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It turns out a Thanksgiving Day win against the lowly Detroit Lions isn’t enough to take the heat off Matt Nagy. Four days after Nagy led the Chicago Bears to a 16-14 win in Detroit, “Fire Nagy” chants broke out at a Notre Dame vs. Illinois basketball game in Champaign.
The chant began midway through the second half and was loud enough for the broadcast to pick up.
Illinois fans are relatively late to the chanting party. Chants of “Fire Nagy” broke out at Soldier Field during the Bears’ 16-13 loss to the Lamar Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens and at the United Center during a Chicago Bulls game against the Indiana Pacers.
Bears fans’ disdain toward Nagy reached personal levels when chants of “Fire Nagy” were directed at the coach’s son, Brayden, during a high school football game he was playing in earlier this month. The opposing team’s principal apologized for the “disrespectful” chant shortly after the game.
Nagy, 43, has the Bears at 4-7 this season and has gone 8-8 the last two campaigns. In 2018, Nagy’s first as a head coach, the Bears went 12-4 and Nagy earned AP Coach of the Year honors.
This season hasn’t been nearly as smooth as Nagy’s first in Chicago, as the team currently ranks 25th in total DVOA and 27th in offensive DVOA.
The Bears’ next two games aren’t the most ideal for Nagy to appeal to Bears fans and ownership. Chicago will play the NFC’s top two seeds, the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers, on Dec. 5 and Dec. 12, respectively.
