at, he was OK with it, whether it came from me, coach Childress, coach Reid, or any of the other scouting/coaching staff."
