Getty According to Boomer Esiason, Matt Nagy has been told by the Chicago Bears he's out as head coach.
Matt Nagy’s days with the Chicago Bears are done, according to former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason.
When discussing available head coaching vacancies around the league, Esiason, who is well-connected, revealed his sources told him Nagy has been he’s out as head coach.
“I’ve been told that Matt Nagy has been told that he will not be retained,” Esiason said on WFAN Sports Radio on January 5. “He’s been told. He knows he’s not coming back.”
“That came through a really, really good, tight source,” Esiason added.
With Jim Harbaugh name floating around the NFL coaching rumors, @7BoomerEsiason reports sources are saying that Matt Nagy has been told that he will not return as Head Coach of the Bears. @WFANmornings
After going 12-4 and winning Coach of the Year in his first season with the team in 2018, Nagy had two consecutive 8-8 seasons before having the worst season of his career in 2021. The Bears have won two straight (albeit against two very bad teams in the Seattle Seahawks and New York Giants), but the team is set to have its only losing season in his tenure, currently sitting at 6-10 with one game left in the regular season.
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Nagy May Get an Opportunity Elsewhere in the Future
Nagy is 34-30 in his four seasons as the Bears head coach, and while he has gone 0-2 in the playoffs in that span, accumulating an overall winning record isn’t going to be a blemish on his resumé.
That said, he was also unsuccessful in a number of areas, from developing former Bears QB Mitch Trubisky to installing an effective offense. Trubisky is currently a backup in Buffalo, and the Bears are ranked 32nd in passing offense and 28th in total offense. They’ve never placed higher than 21st in total offense since he arrived in 2018.
“Will he get another head coaching job some day? I wouldn’t rule it out,” Bears insider Adam Hoge wrote on January 5. “A lot of the coaching profession is based on connections and respect, so I don’t think Nagy will remain unemployed for too long. But in order for that to happen, Nagy is going to have to rebuild his offensive credibility. For all of the good qualities he has, Nagy was ultimately brought here to score points and develop a franchise quarterback. Neither happened to the degree they were supposed to.”
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Will Nagy Go Out With a Win vs Vikings Week 18?
Chicago closes its regular season out on the road against their NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, on January 9. The Vikings will have QB Kirk Cousins back from the COVID-19/reserve list, and they’ve already beaten the Bears once this season, 17-9, Week 15. Still, don’t be shocked if they send Nagy off on a high note.
“The way the team continues to play hard for Nagy counts for something, even if it won’t save his job the way it apparently did last season,” Hoge observed, adding: “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Bears end on a high note and send Nagy off with a win in Minneapolis Sunday.”
UPDATE: Nagy told the media on January 5 that he has NOT been informed of his pending exit. Regardless, the Bears haven’t handled this well at all.
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