Nagy was elevated from coaching assistant to quality control coordinator to quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator before eventually being hired by an outside team as head coach. Now, Nagy wants to follow Pederson in another regard.
"He got that Super Bowl," Nagy told reporters Monday. "I’m trying to follow his lead here."
At Soldier Field on Sunday, it will be Nagy's Bears (12-4) meeting with Pederson's Eagles (9-7) in a wild-card contest. It's a matchup that will bring together two longtime friends in Nagy and Pederson, who first began working together on Andy Reid's coaching staff in Philadelphia back in 2010.
A year after winning the Super Bowl, the Eagles are the underdogs to a Bears team that has experienced a great turnaround in Nagy's first season, improving from 5-11 to 12-4. There are plenty of parallels between the two teams, including with the head coaches.
Pederson isn't surprised by what Nagy has done with the Bears. He could see the right traits in Nagy back when they first began working together.
"His work ethic, his dedication, his willingness to do anything and everything you asked him to do," Pederson said.
"He just had a willingness to serve and to work, and I think that's what paid off for him and his career. I think of my career and where I've been, Matt and I parallel a lot, and I think we both have that servant mentality where we just want to help our teams win and serve the players, serve the coaches.
"You see that with him. It's a credit to him, his eagerness, his willingness to work and his desire to succeed."