(670 The Score) In the year since he was fired by the Bears, former head coach Matt Nagy has lamented the way that he struggled to communicate with his team. That's now seen in a new light after a story told by one of his former players, offensive lineman Kyle Long.
On the Green Light podcast with his brother Chris Long, Kyle Long recently shared a story about a halftime interaction during the Bears’ loss to the Raiders in October 2019, a game that was played in London. The veteran Long had to remove himself from the team’s locker room after Nagy seemed to have crossed the line in calling out the offensive line.
“We were playing the Raiders, we were getting our ass whooped, we were in there at halftime, and our head coach Matt Nagy, God bless him, bless his heart, he looks at the O-line and says, ‘You guys are playing like some gutless, quiet b******,’” Long recalled. “And he’s staring me in the eyeballs. And I stood up in the middle of the halftime thing and I walked out.
“Our security guy, he was my buddy, he’s like, ‘Kyle, come on, man.’ He said, ‘Not like this. Not like this.’”
The Bears trailed 17-0 at halftime of that game against the Raiders. They lost 24-21 in what would prove to be Long’s last game with the team – and his final contest in the NFL.
“They told me, they said, ‘Do no come back to the building, don’t come back,’" Long said. "We’re done. Don’t call my house. Don’t come by my house. We’re done.”
The Bears placed Long on season-ending injured reserve following that game, citing his nagging hip injury. Clearly, there was more to his sudden conclusion with the Bears than initially known.
Nagy was fired by the Bears after the 2021 season after posting a 34-31 mark in the regular season in four years as head coach in Chicago. He's currently serving as the Chiefs’ quarterbacks coach and explained earlier this week that his struggles with the Bears have helped him press forward.
“I failed in a lot of areas,” Nagy told reporters, including Pat Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “But I know for a fact it’s going to make me stronger. I promise you that. I’m telling you right now it’s going to make me stronger.”
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