Getty Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy denied multiple reports before and after the team's win on Thanksgiving.
The Chicago Bears had one of the most memorable weeks in recent memory leading up to their 16-14 Thanksgiving day win over NFC North rival Detroit Lions.
First, there was the Patch.com report that claimed head coach Matt Nagy was told he was going to be fired the day after Thanksgiving, regardless of the outcome of the Lions game. That rumor was shot down when team chairman George McCaskey addressed the team personally and told them it wasn’t true.
There was also the report in The Daily Herald from Hub Arkush, a longtime Bears analyst and insider, that stated McCaskey told Nagy to name rookie quarterback Justin Fields the team’s permanent starter heading into their Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Nagy denied that report himself on November 26, saying: “That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
An additional report by Jordan Schultz, who co-hosts an NBA-centered podcast with Bears wideout Allen Robinson, said Nagy had lost the locker room and that the majority of his players wanted him fired. There were also additional rumblings of Nagy canceling team practices and activities before the Week 12 Lions game — which the Bears coach also denied.
Tight end Cole Kmet, however, suggested at least one of the reports had some truth to it.
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Kmet: ‘You Wonder How Those Things Get Out’
“I mean, I’m not going to lie, it was tough for me,” Kmet said on November 25 when he was asked how the barrage of rumors and reports affected the locker room.
“A lot in your head after going right from Sunday to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then playing Thursday. There’s a lot in your head. You don’t know what’s true and what’s not. That was difficult for me. You don’t know what’s going on. At the end of the day, as players, we kind of just hunkered down Wednesday night and put ourselves in a good mindset, and we were able to do the job and get a win.”
The second-year tight end then said something very interesting:
“Definitely had to shut off the phone this week. It was pretty chaotic. Like I said, for me, it was tough. I’m not going to lie, it’s tough. You don’t know what’s true, what’s not. Then you see things that are true, because you were there for them, and you wonder how those things get out. So there’s a lot of confusion in that sense. But at the end of the day you’ve got to just block it out and go play football.”
Then you see things that are true, because you were there for them, and you wonder how those things get out. … Kmet didn’t specify what “things” he was referring to, but his statement doesn’t mesh well or align with everything Nagy has told the media, as the head coach denied every rumor out there other than the McCaskey-speaking-to-the-locker-room one.
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Kmet Confirmed McCaskey’s Meeting With Team
Perhaps Kmet was referring to McCaskey’s conversation with the team — that’s certainly possible. That report was one of the few last week that multiple players on the team have confirmed.
“I’m not gonna get into what he said. That’s between us and him and the organization in general, but I think it put the players in a good mindset,” Kmet said about McCaskey’s talk with players.
It’s also possible Kmet was referring to Nagy canceling team practices amidst all the chaos, which was reported by the reputable Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Regardless, Kmet’s comments raise some eyebrows on the heels of Nagy essentially denying everything. It’s unclear what Kmet was referring to specifically, but his remarks also suggest a leak in the locker room, which is never a good thing.
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