Bears reportedly hire former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich as offensive coordinator

Days after the Bears hired Matt Nagy as their new head coach, the team added former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich as the offensive coordinator, reports ESPN's Adam Schefter.

After three seasons with the defensive-minded John Fox that resulted in a lot of conservative football and a lot of losing, the message is clear: The organization is all-in on quarterback MItchell Trubisky and it will do whatever it takes to make him successful.

Nagy, who was the offensive coordinator in Kansas City, will look to replicate that success in Chicago.

"We set out to find the best leader for our franchise, period," Bears general manager Ryan Pace said this week. "We knew exactly what we were looking for in our head coach. This is about more than the quarterback. Yes, that's the most important position on our team. But this is about 53 players and it's about leading a group of men and it's about winning in all three phases."

It's about more than the quarterback -- but it's also about the quarterback. And while the 5-11 record might not reflect it, the Bears already have several dynamic playmakers on offense. It starts with Trubisky, the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, who had a solid start to his career. But there's also running backs Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard, and wide receivers Kevin White (a 2016 first-rounder) and Cameron Meredith (2015 undrafted free agent who had 888 receiving yards in 2016) who combined to play in just one game last season because of injuries.

Helfrich became the Oregon head coach in 2013, after serving as Chip Kelly's offensive coordinator. He went 37-16 in four seasons before he was fired after the 2016 season. At Oregon, Helfrich was responsible for the development of Marcus Mariota and before that, he had worked with Buccaneers Dirk Koetter at both Boise State and Arizona State.

Despite the 14-34 record during the Fox era, expectations will be high from Day 1.

"That's why they selected me to come in here, is to help get that culture back to where it's just a prideful thing, where we go out there and each and every day and practice, at the games," Nagy, who will call the offensive plays next season, said during his introductory press conference. "Now it's talk, but we've got to make it happen. And fortunately for me, I was part of a program and an organization in Kansas City where we kind of came into that, that same type of deal in 2013 and I got to witness it under coach Reid on how you do that. I have my notes. I have my journal. And now I've got to put it to use."

And Helfrich will be an integral part of that turnaround.

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