Matt Nagy’s first year as the Bears head coach ended with a tough playoff loss to the Eagles, but it was a successful one overall.
The Bears won the NFC North and made their first postseason appearance since the 2010 season with Nagy at the helm. That effort earned Nagy recognition as the Associated Press coach of the year at the NFL Honors show in Atlanta on Saturday night.
Nagy was hired after two years as the Chiefs offensive coordinator and 10 years working with Andy Reid during his head coaching stints in Philadelphia and Kansas City. The Bears went 12-4 during the regular season as they matched one of the league’s best defenses with an offense that improved dramatically over the 2017 edition.
Nagy received 24 of the 50 votes. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn was second with 10 votes with Colts head coach Frank Reich coming in third with eight and Reid picking up five nods. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and Saints coach Sean Payton also received votes this year.
It’s the seventh time that a Bears coach has won the award. Nagy joins two-time winners George Halas and Mike Ditka and one-time recipients Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith on the list of winners from Chicago.