Chicago Bears Coach Matt Nagy Tests Positive For COVID-19

Chicago IL

25 October, 2021

12:26 PM

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CHICAGO – Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy has tested positive for the coronavirus and will have to come up with a plan moving forward after a 35-point loss to the defending Super Bowl champions. Special teams coach Chris Tabor will run meetings in Nagy's absence, and Nagy said that the team came up with a plan of attack in 2020 when the pandemic was just beginning. Nagy said that as of Monday morning, no other players or coaches have tested positive for COVID-19 following the Monday morning testing routine. Nagy, who has said he is fully vaccinated, made the announcement after the Bears announced that the coach's regular Monday news conference would be moved to Zoom. The news conference started 15 minutes late, and Nagy called in from his car before divulging his Monday morning test results. "Unfortunately, this morning it came back that I was positive for COVID," Nagy said. "I will not be in the building and for us, this is a reminder for all of us to be extremely cautious and to understand where we're at. We've seen it obviously with other teams in the league and with society in general, and so we're working through all of that." The Bears will face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at Soldier Field. Nagy previously spent time away from the team during offseason training activities after it was determined he had come into contact with someone who had tested positive. General manager Ryan Pace said at the start of training camp that 85 percent of Bears players and team personnel had been vaccinated. Fourteen NFL teams at the time reported COVID-19 vaccination levels of 90 percent or higher. Nagy's test results come at a time when the Bears have sent five players to the team's COVID-19 list in the past 11 days. Right tackle Elijah Wilkinson tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, which added to the number of coronavirus-related absences the Bears have experienced in recent days. Running back Damien Williams tested positive before the Bears faced the Green Bay Packers at home but has since been taken off the list. Also back is receivers coach Mike Furrey, who had been added to the list. Tight end Jimmy Graham and linebacker Caleb Johnson missed Sunday's game against Tampa Bay, as they were on the COVID-19 list. Nagy said he learned he had tested positive Monday morning when he reported to Halas Hall, a day after the Bears lost 38-3 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nagy said in Monday's Zoom call that he is feeling "pretty good" but will not be permitted in the building as part of the NFL's COVID-19 protocol. Under that protocol, unvaccinated players must adhere to stricter protocols than those who have been vaccinated. Unvaccinated players must miss at least 10 days if they test positive for the coronavirus and five days if they are deemed close contacts. Vaccinated players who test positive, meanwhile, are allowed to return to the team after they return two negative tests within 24 hours and will not be considered close contacts. Nagy said that the team had not had a group conversation about vaccinations in light of the recent rash of positive cases. He said that "different situations" make everyone understand "where we're at and how things can go." "The part that I really believe and understand is having the support staff that we have in these times," Nagy said. "We showed it last year, being able to pull together and get through times like this. What are the solutions? How do we get through this? How do we get better? It will definitely be something we look into and continue to discuss." Regarding Sunday's loss, which was marred by five Justin Fields turnovers, Nagy said the Bears have to fix mistakes that lead to lopsided losses and learn from the experience. "That's the only thing our guys can do, and they'll do that," Nagy said.