Getty Head coach Matt Nagy of the Bears is not a popular man in Chicago right now.
The boo birds were out in full force at Soldier Field during the Chicago Bears‘ Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. It was Chicago’s fifth loss in a row, and the second straight season the team has lost 5+ consecutive games.
It was also the second time in two games the Bears lost in heartbreaking fashion in the final minutes. “Obviously it is unfortunate to lose the game that way we did back-to-back weeks like that. The guys are battling, but in the end, we’re just not finishing,” Nagy said after the game on November 22.
The Bears head coach entered the season on the hot seat after back-to-back 8-8 seasons, and after Chicago’s 16-13 loss to the Ravens, Nagy fell to 0-4 coming out of the bye week. Preparation, for one reason or another, has not been his strong suit.
What does it say about Matt Nagy’s offense that every time a veteran comes in cold, he has more success than the starter who prepared all week?
Chase Daniel, 2019 vs. Minn — 1 TD, 101.4.
Nick Foles, 2020 vs. Atl — 3 TDs, 95.2.
Andy Dalton, 2021 vs. Balt — 2 TDs, 107.3.
With the team failing to score 20 or more points for the fifth time this season, chants of “Fire Nagy” broke out in Soldier Field at multiple points during the loss. When asked about the chants after the game, he had a very Nagy-esque response.
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Nagy Criticism Reaching Fever Pitch
The Bears coach has been criticized for myriad things in his tenure, including lack of offensive production, horrible mismanagement of timeouts and lack of discipline. All three were on display yet again in the team’s loss to the Ravens.
The Bears had six penalties for a loss of 58 yards against the Ravens, which included multiple bone-headed false starts by the offense (OL Larry Borom and TE Cole Kmet were both flagged at crucial moments). Then, there was the baffling timeout usage. An incomplete pass stopped the clock with 1:48 left in the game, yet Nagy still called a timeout “to make sure you’re 100 percent ready for what you need.” Alrighty then.
The Bears are tied for the league lead in taunting penalties and have also lost 15 of their last 21 games. Nagy has been out-coached in just about all of them, and fans have had enough.
Outcoached. #Bears
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Nagy Responds to Fans Chanting for Him to Be Fired
Chants of “Fire Nagy” rang out loud and clear at Soldier Field as the Bears fell to 3-7 on the season:
“Fire Nagy” chants taking over Soldier. Music to the ears
When he was asked about the calls for his termination after the game, Nagy said this:
“I just understand that in the end we all care a lot and we’re all in this thing and of course we want to do everything we can to win. That’s our job to do that and I think everyone is competitive and wants to see the Bears win and that’s exactly what we want.”
Instead of placing blame largely on his own shoulders for a poorly devised game plan, the Bears coach pointed the arrow at his defense, which allowed game-winning drives in each of the last two games.
“You gotta finish,” Nagy said. “You gotta be able to end the games and close ’em out. And in the end it’s situational football. You have the lead in two games to be able to close it out and win both of those games and we didn’t do that.”
Nagy was also asked how he is planning on keeping the team’s internal belief in him alive. “You keep fighting, you keep believing in each other and you keep it real simple,” he replied. “You never stop fighting. That’s all you can do.”
Considering the current state of things, he’s in for the fight of his life.
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Bears HC Matt Nagy Responds to Calls for His Firing