A report about Matt Nagy’s job status quickly made its way through the NFL world on Tuesday, and apparently there were at least some people with the Chicago Bears who believed it was accurate.
The report claimed Nagy had been informed by Bears ownership that he will be fired following Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions regardless of what happens. Nagy told the media it was inaccurate and said he had not spoken to his bosses at all during the week. He delivered the same message to his players following a walkthrough, but apparently they were not convinced.
According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Nagy denied the report in a “solemn way” while addressing Bears players and coaches. That led to many of them essentially saying goodbye to the head coach.
Will Goff play today? Is Matt Nagy's job safe at least for this week, and more.@JayGlazer has the latest live from New York! pic.twitter.com/Q8Y7ffi0HL
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“When they went to walkthrough it just took on a life of its own. … Later that day, Matt Nagy went and addressed the players and coaches, but the way he did it was almost in a solemn way,” Glazer said. “Even after he said it’s not true, players and coaches were like, ‘Hey Matt, it’s been great.’ So it got to the point where owner George McCaskey (on Wednesday) came into the team meeting room and addressed the entire team and said that is absolutely not true.”
Glazer noted that McCaskey did not assure the team that Nagy won’t be fired at some point, but he said the report about Thanksgiving is “unequivocally not true.”
Nagy is obviously on the hot seat. If his job was safe, McCaskey and the Bears could come out and release a statement supporting the head coach. Instead, they have only leaked information to the media to dispute one particular report.
The Bears are 3-7 heading into Thursday’s game, and there has been talk of major dysfunction within the organization. Fans have turned on Nagy with ‘fire Nagy!’ chants in inappropriate settings. Some players may also be tuning out the head coach.
It seems like only a matter of time before Nagy is fired, but all signs point to his job being safe for at least another week.
Photo: June 13, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy is interviewed during Veteran Minicamp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
