Matt Nagy 'felt entirely more comfortable' with Bears than with the Colts, assistant says

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Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard discusses the search for their next head coach. Matt Kryger/IndyStar

The more we hear about Matt Nagy's interviews with the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the more confusing it gets.

There has been a report from ESPN's David Kaplan that then Chiefs assistant Matt Nagy was all but offered the Indianapolis Colts head coaching job before taking the Chicago Bears gig instead. 

But then there's this from longtime NFL insider Michael Lombardi, who is now with The Ringer, on Wednesday: "Indianapolis was, yesterday, interviewing another coach. ... They weren't on the Nagy train." (Check the 35-minute mark)

The Colts reportedly interviewed Nagy on Sunday. They previously interviewed Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Houston defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel and Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard, and are speaking to Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Thursday, according to media reports -- in addition to Lombardi's mystery candidate.

At Nagy's introductory news conference on Tuesday, the new Bears' coach said this about his interview wtih Ballard: "Chris and I have a good relationship away from football, being with the Chiefs together. I respect the heck out of Chris. I think he’s going to do a great job there in Indianapolis. He respects me and understands my decision.”

Another Chiefs assistant, Brad Childress, backed up some of what Kaplan reported during an ESPN Chicago show 'Kap & Co.' on Wednesday: Something was off in the Colts interview, despite whatever relationship Nagy and Ballard had developed in their time together with the Chiefs.

Kap & Co. hosts to Childress: We'd had heard reports that (Nagy) could have had the Colts job. But he looked at this Bears situation and went, 'I like the young quarterback, I feel like I've got a partnership with my general manager, we're going to grow together and build this thing.'

What's your take on how he went about this whole decision-making process?

"I know for a fact," Childress told them. "I wasn't in the room — I know who he talked to first, who he talked to second — I know for a fact that this is a people business. And that he felt entirely more comfortable in that interview, with the people who sat around there for four-and-a-half hours, than he did after he came out of the Colts interview.

"That's quite a statement, because the guy who's with the Colts was with us for five years at Kansas City. A lot of times you go with your gut because, at the same time you're interviewing Matt Nagy, Matt Nagy's interviewing you. He's seeing who's he's getting in the car with ... just like when you do a deal, it's got to be something for both sides.

"I felt from him, full  on, that they were two different kinds of interviews and that he was enthralled with the people at the Bears and with the Bears situation, to jump in that boat."

Childress also noted that he and Nagy were very high on Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky after interviewing him last year during the draft process.

"We were very excited about him," Childress said. "Thought he was a bright-eyed guy. We put him in a tough environment, when teaching him plays and making him regurgitate details, specifics and really tell us his thoughts about what we just showed him.

"I couldn't be more impressed with that guy."

So maybe that played into Nagy's decision too.

You can find Dakota on Twitter: @DakotaCrawford_.