LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy said Monday that he maintains the backing of upper management despite the team’s current six-game losing streak.
“Yeah, I do,” said Nagy, when asked whether he still felt supported by the Bears’ front office/ownership.
The Bears (5-7) dropped to the 10th seed in the NFC playoff standings in the wake of Sunday’s 34-30 home loss to Detroit. Chicago squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky fumbled with under 2:00 left to set up the Lions’ go-ahead score.
Nagy said he has not had any specific discussions with chairman George McCaskey or president/CEO Ted Phillips about his job security, but noted that the lines of communication he shares with both men and general manager Ryan Pace are open and strong.
“We all have a really good communication,” Nagy said. “I think that’s one of the things I know Ryan and I really appreciate from George and Ted is the communication process that we’ve used over the last three years. It’s very open. There’s a lot of listening on both sides and then there’s a togetherness and understanding the whys, I think.
“For myself, just speaking for me, when I have those conversations with Ted and with George, I just appreciate them being able to understand from my end and the things that we’re going through and how we do it. 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. That part I couldn’t ask any more for and I just appreciate that.
“And in regards to Ryan, when things are easy and you’re on winning streaks and things are going well the communication is always good. But when things aren’t going well, that’s probably to tell you the truth — like right now, when we’re struggling and we’re going through and we’re trying so hard to get things right because we care so much — the communication gets even tighter.”
Nagy — named 2018 NFL coach of the year — guided the Bears to a 12-4 record and NFC North title in his first year in Chicago.
The Bears slipped to 8-8 last season and face an uphill climb to reach the postseason in 2020 with four games left to play.