Could Bears make surprising decision with head coach Matt Nagy?

Matt Nagy has been on the hot seat with the Chicago Bears for seemingly the entire 2021 season. With NFL teams officially free to interview head coaching candidates, some would say the Bears are wasting time by not firing Nagy immediately. Unless, of course, they are not planning to fire him at all.

Nagy told reporters on Monday that he has been given no reason to believe he will be let go at some point in the next two weeks. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Bears have not made a “firm and final decision.” Rapoport also said he expects the team to “look at the entire product of four complete years before making a decision.”

From NFL Now: #Bears coach Matt Nagy said he's operating under the assumption that he'll coach the final two games of the season. pic.twitter.com/HeIz3RqTmj

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 27, 2021

It may seem like a lifetime ago, but Nagy was named Coach of the Year in his first season with the Bears in 2018. Chicago went 12-4 and lost in the Wild Card round that year. They then went 8-8 in both 2019 and 2020. That record was good enough for a postseason appearance last year, but the Bears were one-and-done again.

This year has been a lot worse, as the Bears are 5-10. They also traded up to draft Justin Fields, who has not looked NFL-ready in his rookie season.

A recent report claimed the Bears could make a major front office change. It’s unclear if they would be open to doing that and keeping Nagy. For now, Nagy remains the head coach in Chicago. Time will tell if the Bears are wasting their time by letting him keep the job.

Photo: Dec 26, 2021; Seattle, Washington, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy stands on the sideline during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports