How Nagy used time away from team to reflect on his coaching originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bears have their head coach back. On Thursday, Matt Nagy met with the media, in-person, for the first time since his Sunday night postgame press conference following the Bears’ Week 7 loss to the Buccaneers. But he had actually been back at Halas Hall a little earlier in the week.
“I was back in the office Tuesday morning,” Nagy said. “Was able to get back in here and get back to some quote, unquote normalcy. It was awesome seeing all the coaches and really just kind of getting back on track. We want to continue to be very diligent with all the COVID and making sure that everyone is wearing their mask and making sure that we’re smart, so we gotta stay on top of that.”
The Bears recently dealt with a rash of both COVID-19 infections, and unvaccinated players being put into the protocols as close contacts. Since Oct. 14, Damien Williams, Robert Quinn, Jimmy Graham, Elijah Wilkinson, Germain Ifedi, Caleb Johnson, wide receivers coach Mike Furrey and Nagy all entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols. All but Ifedi have returned to the team.
Nagy tested positive for COVID-19 last Monday and had to watch his team take on the 49ers from the confines of a hotel room.
“Watching the game was hard,” Nagy said. “You don't like it… I didn't eat and I didn't drink. Nothing. I just sat there and I was nervous the whole time. I didn't think I was going to be nervous, but I was more nervous than normal. That's just how it was. I had no idea how it was going to go.”
While Nagy has reiterated many times he really did not enjoy his time away from the team, he admitted there were some silver linings.
“I think the initial reaction for me was, ‘OK, how am I gonna handle this?’” Nagy said. “But then when I get that time to be able to sit back and say, ‘OK where am I?’ I talk about it with the staff and the players: what’s the 30,000 foot view right now? I get to step away from being inside, in the trees, step up and go, ‘How’s this going? Where are things? And how do I as a leader be able to see where we’re at?’
“I really believe that it’s gonna help me. And I used it as best I could to reflect on a lot of stuff.”
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