(670 The Score) Bears fans were begging for a reason to get behind coach Matt Nagy on Monday night, and for a couple quarters, it looked like he got the hint.
Nagy was fired up in a different way from the start, and if you think about it, he would've never been able to yell so clearly without his play sheet megaphone, which he wouldn't have had if he wasn't calling plays. In a way, it makes a lot of sense – at this point, it's hard to blame Nagy for wanting to blow off steam, and there's really only one he can do it publicly. Granted, the officiating crew made themselves easy targets Monday, but for a brief moment it felt like Nagy and the fans finally found the tiniest bit of common ground again. If you're going to go out, you might as well go out ranting so profanely that referee Scott Novak wouldn't even repeat what was said when asked about it after the game.
"Our guys are fighting their asses off to get off the field, and I saw what happened," Nagy said after the Bears' 17-9 loss to the Vikings. "So I just explained my opinion on it, and I don't regret it."
Novak's version wasn't a whole lot different.
"The flag was thrown when he started to use inappropriate language," Novak said.
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The problem, as it often tends to be with the Bears, is what happened next. After holding the Vikings to a field goal, the Bears marched down the field and fumbled on the 10-yard line, which was only noticed after a stoppage in play caused by a Chicago player lining up offsides. It was the game's most embarrassing sequence for almost an hour, all the way up until the Bears – starting on the Vikings' 30 after blocking a punt – turned it over on downs after lining up out of position on fourth-and-1 and taking a sack. Soldier Field was so content to sit back and yell at the officials for allowing free shots at rookie quarterback Justin Fields' head all night long, but somewhere between the Bears' pointless red-zone trips, the "Fire Nagy" chants returned. The theatrics of slamming the challenge flag down at the feet of the officials just doesn't land the same when you're down two scores.
"Our guys know, they know I'm a fiery, emotional guy," Nagy said. "I wear my emotions on my sleeve. But also you've got to be smart with when you do things. There comes a point, too, when you're in that situation and your guys are fighting like heck to get off the field, those guys, our players are grown men. They understand how to get a penalty or not get a penalty, and they're playing hard."
Nagy certainly wasn't the only one in a bad mood (*everyone who bought a ticket nods grimly*) Monday night – Bears players did have multiple personal fouls called against them too. Offensive tackle Teven Jenkins' unnecessary roughness flag in the third quarter may be one of the few times in the history of football that a third penalty is actually endearing? The Bears have been trying to get Fields some help from the officials for two months now, and it only took Jenkins two games.
"I love the fight, I love their energy," Nagy said. "You've got to be smart, and I think after -- like after that one, I went around and talked to all the guys and just said, 'OK, it's time to reel it back in, all of us, myself included.'
"It was an emotional game," he added. "And I think that it sucks losing."
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
