Nagy says his job status hasn’t been discussed

If the Chicago Bears’ calamitous 34-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday made you wonder about the happenings at Halas Hall on Monday, know that Matt Nagy sat down for his usual morning-after Zoom session with reporters.

Still the Bears head coach under general manager Ryan Pace. Still talking about what he can do to bust his team out of a losing streak that has reached six games.

Nagy was calm and open as he fielded yet another round of questions about his job status, inquiries that have become more serious after three straight losses to each of the NFC North teams, each more confounding than the last. The Bears lost 19-13 to the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football” in Week 10, then flopped coming off a bye week in a 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

It’s well-documented that the Bears have not fired a coach midseason. It also should be noted that Chairman George McCaskey and Pace don’t speak with the media midseason, aside from Pace’s weekly appearance on the Bears pregame show on WBBM-AM 780.

So as the rumblings grow louder about the likelihood the Bears will make front-office and/or coaching changes in January, Nagy is left to be the public voice answering questions about the support he has from his bosses.

For the record, Nagy said he has not had conversations with Virginia McCaskey, George McCaskey or President Ted Phillips about the security of his job. He does, however, feel like he has the support of management, an obvious way to operate given he still has to get his team through four more games.

“We totally understand where things are at and the frustration,” Nagy said. “But I think that’s where just communicating as to where we’re at, what we have in front of us and how we need to finish, that’s the only thing that we can do. And that’s exactly what our job is to do and that’s why we’re here right now is to do that.”

Nagy spoke highly of the communication he has had with George McCaskey, Phillips and Pace in the three years since Pace hired him to replace John Fox. That tenure includes being named the NFL Coach of the Year after the Bears went 12-4 in his first season, a disappointing 8-8 season in 2019 and now, at 5-7, the likelihood the Bears will miss the playoffs for a second straight year.

And Nagy said the communication with Pace has become stronger as they try to figure out how to pull the Bears out of their losing streak. Such a relationship, however, might not matter much if Pace is on his way out the door with only one winning season in six years and failed quarterback decisions from the draft (Mitch Trubisky), via trade (Nick Foles) and in free agency (Mike Glennon) among his most glaring missteps.

“When I have those conversations with Ted and with George, I just appreciate them being able to understand from my end the things that we’re going through and how we do it,” Nagy said. “And then for me to be able to listen from their end what they see because that’s just so important to understand and hear that and be able to work through the pros and the cons that we talked about.

“(During tough times with Pace) there are more real conversations, real talk, trying to find solutions, trying to find answers. Ryan and I are both very honest people, and so if he has something where he’s trying to help me out or I have something where I’m talking to him or helping him out, we say that. We’re working really closely together on that stuff, and then we relay all that stuff as we go with George and Ted. And during this time, it’s only become even tighter.”

There was plenty to get honest about from Sunday after the Bears blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead, even if Nagy thought the Bears had their best offensive game before the collapse.

That included a defense that Nagy criticized last week allowing the Lions to march 96 yards for a touchdown and pull within three points. The decision to have Mitch Trubisky throw on third-and-4 from the 17-yard line on the Bears’ second-to-last drive — a play that resulted in a Lions strip-sack and fumble recovery to set up the winning touchdown. And Allen Robinson’s baffling mistake to step out of bounds 1 yard short of a first down on the Bears’ last drive.

Focusing on addressing such issues remains Nagy’s way of weathering the storm of job status questions. He said Sunday night and again Monday morning he plans to push aside any talk of his job security to focus on keeping his team prepared and positive as it gets ready to face the Houston Texans on Sunday at Soldier Field.

“It’s frustrating for all of us, and it just seems like the same thing over and over,” Nagy said. “We know that, so we’ve got to get that win. And knowing what’s ahead of us and where we’re at, that’s why we’re here, to do that. To work together through tough times. And that’s where I have ultimate belief and trust in the coaches and the players and making sure that we continue to fight.”