Chiefs coach Andy Reid keeps in touch with many of the former assistants on his vast coaching tree. But during the chaos of an NFL season, he said he talks to one more than the others.
And it’s the man he’ll be coaching against for the first time in a regular-season game Sunday night at Soldier Field.
Reid said on a conference call with Chicago reporters Wednesday that he likes talking with Bears coach Matt Nagy, enjoys his passion for the game and often finds himself on the phone with him as they both work long hours. And Nagy has appreciated the honest talks with his mentor of 12 years as he navigates through his second season as a head coach.
“We’re real with one another,” Nagy said. “One of the things I hope that Coach appreciated from me was just that if I ever felt something or believed in something, I said it in a respectful way. And then I could handle it when he told me what he felt in a respectful way as well.
“Sometimes I go through it now as a head coach. When you’re dealing with friends and coaches and players, you want honesty and you want people to tell how they feel. I just have so much respect for him, not only just as a coach but as a person and what he’s done in his life and the way he’s gone about it. He’s family to me.”
Reid has been an NFL head coach since 1999, first with the Eagles for 14 seasons and now with the Chiefs. Among Reid’s former assistant coaches the last two decades are Ravens coach John Harbaugh, Bills coach Sean McDermott, Eagles coach Doug Pederson, Giants coach Pat Shurmur and former Panthers coach Ron Rivera.
Nagy rose up Reid’s coaching ranks — starting as an intern in 2008 with the Eagles and ending as the Chiefs offensive coordinator in 2017 — before the Bears hired him in 2018. And he counts Reid as “one of my favorite people in the world.”
Nagy has detailed several times during his two seasons with the Bears what Reid’s guidance has meant to him. Nagy said Wednesday that he appreciates Reid’s strong-willed nature and determination to stay his course but also his support of his players and his humor.
After Nagy went 12-4 in his first NFL season and was named Coach of the Year, his second year hasn’t gone as planned. He has faced questions about his quarterback’s progress, playcalling, a rash of injuries to key players and his first prolonged losing streak.
That has made the advice from Reid even more valuable.
“He’s just a calming presence,” Nagy said. “He’s somebody that I trust as a friend, as a mentor. The amount of trust that I have for him and the life experiences and the coaching experiences that he’s been through, and the experiences we’ve been through together for so many years, he’s taught me to be who I am as a coach and taught me to be myself as a human being.
“So when those times arise, where you need a little bit of advice from somebody who’s been through something, he’s the guy I go to. He’s been phenomenal through that stretch where we were having a difficult (time).”
Reid said he has reason to believe Nagy will be fine as he tries to get through an up-and-down year.
“He’s so mentally tough,” Reid said. “He tries to get the best out of his guys. The guys know that.
“He’s not going to hang his head. … He just keeps going. He’s going to try to fix the issues and go with it and that’s how he rolls. That’s the sign, I think, of a good coach.”
The relationship between Nagy and Reid makes Sunday night’s meeting between the Bears and Chiefs more meaningful, even though the teams are headed to very different starts to the new year. The Chiefs will return to the playoffs for the fifth straight season after winning the AFC West. The Bears are headed to an early offseason.
Nagy said previously that Reid — who engages in Bitmoji conversations with Nagy — texted him in January with the Bears circled on the list of Chiefs opponents.
“Let’s go, baby!” Reid wrote.
Nagy expects their relationship to fade into the background as their competitive natures come out during the game, and the Bears players know he’ll be out to win.
“I’m sure it means a lot going up against his mentor and previous team and all that, but at the end of the day we’re trying to win the ballgame for sure,” Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “We want to win. We want to win for him. We want to win for our organization. We want to finish this season out on a strong note.”