NFL Rumors: Matt Nagy could be fired by Chicago Bears after Thanksgiving game
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has been in one of the hottest seats in the NFL over the last couple of weeks. On Thanksgiving afternoon, the Bears travel to Detroit to face the Lions for the 184th time. In Nagy's case, it might be the eighth and final time he faces the NFC North rivals. The head coach was reportedly informed by Bears management earlier in the week that Thursday would be his final game.
Matt Nagy has been in the crosshairs of Bears fans for some time. He went 12-4 in his first year as head coach. Those 12 wins were the most wins the franchise has had since Lovie Smith led the Monsters of the Midway to a 13-3 record back in 2006. That Bears team won the NFC and went to the Super Bowl. They lost to quarterback Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 in Miami at the then-named Dolphin Stadium.
The current five-game losing streak under Nagy is the second-longest under a head coach since being hired as the team’s 16th head coach back on 8 January 2018. In 2020, the Bears lost six straight games but made it into the playoffs by winning three of their last four games. They lost to the New Orleans Saints 21-9 on the road.
Nagy's two playoff appearances in three-plus years on the sidelines are more than his two predecessors: John Fox and Marc Trestman. In a combined five years, Fox and Trestman went 27-53 (.338) with zero playoff appearances. Despite Nagy going to the playoffs for two of the last three years, the Bears could look for their 17th head coach.
Before being hired, Nagy was the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs for just one year and the team’s quarterback coach from 2013-2016. Should the Bears make the call to ax Nagy, he would be the first head coach in the 102-year history to be fired before the conclusion of the season. For Bears fans, it feels like a long-time coming as the Bears have had back-to-back 8-8 seasons and are now amid a five-game skid, sitting at 3-7.