Say what you will about Matt Nagy as the Bears’ head coach. But he’s proved numerous times that he’s a class act and a great person.
He showed that once again on Wednesday when he opened his press conference by offering his thoughts and prayers to Jeff Dickerson’s family and friends. Dickerson, who covered the Bears for ESPN for the last two decades, succumbed to colon cancer Tuesday at the age of 44.
“I want to start off by giving my thoughts and prayers to Jeff Dickerson’s family and his son, Parker,” Nagy said. “It’s a tough day for all of us. We know how much Jeff meant to all of us, we all had different stories with him.”
Nagy praised Dickerson for his positivity amid negativity and how supportive and respectful he was toward Nagy from the start.
Nagy even told a story about how Dickerson texted him a couple of days before the draft and told Nagy that he believed they were going to draft offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, which they wound up doing in the second round.
There’s little doubt that Nagy is out as Bears head coach at season’s end. While Bears fans might’ve united around the #FireNagy front, it has nothing to do with him as a person and everything to do with the results on the field.
When you look at the difference between the coaching situations in Chicago and Jacksonville, for example, you see why. Reports about former Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer didn’t paint a pretty picture about the toxic culture in Jacksonville.
Meanwhile, Nagy has garnered a reputation of respect from his players and coaches, even in the midst of what’s been a tumultuous 2021 season with more losing than past years under Nagy.
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Everything to know about Matt Nagy’s impending firing, coaching search and potential changes within Bears front office
