Chicago Bears without coach Matt Nagy vs. 49ers
Due to COVID-19 protocol, the Chicago Bears will be without head coach Matt Nagy on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Chicago Bears’ sideline will look different this week.
On Sunday, the Bears won’t have head coach Matt Nagy roaming the bench for the first time since 2018. Instead, it will be special teams coach Chris Tabor, who came to Chicago in the same year as Nagy.
With Nagy ruled out as he gets through the COVID-19 protocol, the 3-4 Bears welcome the San Francisco 49ers to Soldier Field, trying to stay in the NFC playoff race.
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Earlier this week, Tabor talked about how despite his changing role, things haven’t been much different for him at Halas Hall, per ESPN:
“I’ll be honest with you, the week hasn’t been any different for me from the standpoint of I talk to Coach [Nagy] all the time every day. He’s in all the meetings. I just don’t see him physically.
“With regards to how we’re prepping for special teams, I’ve stayed in my same routine, same process. If something else comes across my desk that I need to execute for Coach, then I will do that. That’s to me, to be honest with you, that’s a pretty easy thing to do. Just trying to stay true. I always say, ‘We’re not gonna win the game today, but you sure can lose it,’ and we want to make sure we have a good day of practice to set us up for Sunday.”
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For Tabor, it’s an opportunity to put his unique stamp on a season that needs saving. The Bears have been anemic offensively and while Tabor isn’t. going to put the gameplan together — that will fall to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor — he’ll get ample credit should the unit perform well.
Chicago, despite its rough start, still has a chance to make a move. At 3-4, the Bears are in third place of the NFC North. While catching the 7-1 Green Bay Packers feels near impossible, the Minnesota Vikings are only 3-3 and a half-game in front of Chicago, with a date against the Dallas Cowboys looming.
For the Bears, getting back to the playoffs for the third time in four years might save many jobs, including all those in visors on the sideline this weekend, and the man missing in action. For Tabor, it’s a chance to score a major victory on many fronts, most importantly on the scoreboard.
