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Update: Bears’ Matt Nagy remains in COVID-19 protocol, won’t coach against 49ers
Oct 25, 2021 at 10:57 AM
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Updated Oct 30, 2021 at 7:32 AM
10/30 Update: Matt Nagy remains in the COVID-19 protocol and won't be available to coach against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Original article is below.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced today that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
"Unfortunately, this morning, it came back that I was positive for COVID," Nagy told reporters
via a Zoom conference call in place of his typical Monday presser. "I will not be in the building. This is something that, for us, it's a reminder to 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 society in general, so we're working through all that."
The Bears are coming off two consecutive losses and will host the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8, a team coming off a four-game losing streak.
At this point, Nagy's availability for Sunday's game is uncertain. The coach is fully vaccinated and told reporters that he is not feeling any severe symptoms at this time. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor is running the in-person meetings in Nagy's absence.
The Bears coach requires two negative tests at least 24 hours apart to rejoin his team this week. Fully vaccinated individuals are not deemed high-risk close contacts within the league's protocols.
The news comes as the Bears have four players — tackle Elijah Wilkinson, linebacker Caleb Johnson, tight end Jimmy Graham, and linebacker Robert Quinn — on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury missed Week 6 before being cleared from the COVID-19 protocols.
San Francisco and Chicago are scheduled to kickoff from Soldier Field at noon CT (10:00 a.m. PT) on Sunday.
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