Breaking
Bears new coach Matt Nagy unveiled his top three lieutenants Thursday — Mark Helfrich (offensive coordinator), Vic Fangio (defensive coordinator) and Chris Tabor (special teams coordinator). The four men will preside over what has the makings of a strong 2018 Bears coaching staff. Here are five takeaways from their introductory news conference.
1. Vic Fangio's candor, humor still refreshing After arriving at the podium and saying, "let's continue this love fest," Fangio quickly corrected his boss, Nagy, who said Fangio coordinates top-10 units every year. Fangio went on to say, "I think it's a wrong picture to paint that the defense was great and the rest of the team wasn't. We were 5-11. If we were a great defense, we'd have more than five wins." Fangio talked about the need to keep improving — including the core members of his ascending 'D,' like Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd and Danny Trevathan. He also had some advice for Helfrich, his new colleague and former Oregon head coach making his NFL debut. "You just have to dive in and do it yourself," Fangio said, piggy-backing off a question Helfrich was asked on whether he reached out to NFL coaches requesting pointers on making the jump. Fangio left the NFL to coordinate Stanford's defense in 2010, and though it was an inverse move, he said he contacted college coaches whose advice, while perhaps valid, were things he already knew. Lastly, Fangio, who was reportedly eyeing a warmer destination for his next NFL gig, said he had two requests refused during his negotiations to return to the Bears: a membership at Conway Farms Golf Club and to shorten the winters.
2. Nagy-Fangio dynamic There was an immediate comfort level, Nagy said, when he chatted with Fangio about whether their philosophies would align. "The biggest thing going into it with Vic was just trying to figure out his philosophy, my philosophy, how it meshes together, can we make it work as people, as peers and as friends and it was easy to tell right away when we met that that was going to happen." Nagy said the "numbers speak for themselves" when it comes to Fangio's long and successful track record as a coordinator. But it was apparent after speaking to Fangio for the first time that their collaboration could click. "The second Vic and I sat down and started talking, it was easy for me to tell that this thing could work. I wanted him to feel comfortable with me as well and that this isn't a one-way street." Nagy reiterated a point from his own introductory press conference, that he and his staff won't always agree, but that's a constructive and critical element to success.
3. Trubisky effect Fangio said he went with his "gut" on the best place to be — "and not necessarily for the next 12 months but for the next five, six, seven, eight years." That included the presence of Mitch Trubisky, whom Fangio thinks "has a chance to be a really good player." He went on to laud not only Trubisky's natural athleticism and unique football ability but his intangibles, one of which Helfrich is already gathering encouraging intelligence on. "I sense from talking to a couple of offensive linemen, and this was unsolicited, when your offensive linemen are talking about how hard your quarterback works, that’s a great sign," Helfrich said. "So he needs to do that and continue to challenge himself and improve."
![4. Tabor on Tarik
Somewhat surprisingly the Browns' outside-the-box analytics front office apparently never scouted Pro Bowl rookie returner Tarik Cohen. "We did not. His name did not come across my desk at that time," revealed Tabor.
Cohen's diminutive stature and small-school background may not have aligned with the numbers former GM Sashi Brown and his staff sought. But Cohen's home-run ability and sometimes questionable risk aversion certainly appeal to Tabor.
"I think he's a dynamic player," Tabor said "... Like a young [Darren] Sproles because he's not a real big guy, but he's built well in his lower half. He has some human joystick qualities to him where he can start and stop and make you miss.](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/f2/bf251f32-6482-5440-960c-cbd6269fd3f3/5a61336662c51.image.jpg)
4. Tabor on Tarik Somewhat surprisingly the Browns' outside-the-box analytics front office apparently never scouted Pro Bowl rookie returner Tarik Cohen. "We did not. His name did not come across my desk at that time," revealed Tabor. Cohen's diminutive stature and small-school background may not have aligned with the numbers former GM Sashi Brown and his staff sought. But Cohen's home-run ability and sometimes questionable risk aversion certainly appeal to Tabor. "I think he's a dynamic player," Tabor said "... Like a young [Darren] Sproles because he's not a real big guy, but he's built well in his lower half. He has some human joystick qualities to him where he can start and stop and make you miss.
5. Tabor on turnover (and avoiding potential turnovers) "The other thing that you like about a good returner is he was a risk taker, and you want to have risk-takers," said Tabor. "I think if we go back in history and you look at Devin Hester, he was a risk-taker." Tabor, though, opened by describing his third-phase philosophy is to be "an aggressive unit that plays with good judgment." Although he compared Cohen in the same breaths of air as two all-time returners in Sproles and Hester, Tabor admitted he'll work with Cohen on when to "push the envelope" and when to signal for a fair catch. Cohen fumbled four times as a rookie and put the Bears in a few precarious spots due to his risk taking. Asked whether joining a club with three specialists out of contract was a deterrent, Tabor, who spent seven seasons as the Browns coordinator prior to returning for his second stint in Chicago, where he worked under Dave Toub and Lovie Smith from 2008-10, had a perfect response. "I'll be honest with you, no not nervous at all. My last stint I worked for four head coaches, five general managers and two owners. There was a lot of turnover."