How Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace are collaborating to reshape the Bears

ORLANDO, Fla. - As Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy boarded the Cessna 680 in Kansas City, Mo., in the late afternoon of Jan. 8, it was only natural for them to sit together. There was enough room on the twin-engine jet for the newly partnered football men to talk business on one side while their wives and Nagy's three boys relaxed on the other.

For Nagy, the flight to Wheeling, Ill., was 62 minutes of relative calm. On the ground behind him was life as the Chiefs offensive coordinator. Ahead were new challenges and responsibilities for the 16th head coach in Bears history.

Nagy and Pace had generated momentum during their interview and dinner the previous day, and Nagy's zeal powered them forward in midair. After all the big-picture topics he had discussed with the general manager - philosophies, scheme, staff - Nagy was ready for details.

"It was funny," Pace recalled. "Literally, the very first personnel conversation we had centered around the tight end."

Specifically, the "U" tight end, as Nagy